Israel Innovation 2.0

VC Predictions for 2011

2010/12/23 Lisa Damast No comments

TechAviv, a global organization that brings together Israeli hi-tech founders and investors, held its final event for 2010 in Herzliyya last night. The event began with Michael Eisenberg of Benchmark Capital discussing his Hummus Manifesto – the problems facing Israeli success in the Internet industry and some solutions. Following the presentation, he and six other VCs took seats on stage and participated in an open discussion with the 200+ members in the audience on everything from grievances with VC funding and finding funding in general to problems with product design and solutions for all of these.

Here is a video of the VCs giving their predictions for 2011 at the end of the event:

The full panel was made up of Eisenberg, Scott Tobin of Battery Ventures, Adam Fisher of Bessemer, Noga Kap of BRM, Adi Pundak-Mintz of Gemini Israel Funds, Avi Zeevi of Carmel Ventures, and Yoram Snir of Greylock Partners.

Entrepreneurship, Internet 2011, funding, Michael Eisenberg, techaviv, venture capital

Israel’s fastest growing software companies of 2010

2010/12/22 Lisa Damast No comments

Every year Deloitte Brightman Almagor Zohar, a professional services firm under the interational Deloitte brand in Israel, releases an annual list of Israel’s top 50 fastest growing technology companies for the year based on percentage revenue growth over a five-year period. Seventeen software companies ranging from security to finance to storage made the list this year. Below is the top 10 software companies on the list and a little more about them. Will you be using any of these companies’s technologies in 2011?

Safend

Israeli data protection company, Safend offers products for data encryption and port and device control. Founded in 2003, Safend was named to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection in 2009. The company also rounded out its suite adding Safend Inspector and Discoverer to Safend Reporter, Safend Encryptor and Safend Protector.

Algosec

Founded in 2003, AlgoSec is a leading provider of firewall operations and security risk management solutions. Its AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer and FireFlow™ products improve efficiency and reduce costs by intelligently automating formerly time- and labor-intensive tasks surrounding firewall, router and VPN management. In 2009 the company received a “Best of 2009” designation from SC Magazine for its products.

Promisec

Promisec, an internal network security solutions company, was founded in 2004 and offers the double benefit of securing networks and managing power on desktops. It was added to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)’s power rebate list in 2010 and was one of the RedHerring 100 companies for 2009. Its products include Promisec Spectator, Promisec INNERspace, and Promisec MSP.

Imperva

Imperva is an application data security company that was founded in 2002 by Amichai Shulman and Check Point Software co-founder Shlomo Kramer. The company was named to Red Herring’s Top 100 in 2007 and grew by more than 80% in 2008. Its success during the recession has been attributed to its software helping customers cut costs. Imperva’s products include the SecureSphere Data Security Suite, SecureSphere Web Application Firewall and Database Activity Monitoring.

cVidya

Founded in 2000, cVidya Networks provides Telecom Revenue Assurance and Dealer Management solutions. A recipient of the 2009 and 2010 Global Telecom Business Innovation awards, cVidya’s Integrated Revenue Intelligence Solutions (IRIS®) includes MoneyMap®, FraudView®, and BusinessView™.

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.

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.

Modelity Technologies

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.

IDIT I.D.I. Technologies

IDIT Technologies was founded in 1998 and offers SOA-based software solutions for the insurance industry. In July 2009 Forrester Research named the company among the hot insurance tech companies to watch in 2009, mainly for its multi-language and currency support innovations. The IDIT software suite addresses the specific end-to-end needs of general insurance for the insurance and financial markets including Business Intelligence, Workflow Management and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). IDIT’s R&D center is headed by Lilia Waserman and its customers include Alfa Insurance and RAC Insurance.

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.

Information Technology analytics, Information Security, mobile software, network security, SOA, Software

microSteps wins Yazamiyot’s first startup competition

2010/12/20 Lisa Damast No comments

If you ever wonder what the most important networking website in Israel is for Israeli startups, it seems that Meetup.com might have more impact on a company’s success than LinkedIn or Facebook. Or at least in the initial stages of forming the startup. Without Meetup.com – which helps groups of people with common interests plan meetings – there might not be as many startups in Israel as there are right now and they might not be as successful or as promising as they are without the networking and fundraising opportunities that the different groups that have popped up on Meetup.com in recent years have offered them.

Almost certainly there wouldn’t have been the unique opportunity to create a networking group focused on encouraging and empowering female entrepreneurs and aspiring female entrepreneurs in Israel to succeed. There also almost certainly wouldn’t have been a new annual event that allows some of the most promising startups founded by females to present to a room full of venture capitalists and angel investors and to meet with them afterwards. Thanks to Meetup.com though, there’s Yazamiyot. And all this and more has become possible.

