Israel Tech Startups and Innovations: Weekly Roundup November 9 – November 15, 2024

Israel Tech Startups and Innovations: Weekly Roundup November 9 – November 15, 2024

New Startups / VC Funding
Israeli Cloud Security Startup Upwind Nears $900 Million Valuation with Real-Time Protection Platform
Upwind Security is an Israeli startup that develops a security platform that protects cloud infrastructure in real time. The firm is set to hit a valuation as high as $900 million with a new $100 million Series B funding round it expects to close this week.

Upwind seeks to streamline the overwhelming volume of alerts generated by threat detection tools, aiming to reduce them by 90%. This reduction allows security operations teams to concentrate on genuine… Read More Here

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Snyk Founder Launches Tessl, New Israeli AI Software Development Platform
Tessl is a new AI-driven software development Israeli startup that was established by the founder of Israeli cybersecurity startup Snyk. The firm raised $125 million in funding, including an April $25 million seed round led by boldstart and GV, and a new $100 million Series A raise led by Index with participation from Accel.

Today, software development is overwhelmingly code-centric. From inception to… Read More Here

ScaleOps Launches New Automated Cloud Resource Management Platform: Israeli Startup Optimizes Production Costs
ScaleOps is an Israeli startup offering a real-time resource management platform that fully automates production environments’ cloud resources. The firm raised $58 million in a Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from returning investors NFX and Glilot Capital Partners, and new investor Picture Capital. ScaleOps has raised a total of $80 million in funding to date.

Alongside the funding, ScaleOps is... Read More Here

AI Healthcare Platform Bluespine Helps Self-Insured Employers Cut Medical Costs
Bluespine is an Israeli startup that offers an AI-powered platform designed to reduce healthcare costs for self-insured employers. The firm has successfully raised $7.2 million in a seed funding round led by Team8, with participation from strategic partners. This funding will fuel Bluespine’s mission to address the pervasive issue of medical overbilling, a significant contributor to… Read More Here

PointFive’s DeepWaste Technology Cuts Cloud Costs: Israeli Startup Launches AI-Powered Cloud Optimization Platform
PointFive is an Israeli startup that enables “continuous cloud cost efficiency” through its proprietary DeepWaste technology, designed to uncover major savings potential hidden within your cloud infrastructure. The firm raised $20 million in a Series A round of funding led by Salesforce Ventures. PointFive has now raised a total of $36 million in just the 18 months since the company’s… Read More Here

Politics
Trump Names Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel: Former Arkansas Governor Selected for Key Diplomatic Role
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister to be America’s next ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is known for being a strong supporter of Israel who once said there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation… Read More Here

IDF Builds Military Fortifications Inside Syria Near Golan Heights Border – Satellite Photo Shows
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is constructing new military fortifications within Syrian territory, to the east of the international armistice line along the border with the Golan Heights. AP reported that satellite imagery shows work is being done in the area; however, the Israeli military declined to comment when asked about it.

This comes after the IDF, in recent months... Read More Here

Jewish National Fund Canada Loses Charitable Status After Federal Court Tax Appeal Defeat
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) Canada has lost its status as a registered charity for tax purposes after losing an appeal in the Federal Court of Canada over a decision by the Canada Revenue Agency to revoke the status. In her ruling, Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak said that JNF Canada sought relief with the wrong court and should have taken its case to Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal. JNF Canada has a limited time now to disperse the $31 Million Canadian (US$ 22.21 million) in funding it currently… Read More Here

Israel’s Attorney General to Demand Netanyahu Remove National Security Minister Ben-Gvir from Office
Political tensions in Israel are coming to a head as the country’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reportedly plans to inform Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will need to fire Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir unless he ceases what Baharav-Miara calls illegal meddling in police affairs. Israel’s Channel 13 News reported that she would issue such an order unless Ben-Gvir changes his ways.

This includes Ben-Gvir’s having in… Read More Here

Science/Culture
12,000-Year-Old Fiber-Spinning Tools Discovered in Israel by Hebrew University Team
Researchers from the Hebrew University have unearthed a groundbreaking discovery: 12,000-year-old spindle whorls, ancient tools used to spin fibers into yarn. These artifacts, recovered from the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site in northern Israel, provide the earliest evidence of wheeled rotational technology in the Levant.

This significant find sheds light on the technological advancements… Read More Here

PTSD Brain Damage Shows Recovery with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Tel Aviv Study Reveals
A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University and the Sagol Center has demonstrated that HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) offers hope to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) sufferers who have exhausted other treatment options. The new study dealt with people who suffered traumas resulting from the October 7 Hamas terror massacre.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment in... Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions
MTG Acquires Israeli Gaming Giant Plarium for $820M: Major Gaming Industry Acquisition
Israeli gaming company Plarium has been acquired by Swedish digital entertainment company Modern Times Group (MTG) in a deal worth up to $820 million. Plarium’s current owner, Australian gaming giant Aristocrat, will receive an initial payment of $620 million, with an additional $200 million potential performance-based payment through 2028.

Plarium is a prominent Israeli video... Read More Here

Nokia Expands Network API Development with Rapid Technology Acquisition
Nokia has made a strategic move to bolster its network API capabilities. The company has acquired Israeli startup Rapid API for its technology assets, including the world’s largest API hub and a talented R&D team. This acquisition will accelerate Nokia’s leadership in the API ecosystem for 5G and 4G network monetization.

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, RapidAPI, hit unicorn status in 2022 when it reached a $1 billion valuation after raising $150 million in a… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman Plans to Delist His Companies from Amsterdam
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has announced plans to pull out his companies from the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

On Thursday night, after a Europa League soccer game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch Ajax was over, dozens of Israeli fans were the target of an antisemitic attack. They were beaten and injured in violent clashes over the night. Dutch authorities have arrested… Read More Here