Israel Active

The Israeli Economy Ministry’s NewTech program brought 24 Israeli companies to the Israel-California Water Conference in San Diego to offer water storage, management, treatment, recycling and leak detection solutions.

Israel Railways has completed the Jezreel Valley railway between Haifa and Beit Shean. The railway revives the line first built by the Ottoman Turks in the late 19th century and closed by the British in 1946.  It will ease the commute to Haifa Bay and also become a tourist attraction.

I featured Israeli cybersecurity company BioCatch several times previously .  Now BioCatch has launched “Criminal Behavior” that can distinguish between the actions of a genuine user and a hacker by (for example) how quickly they respond to a security question (e.g. date of birth).

The new heads-up display from Israel’s Elbit has been featured on Israeli Channel 2 TV.  The system uses special cameras to analyze wavelengths of light and project clear images onto a pilot’s goggles despite inclement weather.

Israeli startup Prospera uses artificial intelligence to help farmers better monitor their crops.  Using in-field cameras and climatic sensors, farmers can irrigate, manage pesticides and fertilizers to achieve maximum crop yields. Prospera has just raised $7 million of funding.

I featured previously (Jun 2015) Engie – the Israel startup which provides an app that connects to your car via Bluetooth and diagnoses mechanical faults.  It then helps you contact the repair shops that can fix your problem efficiently at the lowest price.  Engie was just featured on Israel’s ILTV daily.

Israeli startup Matific develops educational math and science games for children in kindergarten and elementary school.  It enables students in 20 countries to access superior math tools in 20 languages at an affordable cost.  Matific has just raised $45 million of funding to expand distribution and R&D.

I reported previously on Israeli startup FST Biometrics and its ability to recognize individuals from facial images, voice analytics and behavior.  Recent attacks in Europe have prompted a huge rise in demand for FST’s identification technology.

I reported previously about Israeli startup Gauzy and its innovative glass that goes from transparent to opaque and back again.  Now Gauzy has been selected to take part in Mercedes-Benz’s accelerator program.  Gauzy already has offices in Israel, Hungary and Los Angeles.

Scientists from Israel, Germany, the USA and UK have genetically sequenced 6000-year-old barley seeds discovered in the Yoram cave in Israel’s Judean Desert. The DNA-analysis will provide essential information as to the origin, domestication and spread of crop plants.