• Top investment opportunities
  • Startup of the Week: Mermade, game-changing tech for lab-grown food
  • Jerusalem, Tel Aviv among world’s best Ag/FoodTech hubs
  • Nas Academy joins OurCrowd portfolio
  • June 20th online: Startups in the Metaverse
  • D-ID generates the virtual presenter of your choice
  • SomaLogic inks licencing agreement with OncoHost
  • FDA clears Scopio Labs’ blood test device and application
  • TechCrunch: Xage Security releases advanced anti-MFA tool
  • Bloomberg: Focus on safety drives Superpedestrian’s success 
  • FDA approves Alpha Tau’s pivotal cancer study
  • Snow Software and Anodot team up to unravel complicated cloud costs
  • Virginia taps BlueGreen Technologies to clean up swimming lake
  • Introductions
  • More than 3,800 high-tech jobs

Startup of the Week:
Mermade: Game-changing tech for lab-grown food

Many kinds of lab-grown meat haven’t come to market because they’re too expensive to produce, in large part because the nutrient-rich soup they grow in is so costly. Our portfolio company Mermade Seafoods has created a growth slurry that will drive down costs dramatically – for cultivated meat as well as seafood, Food Navigator reports. “This is a real game changer in the industry,” says Dr. Rotem Kadir, Mermade’s chief technology officer. The company is focusing its efforts on its first product, lab-grown scallops. But “the technology we’re developing is going to be relevant to the entire cell-based pharma and alternative protein industries whenever companies are using cells,” Kadir says. Mermade is currently funding on the OurCrowd platform.

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Jerusalem, Tel Aviv among world’s best Ag/FoodTech hubs

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were named among the top five AgTech & New Food ecosystems in the Global Agtech & New Food Ranking published by Startup Genome. Israel’s tech hubs ranked fourth after Silicon Valley, New York City and London. “Non-cultivated alternatives to meat overtook cultivated meat in terms of amount invested at the seed stage for the first time in 2021, suggesting increasing early-stage innovation in the field,” the report notes. OurCrowd is Israel’s leading investor in AgTech and FoodTech, with nine companies in the sectors currently funding on the platform, including BetterSeeds, BlueTree Technologies, Maolac, Mermade Seafoods, ProFuse, Sufresca and Taranis.

Nas Academy joins OurCrowd portfolio

Nas Daily icon and founder of Nas Academy Nuseir Yassin joined OurCrowd investors for an exclusive webinar where he mapped out the business plan and prospects for his new company, now funding on the platform. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Nas Academy engages top web influencers to lead courses in content creation, crypto and Web3, and business and entrepreneurship. “Learning on the internet is a lonely and a boring process. That’s why we went on a mission to make learning communities better. And we believe that creators will disrupt education,” Yassin says. “We are ready to scale, and that’s why we’ve decided to go to market and raise a round.” The company gained 200,000 students in its first year. Corporate customers include Google, TikTok, Pfizer and other global giants. OurCrowd is investing up to $1M in this $12M SAFE led by Pitango and BECO Capital. For more details, register for the OurCrowd platform and view the webinar here.

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June 20th online: Startups in the Metaverse

From producing detailed avatars to creating virtual storefronts, the Metaverse is a computer-generated world where revenue streams are very real. Creative startups are flourishing by building custom-made, virtual worlds for clients. The possibilities are endless.  Join us on June 20th, when we’ll be sitting down with the CEOs of OurCrowd Metaverse companies Noam Levavi from ByondXR, Gil Perry from D-ID, Gilad Talmon from TetaVi, and leading industry figures who are changing the reality of retail, entertainment and investing.  

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D-ID generates the virtual presenter of your choice

The world of business communication is pivoting to remote video, fueled by avatars and the wonders of the Metaverse. D-ID, whose AI-driven technology animates still photos to bring them to life, has unveiled a new platform that enables companies to create engaging training videos without the need for costly production and studios. They can feature an unlimited choice of virtual human instructors and be made in seconds. “By entering the realm of corporate training, D-ID is now disrupting another vitally important segment, offering enterprises and B2B customers a way to make a genuine connection with their workforce,” says Gil Perry, the company’s CEO and Co-Founder. D-ID is currently funding on the OurCrowd platform.

