Israel Innovation 2.0

Much attention in the news was paid to Israel’s operation in Gaza during the week of December 28, 2009, including to online technology related to it. Different Israeli government branches, from the IDF to Israeli Consulates in the U.S., began to leverage popular social media tools, such as blogs, YouTube and Twitter, to explain the purpose of Israel’s operation and its objectives, while supporters around the world used the same mediums and others, such as Facebook, to show their support for Israel and its troops. During the week it also became clear that the conflict wouldn’t be bound to physical operations as several Israeli sites became the targets of cyberterrorism.

Despite the conflict, there was plenty of news of unrelated innovations coming from Israel. Funds were raised and contracts were signed in Israel’s IT and cleantech sectors and announcements of foreign companies opening R&D offices were made. Not all the news that wasn’t related to the conflict was good though. For all these stories and more, check out this week’s special edition of Israel-related headlines from the week of December 28, 2008 below.

Israel-Hamas Conflict (Technology side)

1. Israeli news site down, blames cyber attack

2. Muslim hackers attack Israeli websites as Gaza strikes continue

3. Israel Backed by Army of Cyber-Soldiers

4. War sickens me, but I stand with Israel (HelpUsWin*)

5. The Big War You Never Hear Much About

6. Israeli Consulate to tweet about Gaza war

Cleantech

7. Israel’s SolarEdge Raises $23M to Crush Shady Solar

8. BrightSource Energy signs contract with Siemens for solar-powered generator

Investments and deals

9. 2009: Year of the survival of the fittest

10. Bluephoenix Announces Multi-Million Dollar Modernization Contract With a Large Scandinavian Bank

11. Intrinsyc Signs Soleus Licensing Agreement With ODM for Industrial PDA and LBS Phone
12. Oy Vey! Israeli VCs Exceptionally Gloomy on 2009

Information Technology

13. HCL opens office in Israel

14. Invention: Software research assistant

15. EMC continues to move forward

Miscellaneous

16. The American Idol for blogging superstars

17. One to Watch: Tvinci

18. Israeli’s documentary is drawing wide acclaim

19. MyHeritage Makes Family History Research Easier With Launch Of Family Tree Builder 3

20. Crude oil rises after Israeli attacks on Gaza roil Middle East

Israel Innovation 2.0 content related to Israel-Hamas conflict

21. Direct from the streets of Gaza… and Israel. How TechCrunch UK’s post could have read regarding UGC

22. Cyberterrorism against Israeli and American sites: How to Stay Secure

Video from IDF Spokeperson’s Unit TouTube Channel (Capt. Benjamin Rutland on the ground forces entering Gaza on 3 Jan. 2009)

*HelpUsWin is an online grassroots campaign helping to ensure that international coverage of the Campaign Against Hamas is balanced. To learn more about it or how you can become involved, please check out the HelpUsWin website.

Last night, at the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum (which I co-organize), I had the opportunity to hear Orna Berry — a Gemini Israel Funds Venture Partner and the Israel Venture Association (IVA) Chairperson — give an overview of the VC process and discuss what VCs can offer Israeli businesses.

During the Q&A session, I asked her if she agreed with her Gemini colleague, Daniel Cohen’s Op-Ed in VentureBeat last fall that explained why Israeli companies that have been founded in recent years don’t reach their full potential and beyond, and if she thought that despite the current climate, there are companies that can reach the Nokia-level.

Her response was that she did agree with Daniel Cohen, but she only gave examples of successful companies that were established before the creation of VC funds in Israel, such as Comverse and Amdocs. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to follow up with her about this after the meeting and so, I am still left wondering, do any Israeli companies founded in the past 10 years have the potential to grow into a Nokia or Google and, if so, which?

I have set up a poll below with four Israeli companies that I have covered in recent months that seem to be very promising. Which one, if any, do you think can make it?
 

Think a different Israeli company not in the poll is more promising. Share your opinion in the comments below.

Related ITGumbo content:
People information and networking… Shouldn’t the next big thing be from Israel?
Company in Focus: Red Bend Software
Company in Focus: Gemini Israel Funds
Company in Focus: Voltaire, Ltd.

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.

During the week of December 2nd, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems announced commitments to furthering technological advancements in Israel and TVinci’s success with MTV Israel had TechCrunch raving about its smooth, aesthetically-pleasing user interface. Startups raised funds and cleantech kept up its steady media presence as it did during the week of November 26th. Here’s 25 news headlines from the past week that can impact your present and future business investments.

