Project Natal and 11 Israel-related Headlines, Week of June 21, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, SaaS, Uncategorized, Web2.0
During the week of June 21, 2009, Microsoft confirmed acquiring the motion sensing technology company, 3DV and its connection to Project Natal. Ad optimization platform, TodaCell raised $1 million and networking and business continued at TheMarker conference in New York. For these stories and more, check out this week’s 11 Israel-related headlines below.
Cleantech
1. Renault’s EV Features A Swappable Battery
2. Water, Water, Everywhere. And Not a Drop to Drink?? Part I
3. Converting Air into Water In Israel
Investments
4. Where Tel Aviv meets New York / Schmoozing business at TheMarker conference
Information Technology
6. Exclusive: TodaCell Raises $1 Million for Mobile Ad Optimization Platform (Interview with CEO Moshe Vaknin)
7. Conduit’s Browser Toolbars Serve Up Web Sites To Go
8. Magic Delivers Stronger .NET Client with uniPaaS 1.8
Miscellaneous
9. Microsoft confirms 3DV acquisition, Project Natal connection
10. StePac introduces degradable packaging
11. British teens get a taste of Orthodox Israeli life on reality TV
Peer39 and 8 Israel-related headlines from the week of May 24, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, Uncategorized, VC, Web2.0
During the week of May 24, 2009, investments picked up with Tigo Solar, GreenRoad and Peer39 all receiving funding in the eight digits. Aladdin Knowledge Systems, under new ownership, received a nomination for its innovative information security technology, while 3DV – recently purchased by Microsoft – isn’t the only Israeli motion sensor company the software giant is looking to for improvements to its gaming technology. For more on these stories and the rest of this week’s 8 Israel-related headlines from the week of May 24, 2009, check below.
Cleantech
1. Tigo Solar Energy Secures A $10 Million Investment
2. GreenRoad raises $15m from DAG Ventures and existing investors
Investments
3. Peer39 Raises $10.5 Million
Information Technology
4. Finalists Selected for 2009 CompTIA SoftwareCEO Software Innovation Awards (Aladdin Knowledge Systems)
5. More for less (SoftXpand)
6. New Email Technology Boosts US Businesses
Miscellaneous
7. Peeling back another layer of detail on Microsoft’s secret gesture-control system for games
14 Israel-related headlines from the week of May 10, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, IT management, Information Technology, Uncategorized, VC, Web2.0
During the week of May 10, 2009, solar power received significant attention between Aora’s solar panel technology and BrightSource striking the largest ever solar power deal in the United States. Better Place demonstrated its battery swap technology and Hacktics, an applications security company, raised 2.2 million Euro. OpTier, Correlix, and Promisec, along with 13 other Israeli companies were listed on Red Herring’s 100 and the social streaming video provider, Boxee’s plans to make its software available to the Windows market was discussed. For more on these stories and the rest of this week’s 14 Israel-related headlines, check below.
Cleantech
1. Aora Makes The Desert Bloom With Sunshine Flower Power
2. PG&E expands solar power plans
3. Better Place demonstrates battery swap technology in Japan
Investments
4. Mo’Minis Finds Mo Money For Mo Games
5. Applications security co Hacktics raises €2.2m
Information Technology
6. Intel Israel: Don’t just think fast, think ahead
7. Start-up Testuff Selected as One of the Best and Most Promising Start-ups by IGT
8. OpTier, Correlix, PromiSec Red Herring 100 finalists
9. ClickSoftware releases the integration between ClickSchedule 7.1 and mySAP CRM 3.1
10. WeFi Launches on Android, Enabling Automatic Connection To Best Available Wi-Fi Hotspot
Miscellaneous
11. Microsoft’s gesture-based game control to debut in 2010
13. Decline in demand for hi-tech jobs slows in April
14. Taylor Swift’s Music Is Safe To Drive To
13 Israel-related headlines from the week of May 3, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, Uncategorized, VC, cloud computing
During the week of May 3, 2009, BusinessWeek highlighted Israel’s cleantech sector and investors while Globes published an article that venture funds are looking for computing companies to invest in in Israel. Despite these promising stories, the worldwide venture industry continued to be hit by the slowdown in the first quarter. Not all of the Israel-related tech headlines were related to investments though, for these stories and others on Cyber-Ark, Tufin Technology, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and more, check below.
