Making big business of Israeli businesses
Readers used to ask me why there were no big Israeli companies. Not anymore.
How athlete and mother built a $10m business
Israel’s Chen Levanon is CEO of ClicksMob was a hurdler at college. She now has 2 kids and runs a fast-moving business that matches advertisers and publishers. Half her management team are female. ClicksMob generated $10 million of revenue last year.
A photo finish
Lightricks is the Israeli startup behind successful smartphone photo-editing apps Facetune and Enlight. Founded in 2013, Facetune has 4.5 million customers with another million on Enlight. With a graphics engine and mobile ad software, Lightricks is a likely target for Apple or Facebook.
Record number of passengers at Ben Gurion
On Aug 13 a record 80,000 passengers passed through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport. The Israel Airport Authority assesses that some 2 million passengers will pass through the airport in August – the largest number of passengers to come and go in a single month.
Israeli economy gets S&P A+ rating
Standard & Poor's has affirmed Israel's international credit ratings as positive, giving it an A+ score. The agency's economic forecast for Israel was positive as well, defining the economy as "stable" and projecting it would grow by 3% between 2015 and 2018.
Israeli cyber security merger
Israeli NASDAQ cyber security company CyberArk Software has acquired Israeli cyber detection company Cybertinel for an estimated $20 million. The merger enhances CyberArk’s ability to detect early security threats. CyberArk’s $36 .4 million 2nd quarter revenue was 70% up on Q2 2014.
A map of Israeli cyber security startups
Bessemer Venture Partners have produced an excellent map showing how the main Israeli cyber security startups fit into the various technology and business areas.
15 new Dreamliners for El Al
El Al has announced the largest-ever procurement of new aircraft in the company’s history. It is buying and leasing 15 Boeing 787 (“Dreamliners”) jets costing $800-900 million. The planes will replace El Al’s 747-400 and 767 fleet on medium to long haul routes.
New flights from UK to Israel
UK’s Monarch Airlines is to commence Sunday, Monday and Thursday flights between London Luton and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion from Jan 2016. Prices start at £49 TLV-LTN and £89 LTN-TLV. Monarch will also operate Thursday flights between Luton and Ovda Eilat. Tickets on sale now.
SAP leverages the Startup Nation
Orna Kleinmann, MD of SAP Labs Israel, says that Israel’s innovation spirit derives from necessity: Israel is a small country, with no substantial natural resources, and must fight for its existence. This breeds creativity and is the foundation for the local innovation ecosystem.