Funds raised and M&A:
Start-up DensBits raises up to $10m

Medgenics raises ₤3.3m in AIM IPO

Hilan Tech buys IT consulting firm

Oridian to be acquired by India’s Ybrant

UK firm buys Ester Neurosciences in $30m deal

Funding Roundup: Solar, Fuel Cells, Batteries Score Cash

Cleantech:
Israel fights world’s oil addiction by going green

Israeli startup develops ambitious plant to rid the world of waste

Canadian cleantech foundation CEO to visit

Israel Ingenuity: Interview with Meir Ukeles of Cleantech Israel Ventures

Delegation and International recognition:
3 Israeli Companies Top The EMEA 500 Fastest Growing Technology Companies List!

InSightec Selected as a 2008 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer

Japanese business leaders to visit Israel

Internet, TV and WiMax:
ICQ founders in interactive TV venture

Tvinci Makes MTV Israel Rock So Much Harder Than MTV.com

Israelis among world leaders in Internet usage

AdsONScreen seeks to add to TV marketing options

France Telecom, Alvarion team up on WiMAX venture

Miscellaneus:
Microsoft joins forces with Israel to educate people for the future

Media firms seek Homeless

Alvarion in talks with France Telecom

Matrix, Leading Israeli IT Company, Will Commence Pilot of BENEFIT CRM System

Sun Expands Discount Program To U.K, Israeli Startups

Israel’s technology exports hit by rising materials costs

Mobileye Advanced Vehicle Technologies Power Volvo Car’s Driver Alert Control (DAC) System

Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web, recently mentioned in his blog that social networking on the Web is providing people with the opportunity to share data about themselves and things related to them for the interest of others (i.e., for connecting to others). He explains though that the popularity of these social networks hide the reality of people using these closed sites not for the sites themselves but for the opportunities and connections that they provide them.

For those who aren’t familiar with Israeli society, it tends to pride itself on giving advice and having connections (protexia). The connection of people and information are strong values that are practically innate in Israelis and has probably contributed to Israel’s high-tech sector being very active in the Web 2.0 phenomena — so active, that I have been thinking ever since Daniel Cohen’s Israei Nokia article that if all these Israeli companies were pooled, Israel could have countered Google or created its own Facebook.

Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier said than done or even fully imagined. However, with Berners-Lee talking about the Giant Global Graph and the need to transcend the limits of the current social networking graph, maybe there is still the chance that Israel will build the next big networking phenomena. Israeli companies just have to think outside the box of the Web and the set up of social networks as we know it.

For anyone who wants to get started on this, here’s a list of some of the top Israeli Web 2.0 companies that offer interactive services that if were combined in a new way, I think could create the next big thing:

Fun:
Aniboom- Users can create animated clips, post clips, view clips here, and based on the popularity of content that you post, you have the chance to make some money as well.

Metacafe- A user-driven video-sharing site that shows only entertaining short clips that is first reviewed by users before it gets posted on the site. Program creators of the most popular content get paid.

BlogTV- For anyone who has something to share via video. This gives you the chance to create your own live channel on anything you want.

Search and Information:
Walla!- An Internet portal with free email for anyone, this is the first stop for local information and direction on the Web.

Answers.com- Formerly with the tag line, the encyclodictionalmanacapedia, Answers.com is a one stop information engine. It’s popular wikiAnswers allows users to post and answer questions on anything they might be wondering.

Collaboration and work environment:
eSnips- While it is great for its music features, eSnips’ 5GB storage gives users a way to easily store and share documents on the Web.

ooVoo- 6-way video conferences, video messaging and video chatrooms make this ideal for live video communication for business or for fun.

Verix- Offers solutions for Business Intelligence when it comes to sales.

Advertising:
Kontera- “Kontera is a leading provider of In-Text Advertising and Information Services based on patent- pending text and content analysis technology that maximizes relevancy and yield for online users, publishers, and advertisers.”

TVinci - “The TVinci media management platform helps video content owners, broadcasting channels and publishers enrich, socialize and personalize video content, while maximizing monetization.”

Hiro Media- Hiro’s ad-supported video downloading technology allows any video distributor to allow the unlimited sharing of its product over the Internet with the ability to monetize it. monetized.

During the week of November 18th, Israel’s technology sector saw cleantech and security companies gain more traction and Internet TV media management company, TVinci ink a deal with MTV Israel. It also saw the oldest pharmaceutical company, Merck, invest in R&D in Israel. For a full overview of the latest in technology news from Israel this past week, watch the slideshow below.