Cleantech
1. Israel’s Clean Technology Pioneers
2. B-Solar, solar cell start-up, raises $3m from Genesis Partners
Investments
3. Slowdown Hit Venture Industry Worldwide In First Quarter
4. NVP, Greylock seek cloud computing cos in Israel
Information Technology
5. Tufin welcomes David Blunkett’s opinions on cybercrime awareness at Infosec
6. Sequoia-Backed Kenshoo Moves to San Francisco
7. Is Cisco abandoning Israel?
8. Cyber-Ark’s security helps keep Swine Flu under control
Miscellaneous
9. Barkat presents first master plan for Jerusalem in 50 years
10. The Digital Eve Israel 2009 Visual Blogroll
11. It pays to study computer science in Herzliya
12. Xbox 360 motion-sensor reveal rumored for E3
13. Israeli co says holds keys to stop flu’s spread
12 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 26, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Industry pulse, Information Technology, Uncategorized, VC, Web2.0, virtualization
During the week of April 26, 2009, Israel celebrated its 61st annniversary while its first solar farm powering a small community was inaugurated. ETV Motors raised $12 million in funds and N-Trig announced its latest advancement in multi touch. Sadly, also during the week of April 26th, Israel’s hi-tech industry lost one of its beloved leaders and pioneers, Nahum Sharfman in tragic plane crash in Greece. Sharfman was the founder of the security company CommTouch and the price comparison site, Shopping.com. For these stories and more, check out this week’s 12 Israel-related headlines below.
Cleantech
1. Israel Inaugurates Unique Solar Farm
2. Solar Thermal: Which Technology Is Best?
Investments
4. Venture capital investment in Israeli high-tech companies lowest in three years, report
Information Technology
6. Intel bolsters cooperation with Israeli companies
7. N-Trig launching software to enable more versatile multi-touch displays
8. Start-up Axxana ties disaster recovery gear to EMC software
9. Will XP Mode Be Tough Sell For Small Businesses?
Miscellaneous
10. Israel celebrates 61st Independence Day
11. Can Israeli technology stop swine flu?
12. Plane crash kills high-tech leader
13 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 19, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, Uncategorized, VC, cloud computing, data security
During the week of April 19, 2009, sinkhole and solar farm technologies were hot topics in cleantech. In Information Technology, it was a big week for Israeli information security companies such as Check Point, AlgoSec, Commtouch and others, who were present at the annual RSA Conference on security. For links to these stories and more, you can find the 13 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 19, 2009 below.
Cleantech and Environment
1. We have the technology to monitor sinkholes
2. Israel solar farm to supply hot water
Investments and Economy
3. Israeli entrepreneurs see U.S. economy as early warning system
4. International credit crunch shifts Israeli business focus in China
5. VC crunch continues: BlueRun Ventures falls short of $300M target
Information Technology
6. Commtouch Unveils New Security Center Web Site
7. A conversation with Check Point’s Gil Schwed
8. Cryptography Experts Warn Of Cloud Security Risks
9. PeerTV announces MX 3.0 Content Management Tool
10. AlgoSec Releases FireFlow(TM) Into Public Availability
Miscellaneous
11. Israel Consults on Possible 3G Spectrum Auction
12. Most Israeli students stumped by high school math
11 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 12, 2009
Filed under: BTM, Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, Mergers and Acquisitions, New Ideas, Partnerships
During the week of April 12, 2009, talk continued about the pros and cons of Shai Agassi’s electric car plans and Check Point announced its purchase of Nokia’s security appliance business. In addition, business transaction management (BTM) company, OpTier was named a 2009 Hot Company by Network Products Guide and frogs might hold the answer to the effects of alcohol during development. For these headlines and more, check below for this week’s 11 Israel-related headlines.
Cleantech
Saving energy – one step at a time
Investments, M&A and the Economy
Check Point Software Technologies acquires security appliance business of Nokia
Int’l credit crunch shifts Israeli business focus in China
Information Technology
PeerTV Announces MX 3.0 Content Management Tool
OpTier Named a 2009 Hot Company by Network Products Guide
Miscellaneous
Israel turns to robotics to boost students’ interest in high-tech industry
Israeli companies make Forbes’ list
Frogs Reveal Clues About The Effects Of Alcohol During Development
Cequesta treating wastewater; solving greater water problems
Back in January, I posted that the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum (which I’m active in) held in conjunction with several organizations a “Greening of Jerusalem” event. The event featured presentations from Jerusalem municipality members including environmentalist/Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur and from 10 promising Jerusalem-based cleantech companies. One of the companies, Cequesta, which also presented to the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum (JBNF) last summer, spoke about its wasterwater management technology that it was still developing.
In a piece on Cequesta on ISRAEL21c.org last week, it mentions that Cequesta is now “open for business”. The company, a wastewater treatment solutions provider, has solutions that clean up wastewater from most types of industrial and agricultural operations, ranging from hotels to cowsheds to automotive plants.
