Israel Active

Israel’s Cellebrite has sold its phone and computer forensic software to police agencies in at least 20 US states.  Revenue from the sales exceeds $4 million including $2 million from the FBI alone.

Israeli 3D printing company Stratasys is now the official supplier to the McLaren-Honda Formula 1 racing team. Stratasys will supply McLaren Racing with its latest 3D printing solutions and cutting-edge materials for visual and functional prototyping, and production tooling.

Israeli startup Buy for Good only sells products produced in vocational training centers that offer rehabilitation and employment opportunities for people with disabilities and from underprivileged communities. Soaps, tea, dolls, Judaica items etc. are sold via the website and shipped locally and overseas.

Israel has the greatest number of startups per capita in the world, prompting entrepreneurship courses at universities and colleges throughout the country. Ben Gurion University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion, the IDC and ORT all aim to combine theory with practical help.

Israeli website builder Wix.com, Google and the nonprofit Atidim are helping 10,000 businesses far from Israel’s financial center to set up websites, and use social media platforms.  The Digital Starter project is supported by the Israeli government and some 250 trained volunteers.

I often report the monthly increase in Israel’s Composite State of the Economy (CSE) indicator.  It usually rises by 0.2 – 0.3% but in December it shot up by 0.45%. Factors include higher consumer spending, increased industrial production and more revenue from trade and services.

Computer giant Oracle is opening its Startup Cloud Accelerator program in Tel Aviv. It provides six months of mentoring from technical and business experts, state-of-the-art technology, a co-working space, plus access to Oracle's customers, partners and investors.

Israel’s Transmit Security has won the UK Financial Times Future of Fintech Innovation Award for its ability to create lasting change in the financial services sector on a global scale.  Transmit Security brings together biometric and other financial security services on to one platform.

Israel’s Aroma has opened 35 cafes in Toronto since its 2007 launch in Canada.  It has also opened in Ottawa, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oakville and London Ontario, bringing to 39 the number of Canadian locations. In 2017, it’s planning to open 10 more branches, including in Vancouver.

This summer, Israel’s Car2Go (GoTo Global) is starting operations of Auto Tel – a new car-sharing service in Tel Aviv. Subscribers can rent one of 260 cars, together with 500 reserved parking spaces. The service aims to reduce car ownership costs, traffic congestion, pollution and parking problems in Tel Aviv.