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SomaLogic inks licensing agreement with OncoHost

MedTech pioneer SomaLogic (NASDAQ: SLGC) signed a licensing agreement with our portfolio company OncoHost to help create personalized cancer treatments. SomaLogic will provide its SomaScan platform to develop proteomics tests for OncoHost’s PROphet diagnostic system, designed to predict patient response to immunotherapy treatments and provide strategies to overcome treatment resistance. “We are excited to bring SomaLogic’s significant experience in utilizing proteomics to develop clinical diagnostics to this new partnership with OncoHost,” says Todd Johnson, SomaLogic’s Executive Vice President of Healthcare and Diagnostics. OurCrowd is currently raising funds for OncoHost.

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Top Tech News

FDA clears Scopio Labs’ blood test device and application

The FDA has cleared a blood test device and application produced by our portfolio company Scopio Labs, designed to provide earlier and more accurate detection of cancers, infections and other diseases. Scopio’s Full-Field Peripheral Blood Smear application eliminates the need for antiquated microscopes by performing high-resolution scans digitally, automating the analysis of tens of thousands of cells at a time, expediting patients’ access to better care and life-saving treatment. This is Scopio’s second FDA clearance, broadening its suite of fully digital platforms to cater to all lab sizes and networks.

TechCrunch: Xage Security releases advanced anti-MFA tool

Multifactor authentication (MFA) was designed to limit unwarranted penetration of network systems, but recent attacks have proven its vulnerability. A new tool from our portfolio company Xage Security is designed to defend energy pipelines, water supplies and similar critical infrastructure against MFA attacks, TechCrunch reports. It creates a series of gates that stop an attacker from infiltrating an organization’s more critical technology. “These MFA bombing attacks are essentially impossible using this multilayer approach,” says Roman Arutyunov, Xage’s Co-Founder and VP of Products.

Bloomberg: Focus on safety drives Superpedestrian’s success 

The e-scooter industry is a crowded market but despite all the attention they command, the vehicles are used for “only about one one thousandth” of all trips made in the world’s cities,” Bloomberg’s Hyperdrive brief reports. “One brand is trying to change that, by focusing on safety. Superpedestrian has put nine years of research into making what’s been called ‘the Volvo of scooters.’ By year’s end, in several US and European cities, thousands of Superpedestrian scooters will come equipped with a Pedestrian Defense AI system.” The software “can instantly stop a vehicle’s engine if the rider hops up onto a curb, starts slaloming wildly or travels up a one-way street.”

FDA approves Alpha Tau’s pivotal cancer study

The FDA has approved a landmark study for our portfolio company Alpha Tau and its radiotherapy technology. Up to 86 patients in as many as 20 institutions in the US will be treated for recurrent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma using the company’s ALpha DaRT technology which kills cancerous cells with localized precision without damaging surrounding healthy tissues. “We are very excited about the upcoming commencement of our US pivotal study, undoubtedly our most significant clinical trial to date,” says Alpha Tau’s CEO Uzi Sofer.

Snow Software and Anodot team up to unravel complicated cloud costs

Tech intelligence giant Snow Software will be working with our portfolio company Anodot to help organizations understand why cloud computing is costing them so much and how to manage those expenses. As cloud usage rises rapidly, companies are increasingly struggling to keep track of spending. Anodot, which specializes in business monitoring, will leverage its Cost platform to address the growing challenge. “With our combined expertise, Snow and Anodot are uniquely positioned to make an immediate and meaningful impact to an organization’s cloud investment,” says Vishal Rao, President and CEO of Snow.

Virginia taps BlueGreen Technologies to clean swimming lake

The state of Virginia has called in our portfolio company BlueGreen Water Technologies to get rid of harmful algae in Lake Anna, a popular recreation spot, the Roanoke Times reports. Over the past four summers, swimmers have been told to stay away from the lake to avoid the algae which can cause skin rashes and stomach illnesses. BlueGreen’s technology selectively targets and eliminates the algae without harming other life forms or leaving any chemical trace in the water.

Introductions

Your portfolio gets stronger when the OurCrowd network gets involved. Visit our Introductions page to see which of our companies are looking for connections that you may be able to help with.

 

More than 3,800 High-Tech Jobs

Read the OurCrowd High-Tech Jobs Index Q4 2021 HERE. 

Search and filter through Portfolio Jobs to find your next challenge