What is keeping women out of technology in Israel?
Filed under: Industry pulse, New Ideas, Science, Uncategorized, Web2.0, technology
Earlier this year I posted an entry about the lack of women in technology that included some of the famous women who contributed to technology and some of the causes that prevent women from studying fields related to technology or having a career in technology and connected all this to Israel.
I’ve been waiting for a good time to post the follow up, and was going to post it back in June after Roi Carthy of TechCrunch mentioned, but didn’t cover, the question in his post about three of Israel’s most-promising female entrepreneurs and then again last month after Ada Yonath won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, thus becoming the first Israeli woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first woman since 1964 to win one in chemistry, but wasn’t able to either of those times.
Fortunately, Boris’s post “What is keeping women out of technology?“ on The Next Web today has given me another opportunity to post this. He suggests that considering the 50/50 male/female attendance he recently saw at a networking event and the 44% women who read The Next Web but how few of them comment, fewer women are in tech compared to men because women miss important phone calls and never bring their business cards with them.
These are interesting points that can perhaps take women out of technology but they are not the main factors. How many of the women at the networking event or who read The Next Web are actually on the tech side of technology and not just the marketing or journalism side? How many of them have backgrounds in science, math, computers or engineering?
The problem is that women first need to be interested in technology and pursue that path. Even if they are interested in math, science, technology when they are younger, women face a lot of social pressures as they grow older that challenge their pursuit and ultimately result in many abandoning these areas.
In her dissertation “Women in the Land of Milk, Honey and Hi-Technology: The Israeli Case,” Ronit Kark takes an in-depth look at Israeli society and the underlying dynamics that are preventing more women from going into technology, engineering and science in Israel.
The reasons that Kark gives for why women are being kept out of technology in Israel include: the high school education and military service of women, familialism and motherhood in Israel and the role of the Hebrew language.
Taking this further, based on my first post and Boris’s, while Boris is planning to teach his two daughters PHP when they are old enough, he should also make sure that they gain the self-confidence to go along with those skills. Real encouragement is also one of the things we can all do to get more women in technology.
Note: Major thanks to Guy Tessler of the American Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Southeast Region who pointed out Kark’s study to me.
The future of media and technology now: Media Innovation Lab at IDC
I recently met Daniel Shein of the Media Innovation Lab (miLAB) during Jeff Pulver’s Breakfast in Tel Aviv. Shein told me about the different research going on at miLAB and the projects he is working on in specific. In this video he gives a brief overview of miLab and one of his projects.
A little more on the Media Innovation Lab, according to miLAB’s website,
“The Media Innovation Lab at IDC Herzliya (miLAB) is a research and prototyping lab that explores the future of media and technology; Through a collaborative creative process new concepts for media experiences are transformed into working prototypes.”
Several of its projects are in collaboration with other research labs around the world, including MIT’s Media Lab. Some current miLAB projects include a study on the “Media in Context”, answering “How does the context of use influence a media experience? What types of context have a stronger influence than others?”; Urban Insights, a social-computerized system that more accurately connects you to the help you need; and ARG’s, a lab experiment in which the lines between “real and virtual, true and false” are blurred.
In addition to the website, more information on miLAB and these projects is available on the miLAB channel on YouTube.
Why TechAviv and technology in general lacks women (Part 1)
Filed under: Industry pulse, Information Technology, Israeli Websites, Uncategorized, Web2.0, technology
TechAviv, a global group for hi-tech Israeli entrepreneurs, had its first meeting of 2009 at the Inter-Disciplinary College (IDC) in Herzilyya last night. During the event, which was only open to Israeli entrepreneurs, representatives from Outbrain, 2Pad and Boxee spoke about their companies. The event was streamed live over the Internet on the TechAviv website. Watching part of the event online, the most interesting thing for me was noticing that out of all who attended the event, there was not one woman in the audience.
Sadly, this isn’t very surprising. Of the hundreds of Israeli companies that I have become familiar with in the past year and a half, the only company that I can think of that was started by a woman is eSnips (founded by Yael Elish and her then-husband). This isn’t just in Israel though and it’s not limited to just women starting companies in technology.
I started planning this entry back in November after Charlene Li, the former Forrester Senior Analyst, posted on her blog about the shortage of women speakers at technology industry events. (In it she mentioned that though there are few women in tech to begin with, there are fewer women who can make the time commitments required for conferences due to familial responsibility.)
