Tag: waze

OurCrowd launches #WhatsYourBigIdea campaign showcasing Israel’s world-changing ideas

Have you ever had a flicker of inspiration? A moment in which you knew you were going to change the world with one simple thought? And then, for whatever reason, that great thought just… didn’t really go anywhere? There are a lot of reasons to let those inspiring thoughts pass you by, to ignore them, and to move on. Our own thought? Don’t let your thought pass. Let it become an idea. Let it become your idea, and then let it change the world. Inspiration comes not only in opportune times, but also in the most unexpected. Here at OurCrowd, we see hundreds of brilliant ideas each month, and it’s our job to choose the greatest and support them on their route to success. These innovations make the Startup Nation what it is today, brought together by the brightest minds and strongest wills. We want to celebrate these ideas, and we want to inspire you to pursue yours. We are launching our #WYBI? campaign to showcase some of the world-changing ideas that have sprouted from Israel over the years. OurCrowd...

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6 Tips on How You Can Invest in the Next Billion Dollar Exit

2013 was a record year for the Israeli high-tech sector as the value of M&A deals and IPOs reached an eight-year high of $7.6 billion. Although there were several exits in the hundreds of millions of dollars (the average exit was for $170 million, the highest in decades), most of that sum was for a small number of mega-exits in high-tech. Of the 45 Israeli exits last year, Google’s acquisition of popular social driving app Waze for about $1 billion made the most headlines. Why Waze was valued over $1 billion What was the big deal about Waze? Well, for starters, 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. Furthermore, the lucrative deal is one of the largest high-tech acquisitions in Israeli history. Google’s acquisition of Waze put Israeli technology back on the front stage of the international startup scene, signaling new growth for Israeli high tech that was clearly evident in the months following the deal. Until recently, most investors thought it would be impossible to build a billion dollar consumer company in Israel. The Google-Waze deal opened...

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Israeli M&A on fire: mid-2013 update

The Google acquisition of Israeli social navigation app Waze for $1.03 billion is one of the largest high-tech acquisitions in Israeli history (The all time record goes to Cisco for buying NDS in 2012 for the price of $5 billion). The interest of international tech giants in Israeli startups is nothing new. With more startup companies per capita than any other country, Israel is widely hailed as the Startup Nation. As we know, Israel is more than happy to sell its startups to large entities knocking on its door. According to the IVC Research Center, 2012 was one of Israel’s most successful years for high-tech M&A in the past decade, yielding $9.95 billion in exits – 88% above 2011 levels. When all is said and done, it’s not every day that you hear about titans like Google and Facebook going head to head in a race to buy out a company at these valuation levels. In the end, Google won the war for Waze by letting the company stay in Israel. It was reported that the Facebook tie-up fell apart over Facebook’s insistence on Waze moving its...

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

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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8 Israeli Tech Trends for 8 Crazy Nights: Social Driving (1/8)

We’re celebrating Hanukah in Israel right now and given all the fun and festivities going on, we thought it would be a good time to look back over the past few months and highlight some of the tech trends we’re seeing in startup land in the Startup Nation. As a caveat, these trends are based upon our deal flow – what we’re seeing on the ground. So, Happy Hanukah and enjoy. Trend 1/8: Social Driving The problem: We’re seeing a lot of Israeli entrepreneurs attack the driving problem. Navigating, driving, and parking are all really inefficient processes that most of us spend a lot of time doing. We spend money, time, and frustration driving. Tel Aviv, like many other big cities globally, suffers from congestion and lack of available parking. The solutions: Interestingly, many of the most popular driving apps have been developed in Israel. The solutions tend to cluster around overlaying social with driving data to aid navigation and parking. Waze: Waze has emerged as the leading driving app, combining GPS/directions with the social component. Users report on...

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