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In the News: Watch – how Israeli tech stays on top despite politics

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Turn up your volume – this week we are sharing videos exploring different themes in Startup Nation success.

First, in the Economist, I join other major Israeli players to examine the Israeli ‘entrepreneurial ethos’ and reasons for Israel’s startup drive and scale.

Second, in my live CNN interview, I discuss how Israeli tech remains impervious to political instability, plus a look at the tech IPO market and why some go nowhere while the likes of Beyond Meat are rewarded for real growth with sensible business models. 

Jon - CNN gif

In other news, the “Fresh Start” Northern FoodTech incubator was officially launched by Finistere Ventures, OurCrowd, Tnuva and Tempo. We look forward to advancing tech along the entire chain of the food and beverage industry.

Startup Nation and beyond

In its third tech deal this year, McDonald’s Buys Israeli-Founded Startup Apprente Inc. to Add Automated Drive-Thru Ordering. 

Assuta Ashdod hospital deploys MedAware’s patient safety platform – MedAware’s artificial intelligence-driven solution utilizes big data analytics and machine learning algorithms to identify and prevent medication errors, reducing the risk of adverse drug events, contraindications, and opioid dependency.

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In the News: Who are Israel’s frontrunners for a major exit or IPO, according to Globes?

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Very excited to open this week with two OurCrowd portfolio companies being headlined as the next big thing: “Despite the slower progress towards self-driving cars, Hailo and Cortica (Cartica) are Israel’s frontrunners for a major exit or IPO, or to become unicorns.” With regard to Hailo, “the term ‘breakthrough’ is not a cliché, but a fact.” Read why here.

Additional kudos to automotive visual intelligence platform Cartica AI on the completion of its Series B investment round, which OurCrowd was proud to take part in alongside Continental, Toyota AI Ventures and BMW i Ventures. Further congrats to mobile app analytics startup and portfolio company Neura on its $16 million Series B raise.

This Wednesday our team is excited to go up to Israel’s north and celebrate the establishment of the Northern FoodTech Incubator, along with Tnuva, Tempo and Finistere Ventures, as we hold a ribbon cutting ceremony! Join us. 

Startup Nation and beyond

Norway, we are ready! Norway’s $1 Trillion Fund Looking To Tap Tech Future Through Unlisted Investments.

BYND inks deals with Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, Tim Hortons, Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., and recently, KFC: Kentucky Fried Chicken goes beyond chicken in partnership with Beyond Meat.

Proud that OurCrowd is a part of this having funded close to 200 companies employing thousands of Israelis….going from strength to strength! Hi-tech sector exceeds 300,000 workers for the first time.

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Your body, disrupted

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In April, scientists at Tel Aviv University “printed” the world’s first 3D vascularized heart using a patient’s own cells and biological material. This is just the tip of the medical iceberg. We expect healthcare to change in the next decade as disruptive technologies promise to improve patient outcomes, making medicine more personalized, effective, and interconnected.

The Path to Personal Care: Genetics

How similar do you think you are to a banana? You actually share 60% of your genetic code with this healthy snack. DNA is the core building block of every living thing, and minute changes in genetic codes are responsible for unbelievable differences between us. From 23andMe DNA tests providing personalized reports about your ancestry to Igentify revolutionizing genetic testing and counseling, scientists are harnessing our understanding of genetics to provide real value to society.

Medicine still relies heavily on general population statistics. The doctor evaluates your symptoms, considers your age, weight, family health history, and ultimately determines treatment. But far too often we simply do not respond and return to the doctor, having wasted money, effort, and time.

Soon, medicine will cater therapeutics to the individual. take cancer as an example: today’s treatment plans often include physically removing a tumor. It is an invasive process and falls short of addressing metastasized cancers and their underlying causes. Systemic treatments are limited, and even when they work it can take a number of therapy cycles to find the right drug. In order to prevent that, Barcode Diagnostics designed a patented-protected technology to assist oncologists in identifying the most effective chemotherapy cocktail before the patients’ first treatment.

AlphaTAU is on the cutting-edge of cancer therapy, treating solid tumors with radioactive seeds that release short-lived alpha-emitting atoms. Cancer care of the future will involve evaluating your genome, examining the DNA of your specific cancer, and tailoring a gene therapy treatment that allows your body to fight off the disease at its core.
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In the News: See the list of Tel Aviv’s hottest startups, life-saving tech, & more

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Did you know? “Tel Aviv is the city with the highest number of startups per capita in the world, according to the 2018 Global Startup Ecosystem report — more than 6,000, of which 18 are unicorns.” See Wired’s list of Tel Aviv’s hottest startups, including OurCrowd portfolio companies Zebra Medical Vision and Arbe Robotics.

This week Amazon officially announced its launch of operations in Israel, while Intel unveiled its first AI chip, which was developed in Israel. The chip was designed to target large data centers and is already being used by Facebook.

Congrats to soil analytics startup CropX on its $10M raise, which OurCrowd was happy to take part in.

Startup Nation and beyond

Startups saving lives: Check out the research showing Israeli startup MedAware can reduce prescription errors and save up to 100,000 lives, and read up on Edgybees’ lifesaving drones.