My intention at the time was to answer the questions, “Where are the women?” “Why aren’t women in hi-tech?” and “Are women less innovative than men?” Questions that were also brought up today on Twitter in an interesting discussion between @TechAviv (Yaron Samid), @OurielOhayon, @israluv (Ahuvah Berger) and others about the lack of female entrepreneurs in Israel in relation to last night’s event.
The following are a few ideas based on what I found when I did preliminary research a few months ago on these topics.
Regarding the last question first, statistically it would certainly appear that men are more innovative than women. Go to any conference (in the United States) on technology and there will be few women speakers and only a few more in the audience. The biggest female entrepreneur in tech that comes to my mind is Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, while when I think of men, several come to mind (Steve Jobs for example). In Israel, though Yael Elish is the only female tech entrepreneur I can think of, two of the biggest bloggers/consultants I can think of in the Web 2.0 space, are female: Ayelet Noff of Blonde 2.0 and Orli Yakuel of Go2Web2.
Steve Jobs
In an online search I conducted on major scientific breakthroughs of the past 200 years that were made by women, About.com seemed to have the best list that was solely of female inventors. It includes:
- Randice-Lisa Altschul (invented the world’s first disposable cell phone)
- Mary Anderson (invented the windshield wiper)
- Marie Curie (discovered radium and furthered x-ray technology)
- Ada Lovelace (wrote a scientific paper in 1843 that anticipated the development of computer software artificial intelligence and computer music)
- Krisztina Holly (Co-invented the telephony software called Visual Voice)
- and Bette Nesmith Graham (invented liquid paper, also known as White-Out™).
In addition, the CS (computer science) department at Yale University has a list of women who contributed to CS that includes:
- Alexandra Illmer Forsythe (During the 1960’s and 1970’s, she co-authored a series of textbooks on computer science, published by Wiley & Sons and Academic Press, including the first textbook written in CS.)
- Erna Schneider Hoover (She invented a computerized switching system for telephone traffic, to replace existing hard-wired, mechanical switching equipment. For this ground-breaking achievement — the principles of which are still used today — she was awarded one of the first software patents ever issued in 1971 ).
From these lists, it is clear that women too have invented things throughout the past 200 years, but not in significant numbers and none at the level of fame or being as prolific as men such as Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney or Henry Ford.
Ford Model T
Since the 1990s, psychologists have conducted several research studies on what the reasons are for why there are fewer female innovators than male ones.
One reason psychologists have found is that women perform lower in math when conscious of gender stereotypes and get turned off that way. Another study explains that young women tend to avoid careers in math, science and engineering “because they view science as a solitary rather than a social occupation” and uninteresting. Instead many are in public relations, education and psychology. The main theory that has been presented in recent years is based on the amount of confidence given by parents and teachers in these areas- “the self-confidence instilled by parents and teachers is more important for young girls learning math and science than their initial interest.”
Now that there is proof that males and females have equal cognitive abilities for math, incentives and programs are more actively being put in place to change female perceptions and stimulate more interest among them in math and science. Through these there should be changes seen in the near future of a new generation of new generation female inventors/entrepreneurs.
Regarding what can be done in Israel, going back to the TechAviv and the Twitter discussion, Yaron Samid suggested that Israeli entrepreneurs start an Israeli female entrepreneur group. I think going beyond that group, a national program or wider organization should be created that nurtures women’s interest in science from at least high school age and provides resources to them and older women.
What do you think should be done in Israel?
Update: January 11, 2009 – Joel Katz has notified me that in a video taken by Oren Todoros of SeoVice at TechAviv last week, there are at least two women. You can view the video on seovice.com.
Israel’s fastest growing software companies in 2008
Filed under: Business Intelligence, Data Storage, Defense Technology, Industry pulse, Information Technology, Internet Security, Software, Uncategorized, data security, technology
In early November, Deloitte Brightman Almagor Zohar, a professional services firm under the interational Deloitte brand in Israel, released its annual list of Israel’s top 50 fastest growing technology companies for 2008 based on percentage revenue growth over a five-year period. Sixteen software companies ranging from security to finance to storage made the list. Below is the top 10 software companies on the list (all in the top 30) and a little more about them. Will you be using any of these companies’s technologies in 2009?
