Israel Active

Air fares from Israel to Western Europe have fallen 18% in the five years since Israel signed the Open Skies airline competition agreement with the EU.  Fares to North America have also dropped – by 14%.  110 foreign airlines now fly to Israel, and passenger traffic has increased by 40%.

Some 970,000 tourists stayed at least one night in Israel in Nov 2016, an increase of 38% compared to Nov 2015 and 23% higher than Nov 2014. The revenue generated from foreign tourists in Nov 2016 was more than 1.5 billion shekels ($390 million).

Israel’s Startup Stadium is a non-profit venture that maintains a Facebook page with almost 40,000 friends and a variety of other activities. It provides a network of connections between entrepreneurs, investors, and representatives of international corporations.

I reported previously about the GuideIN Tube designed by students at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center to help inflate collapsed lungs.  Guide In Medical is now a startup company and has just raised two million shekels ($529,000) for further development of the device.

Fresh.fund is Israel’s new student-run venture fund.  Its aim is to invest in early-stage companies and ventures run by students and others.  ​The new fund has raised $1 million from an angel investor in Jerusalem and intends to invest $20,000 to $50,000 per venture.

I reported previously on Israeli augmented reality startup Cimagine Media. Now Image messaging app Snapchat is buying Cimagine for an estimated $30-$40 million, marking Snapchat's first acquisition in Israel. Cimagine will become Snapchat's R&D center in Israel.

US Celanese Corporation has acquired the nylon compounding product portfolio of Israel’s Nilit Plastics for an estimated $250 million. Nilit, however, will retain ownership of its worldwide nylon fibers and polymerization businesses, including facilities in Israel, US, China, and Brazil.

Israeli fintech startup Behalf has provided millions of dollars of short-term loans to US companies to pay their suppliers.  Borrowers apply on the Behalf website, which uses databases and algorithms to decide if the borrower is a good risk. Behalf pays the supplier, and collects from the borrower on pay day.

Low-cost airline Ryanair is to commence flights out of Tel Aviv.  Its first route is to Paphos, beginning in March.  More European destinations are expected soon. Cypriot airline TUS is adding Athens, Rhodes and Kos to its Haifa route. And Iceland’s WOW Air is to go daily from Tel Aviv to Reykjavik.

I reported previously about TaxiBot from Israel Aerospace Industries, which has been towing Lufthansa Boeing 737 jets at Frankfurt airport since 2014.  It has just completed tests on towing Airbus 320neo jets at Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France and is now in the final stages of certification.