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8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: New Charging Tech (8/8)

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As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation.

Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground.

Trend 8/8: New Charging Tech

How a trend is born: 

Is there anything worse than seeing your phone’s battery bar turn red? And, whenever it happens, it’s certainly when you most need more power.

Although many new smartphones are already equipped with high capacity batteries, they take considerably longer to charge. Batteries have long been outstripped by the tech they power in terms of quality and innovation, but that does not mean there’s nothing new on the horizon. Over the past few years battery and charging methods are gradually improving and exciting new developments are hitting the market.

Who’s who: 

When it comes to the emerging wireless charging landscape for mobile devices, the Startup Nation is maintaining its reputation as a leading force.

Here are some Israeli companies working hard to switch off that low battery warning in the future:

  • Wi-Charge: Wi-Charge is working to create a safe wireless power transmitter that allows clients to charge their devices without a charger — using infrared radiation.
  • StoreDot: StoreDot is a nanotechnology company with a ground-breaking technology, based on its discovery of new generation, self-assembled nanodots of biological origin. The Israeli startup recently made headlines as it announced that by 2016 their technology will be able to recharge your phone in just 30 seconds.
  • PowerMat: The company is a developer of wireless energy transfer solutions for consumers, OEM and public places, allowing you to power your phone without wires or cords or worries. PowerMat‘s inductive charging technology has been adopted by Power Matters Alliance (PMA), Duracell, General Motors, Starbucks and AT&T.
  • Humavox: Humavox is engaged in the development and deployment of an effortless wireless power solution that redefines power related perceptions for manufacturers and consumers.

What’s next:

Two major industries stand to gain the most from the advancement of new charging technologies: mobile technology and electric cars. Both industries sell devices that use a lot of electricity and are often rendered inconvenient by needing to be plugged into a power outlet.

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Over this past week, for each night of Hanukkah we posted about a hot new tech trend sparking up the Startup Nation. 2014 has turned out to be a successful year for Israel’s startup ecosystem and we look forward to seeing what the next year will bring us in terms of amazing tech trends.

Be sure to check in with us again next year for OurCrowd’s 2015 Hanukkah tech trend roundup!

P.S.- If waiting until Hanukkah 2015 is too long and you need your tech trend fix now, check out all the top Israel technology trends from this holiday season.

Find out more about investment opportunities in Israeli startups.

OurCrowd named top crowdfunding platform by KPMG

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This month, OurCrowd was named the top equity crowdfunding platform in KPMG’s The 50 Best Fintech Innovators Report, reaching the number #22 spot overall.

KPMG-logoThe 50 Best Fintech Innovators report is a collaborative effort between AWI, KPMG Australia and the Financial Services Council (FSC), and provides an analysis of the rapidly evolving fintech industry worldwide, identifying the global ‘50 Best’ performers. The report states that the selected companies are those using technology to the best advantage and driving disruption within the financial services industry.

This report identified four other equity crowdfunding platforms in the top 50, including: CircleUp (#23), AngelList (#35), Crowdcube (#46) and Seedrs (#47).

KPMG rankings

OurCrowd ranked #22 in KPMG’s 50 Fintech Innovators, Borro ranked #8

BorroIn the same list of innovators, KPMG also named a company that is currently raising funds on OurCrowd: Borro, an online lending platform who at #8, came in just behind the two recent IPO success stories of Lending Club (#6), and OnDeck (#7). Borro is a UK-US based, online asset-backed lending platform with an investor roster that includes the same early investors in leading fintech innovators such as Lending Club, Zopa, Wealthfront, and Funding Circle.

Access the full list: The 50 Best Fintech Innovators Report

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Autonomous Driving (7/8)

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As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation.

Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground.

Trend 7/8: Autonomous Driving

How a trend is born: 

Cars are the single most complex consumer product in the world. While the combustion engine and large-scale, production-line manufacturing of the late 19th century helped make cars more ubiquitous, at large we have yet to see how the true power of the Digital Revolution, new fuel and propulsion technologies, innovative business models, new material technologies and advances in safety features will drive innovation forward and help bring about the car of the future.

What’s causing the traffic jams of innovation? For one, road traffic accidents are the largest cause of injury-related deaths worldwide according to the World Health Organization. This is reason enough that advancement in the automotive industry can be excruciatingly slow. Think of it this way – the more electronics there are in a car, the easier the car is to hack, potentially putting lives at risk, not something a global auto manufacturer wants to be known for. Environmental impact is a huge concern too – it’s no secret that auto emissions cause pollution that can lead to disease as well as immense damage to wildlife.