GigaSpaces Technologies
GigaSpaces Technologies was founded in 2000 and offers an alternative to traditional application-servers for Java and .Net environments. Its eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) allows businesses and developers to easily scale and improve performance at low cost while leveraging virtual environments such as clouds and grids. Its customers include DowJones, Virgin Mobile, Bank Leumi and Webster.
Commtouch Software
Founded in 1991, Commtouch develops software to protect e-mail by offering spam and Zero-Hour™ virus outbreak protection. Its anti-spam solutions feature its Recurrent Pattern Detection (RPD) technology and have been licensed by over 80 security and messaging vendors and providers including Aladdin, Check Point, Fujitsu and LG N-Sys
Red Bend software
Red Bend Software is considered to be a market leader in Mobile Software Management and Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA) update solutions. Founded in 1999, Red Bend Software offers solutions that give phone users more control over what software components they want on their phones while also increasing the data service revenues of phone carriers. The main solutions include firmware updates, software component updates and data management.
El Far Electronics Systems 2000
Founded in 1986, El Far is the longest-established software company on the list and the lone defense company. El Far provides defense security systems offering integrated software for site management and decision making support. Its Integer software can be used for managing anything from access control systems to fire alarms to infra red sensors.
InfoGin
InfoGin was founded in 2000 by Eran Wyler after he foresaw the “need for surfing the real Internet on any mobile device.” Over the years, InfoGin has become a leader in “Web-to-mobile content adaptation, enabling mobile users to access any Web site they desire, optimized to their mobile device.” The company’s Internet Mobile Platform (IMP) technology is currently being implemented by several major companies, including Virgin Mobile (UK) and MapQuest.
Actimize
Around since 1999 and a NICE Systems Ltd. company since 2007, Actimize is a transactional risk management software company offering solutions in anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, and brokerage compliance. Its technology includes the Risk Case Manager, Visual Modeler and Analytics Server.
Modelity Technologies Inc.
Established in 2000, Modelity Technologies offers a financial modeling and portfolio analytics platform for financial institutions, such as banks and insurance companies, to stay competitive and improve their performance. Its products include Modelity/Advisor, Modelity/Funds and Modelity/Structures.
FibroLAN
Since 1996, FibroLAN has developed integrated fiber-optic broadband access systems that allow organizations in the corporate and carrier markets that are dispersed over metropolitan areas access to the Internet and their Intranets at fast speeds. Its MA and MetroStar technologies both provide the benefit of low-cost remote management. MetroStar has been used by Telstra and the Los Angeles MTA.
Discretix Technologies
Discretix was founded in 2000 and is the largest single company in the world dedicated to embedded security. Focusing on consumer electronics products that are portable, such as mobile phones and mp3 players, Discretix offers additional security solutions for them that manufacturers can’t provide due to limited resources. Its main products, CryptoCell and CryptoFlash are deployed by major manufacturers such as SonyEricsson, Motorola, Samsung and SanDisk.
Exanet
Founded in 2000, Exanet is a data storage solutions company offering enterprise companies the latest processing technology that is scalable in capacity and performance, with low cost of ownership. Its product, ExaStore 2008 holds the world record for storage performance and its customers include BBC, Stanford University, and the National Library of France.
Is Israel poised to come out on top after a severe economic downturn? (Part 1)
The 12th annual Israel Journey took place yesterday in Tel Aviv. Organized by Ernst & Young and Globes, the conference provided VCs, investors, entrepreneurs and others in the industry with an update on the current economy and what is likely still to come during the different sessions.
Pessimism and optimism were discouraged throughout the event and realism was preached – a reality that the keynote speaker, Harry S. Dent explained would be grim not for 2009, but for the time period after that. Dent, a renowned economist and writer, illustrated through his trademark heavy use of charts how the best indicators for what will happen to the economy in the next few years and over a much longer period of time comes from lifecycle spending charts and the birth index, among others. While it provides some comfort to understand why there is a slowdown and that things will eventually pick up, the time frame that Dent gave, 2020-2020, extends the period longer than expected and marks 2010-2012 as likely to resemble a depression.
After the darkness of a depression and the 2010s in general though, Dent showed charts on innovation predictions and predicted that if Israel, which has been an innovation hotbed in recent years and has a positive population growth chart, plays its cards right, it can come out of a worldwide economic downturn ahead of the other developing countries. While A LOT needs to happen and not to happen for that to be a
reality, Israel’s innovation and leadership in such areas as robotics,
nanotech and cleantech, makes it a relatively strong possibility.
