Israel Active

Israel’s Economy Ministry has chosen two Israeli venture capital funds, Cogito Capital and Peninsula Investments, to create a billion shekel ($27 million) capital growth fund for firms that have an annual sales volume of NIS 100 million ($27 million) or less.

Over 100 Israeli companies and 2000 delegates were in Beijing at the first ever China-Israel Technology Innovation and Investment Summit. They came to raise capital, market their products or build strategic partnerships. $3 billion worth of deals were anticipated.

As you will see in this week’s newsletter, there is a huge surge currently of financial investment in Israeli hi-tech companies.

Israel's cabinet has approved a 14.5% cut in water rates to be effective from 1st Feb. It follows a 10% reduction a year ago.

An estimated 8.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas has been located by seismic surveys in the Mediterranean at Israel’s new Daniel natural gas field. The discovery is of similar size to the massive Tamar deposit currently being extracted.

Multinational hi-tech 3M has launched a customer innovation center in Herzliya. It signals 3M’s interest in Israel as a market as well as a source of technology. 3M’s Israeli acquisitions and investments include Attenti, VocalZoom and Takadu as well as establishing an R&D arm in Israel.

The former chief product officer at Intel, David Perlmutter, has set up an fund aiming to invest $300 million in Israeli tech companies, with the goal of eventually listing them on Nasdaq.

Intel Israel has received Israel’s first Green Building Standard for an industrial complex. The new Intel complex in Kiryat Gat meets the requirements of SI 5281, the sustainable buildings standards.

Interesting article of how two Israeli entrepreneurs have built up an Israeli start-up hub in the Eastern European state of Moldova.

There are several Israel “Unicorn” companies – those valued as more than $1 billion. But Israel’s strength is that it has thousands of million-dollar startups – which add up to several more “unicorns”.