Israel Active

Intellectual Ventures, of which Bill Gates is a member, has invested in the new technological incubator XELERATOR for the development of medical devices.  It is thought to be Gates’ first-ever investment in Israel.

Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya will launch a new one-year program in October to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.  IDCBeyond, will train graduates in technology, biomedicine, globalization and sustainability, with mentoring from academia and industry.

Tel Aviv University is to launch a joint accelerator program together with India’s T-Hub technological incubator.  The program will support agritech startups both in the Indian state of Telangana and in Israel.

Jerusalem is the fusion of old and new.  An ancient city where new media and new technology startups emerge.  Israel’s largest exits (NDS bought by Cisco and Mobileye’s NASDAQ launch) came out of Jerusalem.

Israel’s Adam Neumann founded WeWork which rents shared office space to entrepreneurs, small companies, and even divisions of large corporations.  WeWork has some 50,000 members, about 100 international locations, and a private valuation of $16 billion.

Israeli digital printing companies were star attractions at the drupa international printing trade fair in Germany.  Nano printing Landa received $450 million of orders.  Highcon demonstrated what can be achieved with its digital finishing technology and sold $40 million. Scodix had $100 million of orders and 100 new customers from 21 countries for its digital enhancement solutions.

US consultancy giant Accenture has just bought Israeli cybersecurity company, Maglan, in order to increase its ability to provide clients with cyber defense services using Israeli innovation. It has also set up a new research and development lab in Herzliya, focusing on cyber security projects.

I featured Israeli startup Interlude’s amazing video technology previously. Interlude is the developer of the Eko interactive storytelling platform and has just received “tens of millions of dollars” of new funding from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Israel’s annualized employment rate fell to 4.8% in May, its lowest point in a decade.  The rate of participation in the labor force in the 25-64 age bracket reached 80.4% in May, while the unemployment rate in this age group dropped from 4.3% in April to 4.1% in May.

General Motors is to increase the pool of employees in Israel from 100 to 300 this year.  Its center in Herzliya will be the only GM center globally specializing in autonomous vehicle technology outside the US. GM has also invested in, and purchased, several Israeli startups.