According to the article, “Cequesta is now forging ahead in a number of environmentally friendly directions by creating complete units that can, for example, recycle 70 percent of a building’s wastewater.” It has also “developed a water treatement solution for a Toyota plant in America.”
Accompanying the article is this video of Waimann’s presentation that I took on my cell phone in January.
In addition to this event, Waimann also presented Cequesta and discussed cleantech in general last summer during another cleantech-focused event that the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum organized. These videos along with others are located on the Israel Innovation 2.0 YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/IsraelInnovation20
13 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 5, 2009
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, Information Technology, Mergers and Acquisitions, Uncategorized, VC, Web2.0, cloud computing, virtualization
During the week of April 5, 2009, some of the biggest headlines were about N-Trig’s planning an IPO for late 2010 and Evergreen, a venture capital fund, raising more for its fourth round. Other news included Google’s latest release, Google Suggest, which was developed by Google Israel and Microsoft’s plans to lay off most of 3DV’s 40 workers (all in Israel) when the sale is complete. In the IT sector, Xeround’s Charlotte Yarkuni discussed cloud computing and databases and WorkLight’s recent media blitz continued. For these stories and more, see below for the full 13 Israel-related headlines from the week of April 5, 2009.
Cleantech
1. Revolutionary Energy Source Harnessed: Ordinary Walking and Driving Pressures
2. New water splitting technology created
Investments, M&A and Economy
3. ClickSoftware to Acquire Assets of Manchitra Services
4. Israel’s N-trig eyes Nasdaq IPO in late 2010
5. Evergreen raises more for fourth fund
6. Microsoft’s 3DV acquisition a go
Information Technology
7. Xeround’s Yarkoni talks about the cloud, databases and more
8. uTest Defines the Future of Quality Assurance:CEO Interview
9. WorkLight Brings Social Security to the Enterprise
Miscellaneous
10. Google service developed in Israel launched
11. Topify – An Essential Twitter Timesaver
12. Dark Days in Israel’s Tech Sector Drive Rising Executive to the Exit
13. Lightning Warns of Hurricanes’ Most Intense Moments?
15 Israel-related headlines from the week March 22, 2009 (Sarah Lacy TechCrunch Edition)
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Environment, IT management, Industry pulse, Information Technology, Mergers and Acquisitions, VC, Web2.0, virtualization
During the week of March 22, 2009, it was announced that Israel will share its farming technology with Kenya and more details of the government’s water technology initiative, NEWTech were given. The sale of Aladdin Knowledge to Vector Capital was completed with the news that Aladdin and SafeNet were under common management and information security company, Tufin, added new features to its firewall management platform. Facebook became even more stalkerish with a new photo facial recoginition and tagging application by Israel-based Face.com and SEO guru, Barry Schwartz shared what he found Israeli SEMs are looking for. These stories are only some of the main ones that made it into the media last week. For links to these and the rest of the stories from the week of March 22, 2009, check below.
Cleantech and Environment
1. Israel NEWTech, A Government Initiative To Promote And Grow Israeli Water Technology And Innovation
2. Israel to share farming technology with Kenya
Investment and M&A
3. Value of Israeli high-tech M&A fell 19 percent in 2008
4. Funded: GoViral, BriefCam, Extreme Reach (BriefCam)
5. SafeNet, Aladdin Knowledge Under Common Mgmt
Information Technology
6. HP to Provide Compaq My Bhasha with its Desktops
7. New Cyber-Ark controller clocks all super-user activity
8. SkillIQ is set to Revolutionize the Human Resources World
9. Dell Certifies Aternity as ISV Partner
10. Tufin adds white lists to firewall management platform
Miscellaneous
11. Israel’s Explay helps you see the big picture
12. First Look: Photo Finder facial recognition app for Facebook
14. Partnerships between Florida, Israel are key
Bonus: TechCrunch’s Sarah Lacy in Israel and reactions.
Sarah Lacy, August 2008
Last week Twitter and the Web erupted when the newest member of the TechCrunch team, Sarah Lacy, posted that Israeli entrepreneurs lost their mojo and that investing in Israel was overhyped. Here are are just some of the responses to Lacy’s post as well as her post and its follow up.
Now that China Is the New Israel…What’s Israel? (TC)
What’s behind Sarah Lacy trash talking the Israeli VC scene
Israel is the new Israel (Israel Innovation 2.0 response)
Sarah Lacy, David Li and the Wrong Side of Historical Performance
Risk Aversion And The Perils Of Selling Too Early (Israeli Startups, Part II) (TC)
Twitter responds
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