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AOL does it again: Purchases Yedda

Fresh off of last week’s purchase of contextual-ad serving Israel company, Quigo, AOL has set the blogosphere and news aggregators abuzz again with its latest purchase of Yahoo! Answers rival Q&A website, Yedda.

According to a blog entry on Kwigg, Israel-based Yedda raised $2,5 million in funding earlier this year, and, since June has seen the amount of unique visitors to the site grow from 200,000 to 800,000 in October, with no signs of it slowing down. The entry attributes Yedda’s sucess to its partnership with over 50 other websites, ranging from ePals to the theJobNetwork, which are responsible for driving over 90% of the site’s total traffic (and isn’t included in the above unique visitor number).

Of course, considering recent talk in the blogosphere about too many Israeli companies exiting too early and not fully developing into true players in the international tech industry, my thoughts are, based on the above numbers, perhaps Yedda should have waited longer. As more details about the acquisition unfold it will be interesting to find out why Yedda found this to be the right time as well as what or who has sparked AOL’s sudden interest in Israeli startups.

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Facebook’s Israel Network reaches new heights

When my roommate told me in horror last week that our Israeli landlady friend-requested her on Facebook, my response was that I was not surprised.

“But she’s really old!” my roommate exclaimed. Pushing retirement age, our landlady’s using Facebook does seem to be a bit unusual, especially, since Hebrew is her primary language. However, considering Israeli’s propensity for adopting new technology and the weight that Israeli culture puts on protexia (networking) in general, I figured it was only a matter of time before she would join and search one or all of us out on Facebook.

And, indeed, her having joined Facebook does represent an overall Facebook adoption rate by Israelis that is starting to turn heads. A few weeks ago, when I mentioned in passing my observation that the Facebook Israel Network had over 100,000 members, I was not aware of the discussion that Internet luminaries, Jeff Pulver, Shel Israel and Moshe Maeir were also having about it between their blogs.

Now having read their posts (thanks to a post on Alec Saunders’ blog), I find that they have really put this into perspective. According to Moshe Maeir’s blog, from August to October 15th, the Israel Network grew from 18,000 to 70,000. By October 25th, it reached 100,000 and yesterday (November 10, 2007) it hit 150,000 – that’s 50% in two weeks. Of course, as someone raised in a comment on Pulver’s blog, this number does not even include the many Israelis who haven’t listed themselves in a network (such as my landlady’s adult children).

While this is something to watch, Maeir brought up an even more significant fact by pointing out that “about half [of the Israelis in the Israel Network] are above the age of 24, which means that Facebook is moving away from the college age origins.” (Something that rings true with my land lady’s joining it.) He goes on to state that this is part of a trend of Facebook becoming more of a “serious networking platform for business.” A trend, that given the amount of Israel business groups being created on Facebook, is clearly being taken advantage of and is in full force on the Israel Network.

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Companies in Brief: Week of November 4th

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,


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Water Technology and Israel: Invest now

Last Friday, in the first installment of this series, I mentioned that now is the time to invest in Israeli water technology. Below is a list of recent activities initiated by the Israeli government and VCs that are setting Israel up to emerge as the go-to global leader when it comes to water technology solutions:

Government Initiatives
-The Israeli government is dedicated to helping ventures in this field succeed and has interest in helping fund it. According to Haa’aretz, “the Ministry of Infrastructure is considering the possible introduction of private venture capital funds as partners in its cleantech ventures, in exchange for a share in the efforts.”

-According to a JPost article on the WATEC conference, the Israeli National Infrastructures Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is working on deals to export its water technology to countries such as, China and Australia. China, faced with rapid population growth and 70% water pollution, and Australia, dealing with a more than a decade-long drought are both interested in Israel’s desalination techniques.

-With the goal of doubling Israel’s water technology exports to $2 billion by 2010, Globes recently reported, that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor launched a new water R&D program, Israel NEWTech – Novel Efficient Water Technologies. The new initiative will serve as an “umbrella organization for all Israeli entities operating overseas,” by coordinating the “activities of ten government agencies, academic institutions, and additional authorities,” while also working closely with the Israeli water industry and different water sectors, including irrigation, water security and desalination among others.

Venture Capitalist activity
-Earth2Tech provides a good summary of recent venture activity in Israel. The most important being, that Terra Venture Partners LP has raised $15 million and plans on investing in 10 startups, including Phoebus, a water heating company, and that Greylock Partners and Israel Cleantech Ventures are forming a joint platform for investment in early-stage cleantech startups.

-Israel’s cleantech innovations have also attracted attention and investment from VC companies in other countries, including Japan’s CSK Venture Capital, recently. According to the Invest in Israel website, CSK invested $15 million in Israel in 2007 and plans to invest another $80 million over the next two years.

Conclusion
While these actions ensure that certain things will be done in the future, it doesn’t explain the key players in the water technology sector that will make this possible or what water technologies have been pioneered in Israel. Be sure to check back here next week for the next installment in this series.