Whether or not Dent’s forecasts turn out to be true, it’s almost certain that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for many of Israel’s innovative companies, even if Israel won’t come out on top.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.
Your mobile device probably uses Discretix’s embedded security technology (Interview with Jacob Greenblatt)
Filed under: Information Technology, data security, technology
It’s no secret that mobile devices are experiencing a period of exponential growth. We already know that there are over 3 billion mobile accounts in use around the world and such growth will continue for the foreseeable future. Driving this trend is the improvement in features and applications offered on mobile devices, and their diminishing physical size. The iPhone has become an instant hit and is expected to sell 10 million by the end of this year. It is currently open to 3rd party application installations and by year’s end or early next year, Google’s Android, a mobile OS also open to developers, will also be released for mobile devices.
Third party applications may seem to offer the perfect opening for security breaches and to be a nightmare for any IT professional whose company has employees using smartphones or other mobile devices, but manufacturers and outside companies are working hard to assure that they are safe. While mobile device manufacturers primarily take care of the security protection themselves they are getting help from third party manufacturers, such as the not-so-small Israeli embedded security solutions company, Discretix.
I recently had the chance to interview Discretix’s Director of Corporate Strategy, Jacob Greenblatt, to discuss what exactly the company does to help secure mobile devices, what the trends in mobile security are and where the company sees itself and the industry in 5 years time.
LD: Can you give a brief background about what your company does?
JG: Sure. Discretix was founded in 2000 and is the largest single company in the world dedicated to embedded
security. It focuses on consumer electronics products that are portable, such as mobile phones and mp3 players. Most mobile devices have limited resources due to the cost and as a result, a lot of memory can’t necessarily be deployed. We provide security that meets the price point of the device. We are an INC 500 company and are one of the fastest growing private companies in North America. We own 33% of the market and have 100 employees. Manufacturers that include our security solutions on their devices include, SonyEricsson, Motorola, Samsung, Panasonic, SanDisk and a variety of other chip makers.
What are your main products?
Our two main products are CryptoCell and CryptoFlash. CryptoCell targets the mobile device market, such as smartphones, by securing all components of the device and its applications. CryptoFlash is for flash memory products, such as USB flash drives, mp3 players and ipods, and secures those components.
How are you funded?
To date we have raised 30 million in VC funding from Sequoia Capital, Pitango and Genesis.
Who is your main competition?
Our main competition is internally developed solutions from in-house teams dedicated to security and commercial companies. We also face competition from SafeNet which is US-based and the Department of Defense.
The increasing popularity of third party add-ons for mobile devices such as the iPhone, has been accompanied by a new host of threats and concerns among information security professionals. What specific threats do third party add-on applications pose?
In a mobile phone, the operating environment can be exposed to threats from third-party downloads that the user accepted. If it infects the device, it can prevent the user from making calls and the phone operator loses money. On the other side, if a user can’t make calls, then it can’t serve as a phone, and is frustrating for the user who needs to communicate. Rogue applications that are downloaded can alter certain areas of the phone, however, Discretix’s embedded security provides a secure execution environment, in which applications are executed in a restricted area and can’t stray. In a sense, it is in a bulletproof operating environment.
What are some of the current trends in mobile security?
Security is being included on more and more devices. We started out
securing mobile phones, but have expanded to new markets, such as
gaming, GPS and flash memory, to help them meet their security
requirements. We are also seeing more sub terrains. People are
downloading applications in a more open environment and new solutions
need to address that.
There is also a heightened awareness against
device cloning, where a competing manufacturer will clone software onto
their device. In gaming, there is a desire on behalf of the the manufacturer and developers to prevent reproduction. They are also
driving their customers online to build a relationship with them and to offer them
promos. While they want to validate the gamer’s identity, security is
needed to do that successfully.
How will the current economic climate help or hurt Discretix sales?
Given the current state of the world’s economy, mobile phone manufacturers feel the pressure to cut back. Making a phone usually costs $100 and companies are responding in different ways. Motorola, which has experienced massive losses, is finding outsourcing security solutions to be effective, while Nokia is outsourcing its chip development. Overall, the current economy is offering compelling reasons for mobile device manufacturers to come to us as an outsourced solution.
What can we expect Discretix to look like in 5 years from now?
In 5 years from now we expect to be a security vendor for the new age of mobile devices and have company offerings for multiple markets. We would like to have hardware, middleware and software offerings and more application reach, looking to the development of security applications themselves, which would utilize the underlying infrastructure.