Zero to 60 in just a few short years? Just imagine: a smart, self-driving, self-parking car that, equipped with a wealth of sensors and communications equipment, can potentially make auto accidents a thing of the past. Battery-powered vehicles, hydrogen cars and other biofuels will lead to better efficiency and a huge reduction in environmental damage. The cutting edge of autonomous driving is not as far fetched as we might think – most major car manufactures estimate to have some form of a semi-autonomous car commercially available by 2020, sensing its environment and driving without human input.

Who’s who: 

Israel, known for being the forefront of cutting-edge technologies in numerous fields, has also become a hub of innovative transportation solutions.

  • Mobileye: Mobileye is a pioneer and leader in the development of vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), providing data for applications such as Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Headway Monitoring, Pedestrian Detection, Intelligent Headlamp Control, Traffic Sign Recognition, Adaptive Cruise Control and more.
  • BNC Systems: A private technology R&D firm, BNC Systems specializes in automotive-technology development of infotainment & navigation platforms. Their technology enables new apps, hardware and software to be retrofitted into your car’s console without harming driving safety or the security of the system.
  • AutoTalks: AutoTalks is a fabless semiconductor company that develops vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology. Recently, it produced the world’s first automotive-grade chipset ready for series-production.
  • VocalZoom: OurCrowd’s portfolio company VocalZoom developed an “optical microphone” technology that enables high quality voice communication and voice recognition in any environment. The company is in partnership with a top-tier auto manufacturer to commercialize its technology for use in cars.

What’s next:

According to the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, there are over 150 Israeli companies exporting close to $1 billion to the global automotive industry.

Uri Pachter of the institute says, “The fact that Israel has a very large and vast supplier base without having any real manufacturing facility is quite unique. I know of only one or two other countries in the world that have the same situation… Lightweight materials that by lessening the weight of the vehicle can lower fuel consumption and emissions, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, night-vision, software that can predict malfunctions in advance, new battery solutions. The automotive industry is very interested to know what are the physiological factors and parameters of the drivers, so in a case where a driver suddenly has a rise in his blood pressure they will receive a notice and will be able to send an alert to the driver.”

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Check back with us each night of Hanukkah to learn about another tech trend sparking the Startup Nation!

Find out more about investment opportunities in Israeli startups.

Thanks to OurCrowd’s Etan Efrati for contributing to this piece.

Google’s best Israeli apps, Forbes’ fav Israeli female founders and more [OurCrowd Newsletter]

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This week, we uncover Google’s best Android apps – made by Israels. Plus, Forbes’ favorite Israeli female founders, a year later. An Israeli-Singaporean company raises $15 million. And more…

Start getting this weekly newsletter via email: Subscribe now.

Trax raises $15M for in-store shelf monitoring, analysis and technology

OC_logo_squareIsraeli-Singaporean company Trax Image Recognition, which provides in-store shelf monitoring, analysis and technology powered by image recognition, has raised $15 million to expand its global operations with a focus on developing its market share in the US and Europe. In addition, the new funds will allow the company to launch new products and services enabling it to meet the growing requirements of its global manufacturing and retail customers. Learn more.

OurCrowd in the News

  • OurCrowd’s Danna Mann discusses investment opportunities in Jerusalem in Times of IsraelOurCrowdnewsletter
  • OurCrowd’s portfolio company BillGuard featured in Forbes
  • OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved discusses the growing Israeli tech sector with Fox News’ KT McFarland
  • OurCrowd’s unique equity crowdfunding platform was featured in Ha’aretz
  • OurCrowd’s portfolio company ReWalk featured in Montgomery News
  • OurCrowd’s portfolio company enVerid featured in HPAC Engineering

Meet the Israeli startups on Google’s list of 2014’s Best Android Apps

With over 1 million apps available on the platform, Google Play is the world’s largest app store. Each year, Google sifts through the multitudinous apps they offer and puts together a list of the best Android apps of 2014. Among the 75 apps the tech giant has highlighted as the ‘best of the best’ this year in their respective categories, four of them were developed by Israeli companies. See the full list.

One year later, catching up with Forbes’ Israeli ‘female founders to watch’

At the end of 2013, Forbes magazine highlighted “10 Female Founders to Watch out of Israel”. One year later, ISRAEL21c checked in with Orit Hashay (founder and CEO of Brayola) and Liat Mordehay Hertanu (co-founder of 24me) to see if the early hype helped or hindered their paths to success. Listen here.

Faces of the Startup Nation: Q&A with gambling great Eyal Shaked of 888

The owner and shareholder of the successful online gambling corporation, 888 Holdings Ltd, Eyal Shaked is also one of the company’s co-founders. When he’s not enveloped in the world of online gaming, Shaked is a “super angel” investor for early stage to A round startup companies, with a focus on those companies looking to disrupt the world of online gaming and gambling, BI, payment monetization, and marketing. Meet Shaked.