A year after Gemini Israel Funds Associate Einat Metzer started the group, Yazamiyot – which is the Hebrew plural for “female entrepreneurs” – has over 200 members and holds monthly meetups and additional activities to inspire female entrepreneurs, help them grow as business people, and give them opportunities such as today’s FundHer competition.

Ilana Jucha of Stat-Market

At least fifteen startups founded by women were in attendance at the event and five of them -Flakkes, Yubitech, Stat-Market, microSteps, and Brandsforce – presented. Aside from Yazamiyot members, the audience was primarily made up of investors who had the ability at the end of the presentations to vote for which company they liked the most.

The winner, microSteps is an educational technology company that currently provides the private school market, specifically preschools, with a web portal that manages all of the school’s communications it has with parents. One use of the portal is removing the need the need for those notes that used to be sent home with kids only to be thrown out without reading after they got crushed in the kids’ backpacks. Founded by Elanit Halevi-Yariv and Yael Goshen in 2007, the company currently has a presence in Atlanta and New York and over 50,000 registered users in 28 states across the US.

Here is a demo of microSteps solution:

The runners-up of the competition were Yubitech and Brandsforce. Founded in 2009 by Danny Weissberg and Nili Shohet, Yubitech mobilizes any enterprise application into an application that can run on any smart-phone in just a matter of days. Brandsforce, founded by Nili Goldberg-Levi, offers marketers and advertisers a social media recruitment solution that identifies relevant opinion leaders and recruits them to help promote a company’s brand and enhance brand engagement on social networks.

Here is a video of YubiTech’s solution:

Stat-Market was founded by Ilana Jucha and offers real-time analytical software that can predict customer behavior and help maximize customers’ lifetime value (LTV). Founded by Ruth Polachek in 2008, Flakkes bridges the gap between users and advertisers by enabling users to provide direct feedback on what they think of a company’s online ads. See the video below.

Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, Internet, Mobile Web Brandsforce, Flakkes, microSteps, online marketing, Stat-Market, Yazamiyot, Yubitech

Inside Israeli Tech: Solar and 10 More Headlines

2010/12/19 Lisa Damast No comments

During the past week it was revealed that Israel and China are considering collaborating on renewable energy. The Stuxnet virus that crippled computers around the world and specifically Iran, likely set back the country’s nuclear program by 2 years and more companies in Israel and abroad are looking to hire Palestinians.

Cleantech
1. Brightening outlook for built-in solar technology

2. Israel, China discuss cooperation in search for renewable energy

Investment and Economy
3. Landmark Ventures setting up Israel private equity fund

4. Israeli companies outsourcing to Palestinians

Information Technology
5. ‘Stuxnet virus set back Iran’s nuclear program by 2 years’

6. RADVISION Receives Frost & Sullivan 2010 Best Practice Award

7. Change the course of a film plot–while you watch

Miscellaneous
8. Hapoalim to make virtualization a reality

9. Technion chief: Science education in Israel on brink of collapse

10. Amazon’s Kindle: A Made-in-Israel story

11. State Dept. launches IT initiative in Palestinian areas

Company Briefs Israel-China, private equity, solar, virtualization

Inside Israeli Tech: Waze and 9 More Headlines

2010/12/13 Lisa Damast No comments

During the past week, mobile navigation company Waze announced it raised $25 million. Barclay’s has a bullish outlook on Israel and 3D design software company Autodesk added analytics and branding services to its software. For these and more, see this week’s headlines below.

Cleantech
1. India: Israeli experts help to cultivate quality mangoes

2. October 2011 Israeli debut for electric Renault

3. ETV’s Micro Turbine Battery Charger A Game Changer for EVs?

4. Innowattech Applying Piezoelectric Technology To Railroad Tracks For Electricity Generation

Investment and Economy
5. Mobile GPS co Waze raises $25m

6. Barclays: Israel on the way to full economic recovery

Information Technology
7. Autodesk Seek Adds Analytics and Branding Services

8. Israel’s best kept business secret (MediaMind)

Miscellaneous
9. A moment of Glee for Argo Medical

10. Steinitz: Haredi, Arab workforce integration still too slow

Company Briefs ETV, Innowattech, MediaMind, mobile, renewable energy, Waze

Inside Israeli Tech: Cotendo and 10 More Headlines

2010/11/07 Lisa Damast No comments

During the past week it was revealed that ICQ-founder Yair Goldfinger’s latest startup Dotomi is in acquisition talks with AOL. LiveU raised $11 million for wireless live video streaming and Cotendo introduced a web site optimization service that uses Google technology. For these stories and more, see this week’s headlines below.

