Author: David Citron

Whimsical Thoughts About a Waze Acquisition — What an Investor Needs to Know

Whimsical Thoughts About a Waze Acquisition — What an Investor Needs to Know

May 30, 2013 | , ,

It’s not every day you hear about titans like Google and Facebook going head to head in a race to buy out a company. This hasn’t exactly been the case with Waze, the social navigation app. It’s been rumored to have at least a couple big players knocking down its door. The latest news in the Waze buyout saga says that the Facebook-Waze talks are on the fritz, due to the fact that Waze is opposed to moving its Israel-based operations to Facebook’s HQ in California. Whether the buyout will happen or not, there is no doubt that Waze — the technology — has changed the way we travel from point A to point B. So, for this blog, we’ve created a road map describing the origin and meteoric rise of Waze. I’ve been living in a cave for 5 years, what is Waze exactly? Waze is a GPS with a twist. Unlike a standard GPS that just displays a map (if you’re really fancy, it also pulls satellite data to optimize your planned route), Waze rallies all its users...

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Zula receives funding from OurCrowd

Zula receives funding from OurCrowd

May 22, 2013 | , , , ,

OurCrowd is happy to announce the funding of its latest portfolio company, Zula. Zula provides an innovative cloud-based mobile collaboration platform for teams. Zula was founded by Jeff Pulver, pioneer of VoIP, social media master and early-stage investor in companies like Twitter and foursquare, and by Jacob Ner-David, a 3-time entrepreneur who took Delta Three through IPO. Zula  co-founder Jeff Pulver said, “I am excited about the value that OurCrowd brings to early stage investors who  invest in  startup companies. Not only did we raise our seed round online in less than a week, but we had people from all over the world invest in Zula thanks to this platform.” This is OurCrowd’s 18th completed funding round, while 3 additional companies are still actively funding. If you’re an accredited investor and like to find out more please visit OurCrowd.   [xyz-ihs...

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Network Technology Giant, Cisco acquires Intucell For $475M

Network Technology Giant, Cisco acquires Intucell For $475M

Jan 27, 2013 | ,

M&A in the 2013 Israeli start-up realm begins with a bang as Network equipment giant, Cisco acquires Intucell  for a whopping $475M. Intucell’s technology provides a solution for cellular networks to optimize their mobile traffic’s speed and keep disrupted calls to a minimum. Founded in 2008 and located in Raanana, Intucell has grown at a rapid pace, evolving from an idea to a commercial success in less than a year, and has branched out on a global scale to the United Kingdom and Singapore. US based Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the most successful VC funds in the world, will take close to half of the sales price, after funding Intucell’s $6M series a investment round in late 2011, entirely on their own. Intucell’s Co-Founders, CEO Rani Wellingstein and VP products Ido Susan stand to make a nice chunk of cash as well estimated at around $80M each. This is the 12th company and one of the largest deals made by Cisco in the Israeli technology market. The Wall Street Journal summary of M&A in 2012 showed that even...

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The OurCrowd Guide to Israeli Startup Incubators and Accelerators

The OurCrowd Guide to Israeli Startup Incubators and Accelerators

Nov 15, 2012 |

The Israeli high tech industry is swarming with startups, some with the potential to be the next Waze (acquired by Google for $1.3B) But where and how are these startups originating? How do these companies go from being just an idea in an entrepreneurs mind to a multi-million dollar exit? A long-existing method to help launch a startup is the incubator/accelerator program. Israeli accelerators and incubators: role in the startup ecosystem the role of accelerators: Basically the function of incubators / accelerators is to detect startups that are at an early stage of existence and provide them with the initial and basic tools to get their ideas up and running, while mentoring them throughout the process. In return the incubator program receives an agreed upon amount of shares in the startup they are hosting or a fee for services rendered. how to apply: The incubator starts by advertising its program to entrepreneurs urging them to apply and explain what benefits they would receive if they would be selected to be “incubated”. the acceleration process: The lucky startups chosen for “Incubation”...

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