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XJet Ltd. raises $9M in funding

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.

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Company in Focus: Red Bend Software

News
Red Bend Software is a hot company. It is so hot that in the past week and half it was named among the Globes Israel 10 most promising start ups of 2007, ranked #4 on Deloitte Israel’s Fast 50 2007 survey of Israeli companies that have generated the most revenue from 2002-2006 and was a finalist in GSMA Asia Mobile Innovation Awards. Earlier in October, it was announced that Red Bend Software reaches 200 million mobile phones.

continue reading…

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Quigo on the sales block

Reports over the weekend have surfaced that AOL is close to signing a deal to purchase Israeli performance-based marketing company, Quigo. Should the deal go through, AOL is likely to pay around $300 million for the company, according to Ha’aretz. While Quigo has two main programs, FeedPoint, a search engine tool and AdSonar, a targeted ad technology that rivals Google’s AdSense, AdSonar is really AOL’s main interest in the company. Such a deal would help level the ad-networking field between AOL and it’s rivals, MSN, Yahoo! and Google.

The only questions regarding this deal, is how smart would it really be for Quigo in the long term? A year ago, CNN Money published an article speculating about Quigo’s potential to overtake Google and Yahoo! in the ad networking space because media companies with sites preferred to use technology that wasn’t from a media competitor. If AOL buys Quigo, as an example, what will the difference between Quigo’s AdSonar and Google’s AdSense be?

Either way, Quigo and Time Warner (AOL’s parent company) signed a three-year deal in May, and it is estimated that Quigo will bring in $100 million during that time period. The purchase will provide a nice return to Quigo investors such as, Highland Capital, Steamboat Ventures, IVP and Bob Davis, among others.

Below are two parts of a video interview with Quigo’s CEO Michael Yavonditte back in May just before the Time Warner deal was officially announced.

Part 1

Part 2

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Companies in brief: Week of October 28th

From company rankings based on growth, to company futures in cleantech, the week of October 28, 2007 was filled with crucial conferences and important announcements about the future of technology in Israel. If you haven’t heard about cleantech in Israel and how Israel has pioneered water-technology, this slideshow is especially for you.

For a larger version, click the box,

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Water-technology and Israel: Part 1

Introduction
The other night I was glancing through a friend’s book on major scientific discoveries when I came across an interesting profile on John Tyndall, one of the first scientist’s to explain the earth’s natural greenhouse effect. What was most surprising about this article was to learn that Tyndall discovered this in the mid-1800s.

He wasn’t the only one to discover it during that time nor was he the first. In the 1820s, Joseph Fourier found the greenhouse effect as well. Now, almost 200 years old, the issue of the greenhouse effect on the atmosphere is far from a new theory. However, with global warming manifesting itself more in recent years, the international technology community is more actively coming up with solutions to reduce or prevent the damage that it will or has caused. At the forefront of the revolution, especially when it comes to water-technology solutions, is Israel.

A country the size of New Jersey that’s mostly desert, with some diverse terrain in its north, Israel has struggled with water shortages from little annual rainfall for most of its existence. With only a limited supplies of water, Israel has had experience dealing with water issues and finding solutions for decades. As the water situation gets worse -there hasn’t been a lot of rainfall in recent years and 75% of the water is used for agriculture– Israel’s water technology industry continues to develop and expand.

As part of that development and expansion and new water threats from global warming and environmental issues throughout the world, it is only natural that Israel would hold the WATEC Israel 2007 international conference, which was this past week. While the conference showcased of Israeli water technology and attracted interest from foreign companies, entrepreneurs and investors, the Israeli government and media took advantage during this time to highlight major water-trade and -technology deals between Israel and foreign countries such as Vietnam, Mexico and China that had been signed over the past week.

Such news this week made it clear that Israeli companies and the Israeli government are dedicated to finding solutions for the long run and to maintaining this sector. How will all this attention affect future investments and technology in Israel and abroad? Over the next few Fridays, I will answer this question as well as elaborate on important topics ranging from why the right time to invest in Israel as the future of water-technology is now, to what technologies are in practice in Israel, and what some of the top water companies in Israel are.

During this time and for your future reference, I will also be keeping a list of important news articles and online resources related to cleantech in Israel using social bookmarking tool, Diigo at this link.

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Surfing Deloitte Israel’s Fast 50

Earlier this week, Israel-based Surf Communication Solutions was selected to Deloitte Israel’s Fast 50 list along with Imagine Communication, Voltaire and Red Bend among others. All Fast 50 companies are headquartered in Israel and are ranked based on how fast they have grown in terms of revenue from 2002-2006. Since 2002, Surf Communications has grown 400% and has become a leader in the telecommunications industry by providing multimedia embedded processing solutions. For a better idea of what Surf does and its innovations, below is a demo for developers that I found on YouTube.

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