About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.
10 Israel-related technology headlines from the week of May 4, 2008 (special Israel at 60 edition)
Filed under: Cleantech, Company Briefs, Telecomunications, VC, technology
During the week of May 4, 2008, Israel turned 60 and a few technology companies announced that they will be featured “Enterprises of Tomorrow” during the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow taking place on May 13 to May 15, 2008. The Conference has been organized by Israeli President Shimon Peres and, as the title implies, will focus on the future.
Twenty-seven dignitaries including President Bush and former Prime Minister of England, Tony Blair, will be on hand for the event, as will several tech luminaries, including Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin; and Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Yossi Vardi, perhaps Israel’s greatest entrepreneur, is the Director of Science and Technology Track for the Conference and will lead one of the panels.
In anticipation for the Conference, which I will be attending on May 15th, this post as well as others to come this week will be in relation to the Conference, Israel’s 60th and technology, and the 60 “Enterprises of Tomorrow.” To get started, here are 10 headlines, mainly from the past week of May 4, 2008, that relate to some of Israel’s “Enterprises of Tomorrow.”
modu at the Presidential Conference
Israel Cleantech Ventures closes $75m debut fund
Project Better Place debuts electric car
Comsys Selected as ‘Enterprise of Tomorrow’
to Feature at Israeli Presidential Conference
Updated fring version for iPhone (pre-release v. 0.9785)
Israel startup developing software system to identify terrorists
Camero Launches Handheld “Through-Wall Vision” Product
C-true Imaging – “Your Face is your key”
About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net. She can also be followed on Twitter, where she covers additional Israeli technology companies and Israel-related headlines and topics.
N-trig raises funds to continue developing pen and touch technology
Israeli company, N-trig has successfully raised $28 million from venture capitalist firms, Canaan Partners and Evergreen
Venture Partners, among other investors, in its latest fund-raising round and will use part of it to further develop its advanced pen and touch technology.
N-trig is best known as the provider of DuoSense™
technology that “combines pen and zero-pressure touch for mobile computers
into a single device.” According to the N-trig website,
N-trig provides a
true hands-on computingTM experience, by enabling OEMs and ODMs to provide innovative
new technology for the next generation of mobility by making notebook
PCs more mobile, productive, user-friendly, natural, and intuitive to
use. DuoSense is easily integratable and supports any type of LCD,
giving OEMs and ODMs more flexibility.
N-trig’s DuoSense is also “enabling new market opportunities in gaming and
multimedia.”
N-trig is currently working very closely with computer and mobile manufacturers on developing new products that utilize DuoSense technology. IT professionals who make laptop purchase recommendations and decisions in their companies and have demands for such technology can consider Dell’s recently launched Latitude XT Tablet PC for now and keep an eye out for similar products with N-trig’s DuoSense technology in the future.
Company Facts
Founded in 1999.
Dr. Meir Morag, Founder and President.
Amihai Ben-David, CEO.
Products: Touch and Pen Digitizer.
Website: www.n-trig.com.
Related entries:
Companies in brief: 26 Israel-related technology headlines from the week of December 9, 2007
About the author: Lisa Damast is the Membership
Manager of ebizQ.net and currently resides in Israel. Any questions or
inquiries regarding this blog or ebizQ membership services can be
directed to her via email at ldamast (at) ebizq (dot) net.
Coming soon: Your next game console innovated by Israeli sensor technology
According to a news release from Amazon.com, the Nintendo Wii topped the 2007 Video Games list of “bestselling products,” “most positively reviewed,” and “most-wished-for.” This domination isn’t surprising as the game console’s innovative remote sensor provides users with the most realistic gaming experience on the market by giving users the opportunity to just “wave, point, rumble and listen”.
While it is likely that in 2008, the Nintendo Wii will continue to hold its ground and gain more, two Israeli companies, Prime Sense and 3DV Systems are at the forefront of the next revolution in motion sensing and gaming and intend to challenge the success of the Wii in the next few years.
Both companies have developed motion and depth sensors that can turn a 2D gaming experience into a more interactive 3D one, without having to use a controller. They were also both present at the CES conference that unveils the latest consumer electronic technology last week and have been competing for deals with major gaming console companies, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to use their technology.
