Israel Innovation 2.0

Volkswagon Group, the world’s third largest car manufacturer is looking to Israel for cutting-edge technologies for its cars. Here’s a look at four technologies Volkswagon should consider. Image via Mike Babcock.

Ynet is reporting that the Volkswagon Group, made up of SEAT, Skoda and Lamborghini and others, has hired an Israeli company founded by former minister Yossi Beilin to assist it in its search for Israeli tech companies to work with.

According to the article, Volkswagon, which is the third largest car manufacturer in the world after General Motors and Toyota, is presumably looking at Israeli companies that can help it develop an electric car: “One of the areas in which the technology industries in Israel could aid The Volkswagen Group is in developing the electric car. On Tuesday, Volkswagen announced plans to launch sites around the world to develop electric cars, at an investment of five billion euro.”

Here’s four Israeli technologies that can help Volkswagon with its electric car and other green efforts: continue reading…

The week of December 23, 2007, saw American VC fund, Advanced Technology Ventures start to look for cleantech opportunities in Israel showing that investing in cleantech in Israel will continue to grow in 2008, despite predictions that overall funding to Israeli high-tech industries would remain stagnant in 2008. The week also saw Cepco’s Med-O-Card’s competitor, LifeOnKey end the year by raising $5 million, and sales and deals in Asia continue, among other news. For a full overview of the major headlines related to technology in Israel during the past week, check out these headlines and the rest of this week’s 19 Israel-related technology headlines below.

Cleantech
Advanced Technology Ventures looks for cleantech opportunities in Israel

Foreign companies to take part in new Negev solar power plant tender

Israeli nanotech provides green electricity [VIDEO]

The garden city north of Tel Aviv

IDE to build desalination plant in Australia -paper

Israel’s Ofer Shipping Invests $30M in Electric Car Venture

Investments
Israel’s Lifeonkey Closes $10M To Help You Access Medical Records Via Net/Cell

Code testing co TypeMock raises $1.5m

‘Emerging markets hold the key to Israeli VC success’

Stagnant market may mean trouble for local VCs in 2008

Israel-Asia deals
Israeli company Exalenz Bioscience signs distribution agreements in Korea and Hong Kong

Taiwan, Israel to collaborate on Information Technology, Biotech

Miscellaneous
Four Israeli finalists in the “Crunchies”

WorldMate Live’s Mobile and Web 2.0 Travel Technology Garners Honor from BIRD Foundation

Babylon signs international deal with Google

Israel Mobile Operator Picks Ericsson

Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev is emigrating

Corporate social responsibility attracting more attention

Israel in 2007 has 7.2 million residents

During the week of November 11th, Israel’s technology sector saw AOL purchase its second Israeli company (Yedda) in as many weeks and a slew of interaction between Israeli companies and Asia. Watch the slideshow below for a full overview of the latest in technology news from Israel.

For a larger version, click here

Israel as the first gasoline-free economy sounds pretty far off to anyone who has walked down a major street in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem lately and was showered with soot from an old public transit bus passing by, but it is in the works. Former Israeli whizkid and SAP Chief of Products, Shai Agassi, who left the company in March with plans “to help convert his native Israel and its neighbor Jordan into gasoline-free economies with nationwide electronic transportation systems,” has raised $200 million for his stealth-mode company, Project Better Place to make electric cars and to use existing battery technologies, which are enough to get cars to go about 100 miles before recharging.

According to the news release, the company has received funding from Israel Corp., an Israel-based oil, trade and shipping conglomerate (which invested $100 million), and VantagePoint Venture Partners among others.

This announcement is impressive considering 9 months ago he was still working hard at SAP and talking about plans for SAP to go green. Hear his thoughts on the environment and SAP below in a video interview of him from the World Economic Forum at Davos this past January.