Israel Innovation 2.0

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

Batteries Not Included

Saving energy – one step at a time

Going On A Water Cequesta

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

Red Bend Software ‘Continues to Dominate’ in Firmware Over-the-Air Updates, According to New Ovum Study

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

During the week of February 1, 2009, SemantiNet released a Beta version of its FireFox add-on, Headup to the public and Shai Agassi talked electric cars at TED. Commtouch partnered with MailChannels and promising Israeli startups presented their technologies at the TechAviv meetup in Herziliyya. For these stories and more, check  below for the 13 Israel-related headlines from the week of February 1, 2009. 

Cleantech

1. Israeli startup grabs $5M for distributed solar thermal

2. Shai Agassi talks electric cars at TED

3. I’m Twittering Over Water In Jerusalem

Investment and Economy

4. Local hi-tech companies raise 27% less venture capital

5. Billions flow between Israel, Silicon Valley

6. Some Amazing New Startups (TechAviv)

Information Technology

7. New technology synopsizes video surveillance

8. MailChannels And CommTouch To Bring Premium Spam Filtering To Parrallels Plesk Panel

9. New technology synopsizes video surveillance

10. SemantiNet Announces headup Semantic Web Plugin for Firefox is Immediately Available as Public Beta

Miscellaneous

11. Why I’m heading back to the US

12.  Wanted: Work

13. An Improved Economic Outlook and Low Interest Rates Are Increasing the IT Spending In Israel states New Report

Most news from the week of November 23, 2008 was dwarfed by the terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai, India. The Israel-related technology headlines that did make it through included skepticism for Shai Agassi’s electric car company, Better Place, Magic Software’s new platform application and Israel’s latest Web 2.0 entrant, wePapers.com. For these headlines and more, check out this week’s 12 below.

The week of September 14, 2008 was pretty bleak for the United States and foreign markets worldwide, including Israel. Despite the fluctuations in the world markets and the economy the past few months, there were several positive stories on technology companies and investments coming out of Israel the past week. Word came that Lehman Brothers investments in Israel’s VC market was probably relatively minor, estimated at around $100 million. Animation-site, aniBoom announced its third annual video contest, while a public beta version of KonoLive debuted and Sightix launched at Web 2.0 Expo NYC. For these stories and the rest of the 15 Israel-related technology headlines from last week, check below.

Cleantech
1. Catching up With Shai Agassi

2. Israeli water purification gets boost

Investments and M&A
3. Limited role for Lehman Brothers in Israeli VC market

4. PicApp Selected as Premiere Photo Source for Sports-Targeted Yardbarker Network and Raises $3.2M Led by Carmel Ventures

Information Technology
5. Keller Williams Protects Critical Email Systems with PineApp’s Mail-Secure

6. Chip PC Unveils New Linux-based Thin Client With Policy-Based Management

Virtualization
7. Best of VMworld 2008 awards announced (InstallFree)

8. Voltaire Introduces Certified High-Performance I/O Virtualization Solution for VMware

9. Microsoft U.K. DCOE Picks Shunra Virtual Enterprise WAN Emulation Solution

Web 2.0
10. aniBoom Awards Entries Sought

11. KonoLive Debuts Public Beta at Web 2.0 Expo

12. Flixwagon Launches New Platform

13. Sightix launches at Web 2.0 Expo NYC

Miscellaneous
14. Advasense Successfully Develops 1.4-Micron Pixel for CMOS Image Sensors

15. Discretix Partners With castLabs to Offer Combined OMA BCAST Mobile TV Client/Server Solution

16. HP unit reaches out to Israeli start-ups

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.

*About the Weekly Headlines image: The Star of David in the image was found on Flickr and is used under the Creative Commons license. It was originally uploaded by Flickr member, zeevveez. The overall Weekly Headlines image was designed by Lisa Damast.

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

News
Last week, Gemini Israel Funds made the news as one of several investors who contributed to the new Israeli solar-energy start up that raised $9 million in funding, XJet, Ltd (see my post). For Gemini Israel Funds, the investment marks the second cleantech start up that it has added to its portfolio since August and signifies a new importance the company is putting on the future of cleantech.