Cleantech
1. Ready to reap a potential windfall

Investment
2. Yair Goldfinger on verge of $100m exit – report

3. Adap.tv snags $4.5M to deliver video ads online

4. LiveU Lands $11 M for Wireless Live Video Streaming

5. SecondMarket’s activities to focus on technology

Information Technology
6. Cotendo Unveils Page Speed Automatic Web Site Optimization Service Powered by Open Source Technology Developed at Google

7. Google Israel’s Chief Geek Yossi Matias Offers a Peek Inside the R&D Center

Miscellaneous
8. High-tech company aims to be first Israeli firm to hire Palestinian engineers

9. Oleh to drastically reduce nation’s water usage

10. ‘Start-up nation’ becomes better place to do business

11. Kinect: Apple’s loss is Microsoft’s gain

Company Briefs Dotomi, Google, investment, LiveU, M&A

Inside Israeli Tech: SecondMarket and 10 More Headlines

2010/10/31 Lisa Damast No comments

During the past week, alternative investment marketplace, SecondMarket announced its launch of operations in Israel. The site offers Israeli companies an alternative to VC funding. BrightSource Energy broke ground on the Ivanpah solar plant in California and the US Chamber of Commerce launched the first American-Israeli business council. For these stories and more, see this week’s headlines below.

Cleantech
1. Israel’s Solar Power Wars

2. BrightSource Energy Breaks Ground on Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

Investment
3. The first Israeli Super-Angel Seed Fund Launches with $25 Million

4. 1st Israel-US business council launched

Information Technology
5. SecondMarket First Expansion Into Israel

6. SecondMarket Offers Israeli Companies New Alternative to VC Funding

7. Telmap Introduces Location-Aware Twitter Widget

8. Provigent picked as most promising start-up

9. Google strengthens Israel connection

Miscellaneous
10. New Israeli technology weighs trucks without stopping

11. Israeli technology puts Dallas cowboys in their place

Company Briefs SecondMarket, solar energy, super-angels, VC

SecondMarket Offers Israeli Companies New Alternative to VC Funding

2010/10/25 Lisa Damast No comments

SecondMarket, a centralized marketplace for the buying and selling of alternative investments, such as shares in private companies, announced earlier today the launch of its operations in Israel. An Israel-specific site that the company set up will provide Israeli companies with the ability to access capital and to facilitate secondary liquidity for shareholders.

According to Ranan Lachman, Vice President at SecondMarket who will oversee the company’s Israeli efforts, “SecondMarket’s private company market complements traditional financing methods and allows employees of Israeli start-ups to realize some of the value they’ve helped to create in their companies.”

The announcement points out some fascinating figures about Israel’s technology industry and SecondMarket’s network. According to it,

“There are approximately 300,000 technology employees in Israel, many of whom have worked for multiple companies for which they hold stock options. SecondMarket’s introduction into the Israeli market allows these employees to sell shares in a company-controlled environment prior to an IPO or M&A transaction.

SecondMarket has built a global network of over 20,000 market participants, and has completed more than $350 million in transactions in some of the world’s leading venture-backed private companies, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. SecondMarket’s private company model also provides Israeli venture-backed private companies with an opportunity to access capital through a cost-effective and efficient auction platform.”

This move is unlikely to change the Israeli tech scene much though. The third quarter saw an overall increase in VC funding in the Israeli companies that SecondMarket is interested in attracting, the already established ones. In addition, 2011 is expected to see a revival in Israeli companies going public, other companies that SecondMarket tries to attract.

That said, the SecondMarket concept does offer another exit solution for VC-funded companies, which Israel’s struggling VC funds could push for. It also wouldn’t be surprising if employees who have been at a few companies and have shares in them use SecondMarket to sell those shares, especially entrepreneurs who will use that money to build startups.

::BusinessWire

Entrepreneurship investment, IPO, SecondMarket, VC

Inside Israeli Tech: Canada-Israel trade and 10 More Headlines

2010/10/24 Lisa Damast No comments

During the past week, solar energy company ZenithSolar announced that the age of affordable solar energy has arrived with its latest technology. Trade between Israel and Canada is set to expand and a new study on the contributions of Israeli innovation to Massachusetts’ economy found it to be in the billions of dollars. For these stories and more, see this week’s headlines below.

Cleantech
1. ZenithSolar Makes Solar Power Affordable for Everyone

2. Strauss launches China water venture

Investment
3. Israel-related business contributes $2.4 billion to Massachusetts economy

4. Internet TV Firm PeerTV Files for $9.6 Million London IPO

5. Canada, Israel to look at expanding free trade

6. Oversi Gets $4.9 million from Carmel, Cisco, Smac and StageOne Ventures

Information Technology
7. Visa’s future: Credit – yes; cards – not neccessarily

8. TWS2010 Showcases 10 Promising Israeli Startups

Miscellaneous
9. Israel’s tycoons must invest to the benefit of the entire economy

10. Want to see the original Dead Sea scrolls? Just search Google

11. Initial Thoughts on the Fastest Growing Tech Companies in Israel in 2010

Company Briefs Boston, IPO, Israel-Canada, Massachusetts, solar energy