Why Israel is the ideal place to teach entrepreneurs how to succeed

If you wanted to teach a group of high-achieving students to become more focused and passionate entrepreneurs, where in the world would you send them? The Lassonde School of Eng. at York University knows where: Israel. The country, which has a reputation as a growing startup capital, holds an infectious spirit of get-’er-done, live-for-today optimism. 21 Lassonde students spent 3 weeks in Israel, learning essential lessons about business, life and global markets. Here’s the story.

OurCrowd’s News Nuggets

News_Nuggets

  • JNF Blue Box – OUT; Israeli startups – IN (Ha’aretz)
  • Israeli tech startups attract Chinese investors (WSJ)
  • Top 12 disruptive technologies to watch in 2015 (Israel21c)
  • Medivizor wins mHealth Israel startup competition (Financial News)
  • 15 Israeli startups getting hot at the turn of the new year (Inc.)

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See this week’s original newsletter here.

 

 

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Wearable Tech (6/8)

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As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation.

Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground.

Trend 6/8: Wearable Tech

How a trend is born: 

You are what you eat, goes the saying. A more modern adaptation would be: you are what you wear.

From “smart” watches that sync to your phone, to contact lenses that measure diabetics glucose levels, wearable technology is rapidly spreading to all facets of technology.

The wearable technology industry goes back to a device as simple as the once-trendy calculator watch of the ’80s. Today, however, the next wave of wearable technology will far outpace a simple Casio watch.

Recent success and traction experienced in the wearable technology industry, such as Facebook’s acquisition of virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR and the 2012 launch of Google Glass, has entrepreneurs and investors alike excited for what should be “the next big thing.”

Who’s who: 

Israel has also played its part in the recent global innovation occurring in the wearable device market. Here are some of the most heralded and exciting Israeli advances in the field of wearable technology:

  • OrCam: OrCam has created a technologically advanced device unique in its ability to provide visual aid through a discreet wearable platform and simple easy-to-use interface which serves to enhance the daily lives of people with vision loss.
  • Meta: Meta offers users a total augmented reality (AR) experience via their platform, replacing desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones with a more natural-to-use system set entirely in a pair of glasses.
  • MUV Interactive: A wearable solutions company (and OurCrowd portfolio company), MUV Interactive‘s product, bird™, is an innovative wearable device which aggregates the entire spectrum of interactive methods into a ring-like accessory, comfortably worn on the index finger.
  • LifeBEAM: LifeBEAM is an Israeli startup comprised of engineers and pilots, passionate about the development of physiological monitoring solutions. Korean tech giant Samsung recently announced that LifeBEAM will power devices built using the new Samsung Simband platform, devices that are set to be Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch.

What’s next:

Of all the wearables on the market today, the most popular this season are smart watches. Even last year, ABI Research claimed, “1.2 million smart watches will be shipped in 2013 due to high penetration of smartphones in many world markets, the wide availability and low cost of MEMS sensors, energy efficient connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth 4.0, and a flourishing app ecosystem.”

This past year Motorola introduced its Moto 360, a smart watch powered by Android Wear, which is a modified version of the Android operating system developed for wearables. Google’s Android team explained:

“…we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with mobile technology. That’s why we’re so excited about wearables—they understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word.”

Also this year, on a more serious note, Cuff put out its collection of wearable tech in the form of a small, wireless accessory that offers its wearer the option to send a warning signal to contacts with the push of a hidden button. By syncing with the user’s smartphone, it can provideits location to recipients.

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Check back with us each night of Hanukkah to learn about another tech trend sparking the Startup Nation!

Find out more about investment opportunities in Israeli startups.

[CrowdFund Beat] CrowdFund Beat 2014: Person of the Year – OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved

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“we concluded that one individual has really emboldened the vision for crowdfunding […] our crowdfunding person of the year is  Jon Medved.”

“Mr. Medved had been a long-standing venture capitalist based in Israel, and has invested globally for decades. With the view of where this financing concept may go, he founded OurCrowd, which has become one of the most active and successful sites in terms of deploying early stage capital to aspiring technology firms.”

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Sharing Economy (5/8)

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As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation.

Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground.

Trend 5/8: Sharing Economy

How a trend is born: 

You exit the airplane, get into a taxi, pick up the keys to your lodging and open the door… to someone else’s home.

Airbnb has dramatically changed the way people find accommodations when they’re planning vacations. It’s just one member of a major startup trend: The sharing economy.

This model, build on the sharing of human and tangible resources, is also referred to as peer-to-peer, mesh and collaborative consumption. Anything that can be created, produced or consumed is part of this socio-economic economy built for easy and cheaper acquisition of goods and services.

