Israel Active

The UK has given Israel’s Ithaca Energy (part of Delek) and its Norwegian partner Equinor, regulatory approval to develop Rosebank - estimated to be the largest untapped oil and gas field on the British continental shelf.

The lifeguard assistance software from Israel’s SightBbit (see previously) is being used for the first time to save lives off beaches in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai-based BlueGuard will use the system as part of its program that blends technology with traditional lifeguarding techniques.

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US cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike has acquired Israeli cybersecurity for approximately ; Israel’s Playtika is acquiring Israeli gaming studio for . Israeli blockchain unicorn has acquired Australia’s BlockFold for an estimated ; Israel’s has acquired US-based LiveVox for ;

Israel’s Cyberstarts, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage Israeli cybersecurity startups, raised $480 million to make follow-on investments. Meanwhile Apax Israel raised $600 million for its second fund AMI 2. Its first fund’s $21 million of Global-e Online realized $729 million.

Swiss private bank EFG International has launched a wealth management subsidiary in Tel Aviv, after opening representative office in Israel last year. It “aims to capture the significant wealth management opportunities in this market” and offer investment advisory services to clients in the region.

Israeli space companies are experiencing a surge in demand. Since Dec 2022 Israel has launched four satellites. The upturn is led by Israel’s ImageSat International (ISI – see previously) which provides satellite services to governments around the world.

Israeli financial services firm Value Base has secured NIS 700 million ($182 million) for its new private equity fund VBF to target investments into local, mainly publicly traded tech companies. It expects to increase the fund to NIS 1 billion by the end of this year.

Despite the global slowdown, two Israeli billion-dollar companies attracted confident investors in their latest funding rounds.  First HR management firm HiBob raised $150 million at a valuation of $2.7 billion.  Then Cato Networks raised $238 million at a valuation of over $3 billion.

Israel’s Quris-AI (see previously), which uses AI to predict treatment toxicity, has extended its partnership with German giant Merck KGaA. Quris-AI cuts the cost of treatment development and avoids testing on animals.