Company Overview

Gemini Israel Funds was the first Israeli VC fund to be established from the Israeli government’s Yozma program in 1993 after Israel high-tech and VC pioneer, Ed Mlavsky, agreed to manage the fund. According to Gemini’s website, over the years, Gemini has focused on seed and early fund investments in areas of Communications such as Wireless Technologies, Enterprise Software, Internet, Consumer Electronics and Semiconductors, investing in companies such as RADLive, WeFi, Inc, IXI Mobile Inc, Adap.TV, Triana Inc, and OpTier Inc. Gemini has offices in Israel and Silicon Valley and manages funds totaling $550 million.

Analysis: Sun only beginning to shine on investing in Israel’s cleantech sector

While cleantech still isn’t a top priority for Gemini (it currently only has two cleantech companies in its portfolio), its recent cleantech investments have placed Gemini as a serious leader in cleantech venture capital community in Israel — an area that is picking up steam with the coverage that companies such as XJet, Ltd and Project Better Place have been getting lately and the latest news that Al Gore has become a partner in the VC firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byerswill (KPCB) and will help the company find and invest in start-ups globally (including Israel).

Despite any potential future interest by KPCB, as more Israeli and international VC firms become active in Israel cleantech in the future, Gemini is poised to be little affected given its approach and its founding partner and Chairman, Ed Mlavsky.

According to a company self-description, “Gemini’s key contributions include an ability to make daring investment decisions and the capability to utilize past operational experience in assisting portfolio companies.” The firm’s willingness and ability to make “daring investment decisions,” is a direct influence of Mlavsky.

Since his days at Tyco in the 1960s, Mlavsky has always embraced new technologies and has taken risks with them. While at Tyco (which he co-founded) he initiated the development and commercialization of a “novel photovoltaic technology” that he later oversaw as Executive Vice President of joint-venture Mobil Tyco Solar Energy Corporation. Risks such as that led Tyco to become the $40 billion company that it is today (and Gemini to have $550 million in funds). As such, it can be assumed that his attitude is what has sparked Gemini’s early entrance into cleantech. Additionally, his experience (and solar-energy expertise) fulfills Gemini’s “capability to utilize past operational experience in assisting portfolio companies” in cleantech, which, presumably, also gives the company a bit of a one up in the experience department over other Israeli VC firms entering cleantech.

However, although the cleantech industry is poised for great success, it is still a fledgling area and requires many obstacles to be lifted before any company will become a major global player and give Gemini and other VC firms the returns that they expect. Analysts predict that since this is a new area, big payoffs and mature cleantech startups aren’t likely for several years.

This may take even longer as it is very unlikely that in the near future any cleantech start-up will be able to expand its market-share significantly in major markets such as the United States and China due to a lack of government incentives and payoffs in the former, and lax regulations in the latter. As both governments become increasingly pressured to make these changes, though, and even more opportunities open up, Gemini’s business acumen should ensure that its cleantech companies will meet its expectations and eventually provide it with a nice ROI.

Additional Resources
Adap.tv
Overview of Gemini
Opportunities in Television
OpTier

Company Blogs
Ed Mlavsky: GOLB
Tali Aben
Daniel Cohen
Sagi Rubin
Ouriel Ohayon

The week of November 4th Israel’s technology sector saw Shai Agassi’s Project Better Place pick up steam and AOL buy Quigo. Along the way, the high-tech sector received estimates that it would break $32 billion in revenues in 2010 and produced a breakthrough in cellphone security technology. For details and more, check out this week’s slideshow. (Now with convenient section headers: State of Israel Technology, Companies raise funds, Busy week for Telecomunications, M&A Talk, and additional Headlines to Consider.)

For a larger version, click the box,

The latest Israeli start-up to enter the cleatntech boom is XJet Ltd. The Globes is reporting that the company, currently operating in stealth mode, has raised $9 million from Gemini Israel Funds, Swiss investment fund Good Energies, Taiwanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer Spirox and private investors. The company will focus on solar cell cost efficiency to help reduce costs and improve production.

It will be interesting to see which companies XJet, Ltd, will work with, specifically how many of them will be Israeli companies and how many projects will be done in Israel. While Israel still has a high dependency on fossil fuels for energy, a day when Israel is no longer reliant on it seems more conceivable lately with solar advancements such as this, Shai Agassi’s Project Better Place and other recent cleantech advancements.

What are some economic benefits of using solar energy in Israel? According to an article on RenewableEnergyAccess.com a Greenpeace report presented to Israel’s Ministry of Infrastructure in 2005 estimated that solar power stations in Israel could provide:
- a profit of NIS 810 million annually
- 5,000 new jobs
- and, solidify Israel’s position as a world leader in the export of renewable technology to help combat climate change.

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.