‘Sharing economy’ as a term began in the mid-2000s. Consider eBay, Craigslist and Krrb – these are all marketplaces that are built on a collaborative consumption model. Today, within the startup culture in both Israel and beyond, there are plenty of sectors building on the concept, including social lending, accommodation, travel, and commute.

Who’s who: 

Israel has a long history of sharing resources, the most prominent example being the collective farms and communal living arrangements new immigrants founded in the country’s early years called the kibbutz. Although Israel progressed over the years from socialism to capitalism, instituting a primarily consumption-based economic system, this transformation contributed to the the country’s establishment as the world’s #2 startup ecosystem. The Israeli tech-savvy and entrepreneurial community is indeed viewed as ready-made for a collaborative consumption system, and therefore, it is not surprising that many of the Sharing Economy companies, platforms, and products originate from the Startup Nation.

  • EatWith: EatWith is a trusted global community marketplace offering alternative dining experiences in people’s homes around the world, allowing guests to connect with local hosts and enjoy delicious homemade cuisines.
  • Parko: OurCrowd’s portfolio company Parko has developed a smartphone app that saves drivers time by matching departing and arriving cars in parking situations. It employs predictive algorithms to understand and broadcast when a Parko user is approaching their vehicle to vacate a space and sends an alert to a nearby Parko user searching for parking – matching drivers to each other.
  • WeWork: A community for creators, WeWork transform buildings into beautiful, collaborative workspaces and provide infrastructure, services, events and technology so their members can focus on doing what they love.
  • Casa Versa: Casa Versa is a home exchange platform that connects people around the world with each other for the purpose of swapping their houses for vacation and travel.
  • Petbnb: An ‘Airbnb’ for your pets, Petbnb [Hebrew] helps dog owners find a welcome home away from home for their pet while they are on holiday. The service is currently available in Israel and is coming to the US soon.

What’s next:

We’re going to continue seeing more and more industries touched by the sharing economy. OurCrowd has invested in a few other ‘social’ services, like Social Bicycles, a turnkey bike share platform with a disruptive business model that is already generating over $3M in annual revenue. bike share is the fastest growing mode of public transport globally. In addition, Boatbound, another OurCrowd portfolio company, is the fastest growing peer-to-peer boat rental marketplace in the US.

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Check back with us each night of Hanukkah to learn about another tech trend sparking the Startup Nation!

Find out more about investment opportunities in Israeli startups.

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Medical Marijuana Tech (4/8)

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As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation.

Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground.

Trend 4/8: Medical Marijuana Tech

How a trend is born: 

Medical & recreational marijuana is lighting up the market – by some estimates, total sales of ‘Mary Jane’ may reach as high as $100 billion in the US alone in the next few years. The legal cannabis industry is poised to grow faster than smartphones according to the Huffington Post.

And tokers can exhale a sigh of relief knowing that this rapid growth is due largely to new groundbreaking laws enacted in recent years that enable the production and sale of marijuana.

Who’s who: 

Israel can be thought of as the perfect breeding ground for medical marijuana companies, as it’s the place many people call the medical marijuana research capital of the world. The three main business categories within the cannabis industry are growers, grow services, and technology companies. Studies in Israel have revealed that marijuana use could actually protect the brain, not damage it. This makes Israeli companies key contenders to be cannabis cash cows.

  • KanaboSeed: This joint development project (pun intended) devised a technique to help breeders modify crops to emphasize specific traits. KanaboSeed is a partnership between BreedIT, an Israeli software developer, and Seach Ltd. [Hebrew], a licensed grower in Israel.
  • Tikkun Olam: Featured strongly in the mainstream media and with a name a mother could love, Tikkun Olam, which is also the term for a Judaic concept translated as “repairing the world,” is doing just that. Tikkun Olam Ltd. is only one of eight licensed growers in Israel, and were one of the first to get in on the game.
  • EdenShield: Applied to greenhouse nets, screens, or the plants themselves, EdenShield produces a novel plant extract from the Israeli Judean Desert that makes crops odorless to pests, preventing multi-billion dollar crop damage. This certainly comes in handy when you want to keep your pricey plants safe and sound. OurCrowd invested more than half a million dollars in EdenShield during 2014.

What’s next:

Remember prohibition in the 1920’s? Innovators at that time took proactive steps to get ahead of the curve, such as setting up exclusive liquor importing contracts early on, and making bank for their investors – but also themselves. Though probably years away before the regulatory environment around marijuana cools, the technological innovation and commercialization train has already left the station and is quickly gaining speed.

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Check back with us each night of Hanukkah to learn about another tech trend sparking the Startup Nation!

Find out more about investment opportunities in Israeli startups.

Thanks to OurCrowd’s Etan Efrati for contributing to this piece.

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