From the Sussita to Mobileye, what is the secret of Israel’s automotive technology success? Why Israel is automotive tech’s global engine.

The revolution is coming – Sight Diagnostics’ 10-minute blood test device shifts focus from lab to doctor’s clinic.

Congrats to Shivani Siroya, CEO of Tala, on the $110M Series D fundraising as the company expands its emerging market lending business focused on the three billion unbanked consumers.

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Quantum Leap

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Blockchain, 3D printing, big data, internet of things, artificial intelligence. A decade ago these were nascent technologies known only to hardcore geeks. Fast forward 10 years and they affect the everyday lives of billions. The question now is, what’s next?

Quantum computers are one of the hottest buzzwords today. Developed by governments including the United States, Russia, and China and companies like IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Alibaba, quantum computers may offer computing power that far exceeds anything we have seen to date.

Most recently, Google announced its new 72-qubit quantum computer in March 2018. What does this mean? 50 qubits is considered the approximate number at which quantum computing becomes capable of calculations that conventional computers cannot handle in a timely manner.

Scientists believe that we can use quantum computers to tackle and explore problems that cannot be solved otherwise. This innovative approach will enable us to understand many of nature’s mysteries, create new medicines and materials, and come up with better ways to safeguard our data or explore space.

Conventional computers use bits, a basic unit of information, each of which can have a value of either 0 or 1. For example, in two bits we can represent four different states “00”,”01”,”10,” and “11.” Quantum computers use qubits. Qubits can hold a zero, a one, or any proportion of both zero and one at the same time.
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In the News: Israel keeps on innovating 💡

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Israel received a visit from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg this week, where she launched Facebook’s “Playground”, a “new hub for startups and entrepreneurs in Israel to build connections, develop skills, and foster innovation.”

Israel’s Defense Ministry also announced the launch of an innovation hub aimed at fostering security-related technologies and strengthening the relationship between the country’s civilian and defense markets.

In recent acquisition news, Salesforce buys the Israeli field service software company Clicksoftware for $1.35B.

Startup Nation and beyond

Israel – from Startup Nation to FoodTech Nation? See it in CTech. FoodTech is a hot topic now, as the United Nations warns: Climate change threatens the world’s food supply.

Meet ClimaCell’s new weather app – alerting you when it’s about to rain, down to the minute, all around the world.

Which Israeli startups are playing a leading role in data-driven digitized production? Read it in Forbes.

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Catching a Second Wind

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Every year, more brick-and-mortar stores close their doors for the final time. Malls and department stores, once a mainstay of American suburbia, are struggling in the age of online shopping. Even well-established brands like Toys “R” Us and Sears are not immune to these trends, both declaring bankruptcy in 2018.

The decline doesn’t seem to be letting up in 2019, with retailers shutting down 23% more stores than they did at the start of last year (2000+ store closings), according to Coresight Research.

Even stores that have weathered the storm thus far are showing bleak numbers. JC Penney closed 139 stores in 2017, despite aggressive efforts to woo Sephora customers and Sears refugees. Macy’s, its better-faring competitor, is moving away from physical storefronts, cutting its square footage by 13% between 2015 and 2018. Grocery chains like Family Dollar, whose premise of cheap goods was considered “Amazon proof,” has announced the closure of 390 stores in 2019 despite an $8.5B buyout by Dollar Tree.

And yet, American consumers are buying at a dizzying pace. E-commerce is booming, with online shopping accounting for $517.4B of spending with US merchants in 2018. Directto-consumer brands are are skipping store shelves and heading straight to the doors of customers. Amazon, which accounted for 40% of last year’s US online retail, continues to capture ever more of the market.

With e-commerce representing nearly 15% of retail sales and rising, and the nature of consumers changing, it is time to ask: what is the future of retail? There are several trends emerging that may give some insights into where the market is heading.
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Modern Plagues: Let our people live – with these startup technologies

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Cancer, diabetes, and drug abuse are among what come to mind when thinking of modern plagues on our society. These plagues are daunting and seemingly unsolvable. The modern minds behind startup technology are actually aiming to solve these issues.

Overcoming opioid addiction

Startups are utilizing technology – from AI to cannabis tech – to develop cures and solutions for overcoming opioid addiction. Riley Cote, NHL hockey player, went so far as to state at the 2019 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit that the prohibition of cannabis is actually the direct cause of the opioid crisis. Cote spoke from personal experience when he said that cannabis is a useful tool to deal with pain, and significantly less dangerous and addictive than opioids or other pain killers. Advancing this breakthrough forward, a startup called Syqe Medical has developed a pocket-sized cannabis based inhaler that is one of the promising alternatives for opioid use as a painkiller.

Dr. Gidi Stein, co-founder and CEO of MedAware, also discussed the steps he and his colleagues are taking to end pain killer addiction. Dr. Stein told a true story of a 19 year old young adult, Cory, who was prescribed opioids when he suffered from multiple fractures in his arm and shoulder. Cory initially used these pain killers for his injury, but within a few years and several stints in rehabilitation centers, Cory was found dead due to an overdose of opioids. Enter MedAware – a healthcare startup that harnesses AI and big data analytics with the aim of preventing dangerous drug prescription errors, and monitoring a patient’s drug usage with the ability to intervene before the drug becomes addictive.

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