Before the CES conference, VC Cafe blogger, Eze Vidra predicted that 3DV Systems would be a company that would garner a lot of media coverage at the event. He was right. At the CES show, 3DV Systems had an interactive booth that showcased its relatively inexpensive and recently released, ZCam. Anyone passing by the booth at the event, including media members, had the opportunity to interact with it or watch others do so.
Aside from gaming, 3DV Systems and Prime Sense have plans to apply their technologies to other fields that can benefit from advanced real-time sensor technologies, such as automotive-safety, security and robotics. In the next few years, look for the 3DV Systems or Prime Sense brand to be part of your virtual reality experience in gaming and any of these other fields.
Coming Soon: Your entire medical history on a USB card (Interview with Gil Pollanz of CEPCO)
When you go to the doctor’s office, ever wish that your doctor actually had your full medical history, including what medications can and can’t be prescribed to you?
The Med-O-Card, an impressive USB card the size of a credit card, intends to make that wish come true. Created by Israeli health management company, CEPCO Holding Ltd., the Med-O-Card is an alternative to having a centralized medical information system for patients histories. Cepco, short for CEntral Patient COmmunication, is already providing this technology to the NAV Virchow Bund, a major doctors’ association in Germany, and is in talks with other health care groups around the world, including the U.S., to make this technology available to everyone.
I recently had the chance to ask Cepco founder and Chairman, Gil (Gunter) Pollanz, a few questions about this revolutionary new technology that’s coming to you soon.
Can you give a brief background about what your company does?
The company was started seven years ago to collect data in structured form so that individuals could have access to the same information and software quality as hospitals and medical practices have. We originally created web-based patient portals to hold this information. Today, our Med-O-Card allows for the storage of not just data that would be in a file usually, but also the installation of an entire operating system with software that can act on a hospital information system and will be offered to health care providers for their patients.
You have an interesting story about how you came up with the idea for this company, can you explain?
I am an economist and lawyer by profession and consider myself pretty active in sports. I didn’t think health was an issue for me because I was active. However, 11 years ago doctors found cancer in my lymph nodes. I was given a few weeks to survive and the option of taking a medicine that would destroy 99% of my immune system and would give me a 30% chance of surviving only. After doing my own research, I decided to reject hospital treatment and managed to survive.
About a year after the diagnosis, when I realized I was still here, I decided to create a firm which deals exclusively with providing a technical way to have data and information available at the moment when catastrophe strikes, if it is needed. That’s when I created this company.
Are you solely based in Israel?
We are based in Hod HaSharon, but part of our team is in Germany as well.
What’s the background of Cepco’s funding?
I started this company using $1 million from my family business. Now that we are working with health funds in Switzerland and the United States, any production costs is beyond our financial means though.
What type of funding are you currently looking for?
We’re currently looking for two stages. The first stage is seed money to finance the trials and tests in Germany and the second stage we need money for the launch. For the first stage we need about 1.5 million euro and for the second stage we need about 3 million euro. Once we’ve proven the need for this product, there’s a good chance investors can exit with 10 times the amount that was put in.
What’s the Med-O-Card’s advantage over other solutions?
Using Walletex’s USB storage card technology, the Med-O-Card has a technical unique advantage over other solutions. It looks like a credit card or any other card you might have in your wallet and can have ID information on it like but it also functions as a storage card that can hold one to 8 gigabyte of data and can have an entire operating system on it like a computer.
Using this technology, we rewrote the entire software for the Web portal system that we created, and the card is able to act on hospital information system. For a patient it allows input of data in a structured form. It provides a diagnostic health database for any country in the world and can combine different information to create on the card an instant high-tech risk analysis of a patient, including what prescription medications conflict with each other.
What are some other benefits of having the card?
The card has three major benefits. The first is that it is a storage card and not just a “smart card.” As such, this allows for the storage of all the necessary data, and instant access to vital information for the doctor and/or patient. The second is that most medical data is on large servers that make it hard for patients and doctors to easily access or meaningfully analyze and the information is vulnerable to serious security breaches. This card was designed to prevent any security breaches and as a decentralized method, it decreases those risks as well. The third benefit is that with the card in your wallet, it makes the patient an active knowledgeable partner to the health care system and gives the patient more control over their health care.
How much should individuals expect to pay for the card once it is on the market?
In Germany, patients on participating plans should expect to pay 4 euro a month for the card.
For more information on the Med-O-Card, check the Cepco Homepage.
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