• Top investment opportunities
  • Startup of the Week: Dataloop, AI development data engine
  • Will Biden trip bring Israel-Saudi breakthrough?
  • American Robotics’ parent signs term sheet to acquire Airobotics
  • TechCrunch: Maolac CEO, from supermom to superfood
  • July 13th Online: Labs/02 Startup Demo Day
  • Tech in plane sight: Solving the airline industry’s jet lag
  • CropX disease management helps farmers cut chemical use
  • Toyota Tsusho taps Quantum Machines for Japanese market
  • FDA approves Insightec treatment for prostate cancer study
  • BlueGreen Water Technologies cleans up SC lake, set for statewide operations
  • Introductions
  • More than 3,400 high-tech jobs

Startup of the Week:
Dataloop: AI development data engine

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing almost every field, but preparing the groundwork for these incredibly complex applications takes time. Most of them need to label and annotate large swaths of unstructured data to train the program, which is a tedious, manual process. Israeli startup Dataloop has created a SaaS platform that automates the AI data management and labeling process, saving AI developers thousands of hours of manual labor. It uses AI and machine learning technology to analyze massive amounts of data, and then presents it visually, enabling company management to make informed, statistics-based decisions. Dataloop’s ARR grew 170% YOY at the end of Q1 2022 and the company expects it to more than double again by the end of 2022. This year, Dataloop added Shopify to its list of top clients, which also includes Vimeo, OLA, LinkedIn, Taranis, Syte AI, and Tata Consultancy Services. OurCrowd has secured a $1M allocation in this $24M Series B round, co-led by Alpha Wave Global and the venture arm of a major telecommunications company. 

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Will Biden trip bring Israel-Saudi breakthrough?

President Joe Biden’s arrival in the Middle East this month with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia has fanned expectations of another historic step toward pulling down the Sand Curtain that has divided Israel and the Arab Gulf states. Improving Israel’s relations with the Arab Middle East is a rare and precious point of bipartisan agreement in US politics. It will also help to unleash the benefits of Israel’s technology to help its neighbors as they grapple with an unprecedented crisis in food, water and energy that threatens the stability of many countries in the region. OurCrowd is proud to have been one of the leaders of Israel’s business community in establishing ties with our new partners in the UAE, and I am confident we will be in the vanguard of Israel’s future economic relationship with Saudi Arabia. Read more in my new ‘Investors on the Frontlines’ column.

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American Robotics’ parent signs term sheet to acquire Airobotics

Ondas Holdings (NASDAQ: ONDS), owner of US drone company American Robotics, signed a term sheet to acquire our portfolio company Airobotics (TASE: AIRO) later this year, TechCrunch reports. Both drone companies have developed different types of autonomous systems that allow units to operate without direct human oversight. Ondas, which acquired American Robotics in August 2021, says the proposed acquisition, if completed, would give the combined companies a better global foothold in a rapidly expanding category. Airobotics has raised $130M since it was founded in 2014.

TechCrunch: Maolac CEO, from supermom to superfood

When Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin was nursing her first child she came up with the idea of bringing the health benefits of breast milk to everyday foods and supplements for adults, Christine Hall reports in TechCrunch. In 2018, she co-founded and became the CEO of Maolac to fulfill her vision. Ashkenazi Otmazgin, a biomedical engineer, and her partners identified over 1,500 known bioactive proteins in human breast milk and then compared them to bovine colostrum, the first milk produced by cows after giving birth. They found over 95% biosimilarity. Maolac takes the nutrient-packed colostrum, usually discarded by dairies, to create a supplement now being used in products ranging from energy drinks to cosmetics. Join this $4M round now funding on the OurCrowd platform.    

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July 13th online: Labs/02 Startup Demo Day

Investors always want to know what new innovations our companies have in the works. On July 13th, we will pull back the curtain on seven early-stage startups backed by Labs/02, OurCrowd’s early-stage fund and incubator. Tune in for game-changing technologies in AgTech, cybersecurity, Metaverse immersion, enterprise software and even cattle herding by drone cowboys. Join us as the CEOs of BeeFreeAgro, C2A, CorrActions, Dots, HyperVision, Kaholo and QuantLR showcase their company’s tech and business, its impact on the sector, and the value proposition for investors. 

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Tech in plane sight: Solving the airline industry’s jet lag

July Fourth weekend was a frustrating holiday for millions of Americans who took to the skies to travel. More than 1,400 flights were canceled and 14,000 others delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The airline industry must look for ways to make flying more efficient by using new technology, as explored in our online forum ‘Investing in Solutions to the Airline Industry’s Jet Lag’, Noa Shapira reports in the Times of Israel. IntellAct CEO Udi Segall demonstrated how airlines could cut delays and save billions of dollars each year by cutting turnaround times by monitoring video feeds at airports through its AI-powered platform. IntellAct has just signed a deal with Indra, a global leader in airport management operations. It is currently funding on the OurCrowd website.

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Top Tech News

CropX disease management helps farmers cut chemical use

AgTech pioneer CropX is helping farmers reduce the amount of chemicals they use on crops to prevent disease. The company has integrated a disease management feature into its platform that can track key fungal diseases on over 320 crop and fungal disease combinations, and offers advice on when to spray. This new capability integrates 20 years of agronomic research and expertise of Netherlands-based Dacom Farm Intelligence, which CropX acquired last year. In use now by thousands of customers in Europe, disease management will soon be available to all of CropX’s customers in over 50 countries worldwide. 

Toyota Tsusho taps Quantum Machines for Japanese market

Toyota Tsusho Corp., a member of the Toyota Group, wants our portfolio company Quantum Machines to help them create new products using quantum computing. Toyota Tsusho has been developing businesses utilizing quantum computers since 2017. The new partnership will see Quantum Machines develop an advanced infrastructure that will help Toyota Tsusho bring new products to market. “Partnering with Quantum Machines is a natural fit for our mission and will provide our customers with access to crucial quantum computing technologies that have the potential to reshape entire industries moving forward,” says Kazunori Mori, a general manager at Toyota Tsusho.

FDA approves Insightec treatment for prostate cancer study

The FDA approved the prostate cancer treatment system created by our portfolio company Insightec for investigational device exemption, allowing the company to conduct studies on how it stops the spread of the disease. The ultrasound-based system uses focused sound waves guided by MRI to destroy targeted tissue in the prostate. “Exablate Focused Ultrasound has been shown to provide an accurate, safe, and effective option to engage the prostate gland directly in select patients based on 2-years biopsy outcomes. The new trial will build on this success and help further enhance treatment options,” says Behfar Ehdaie, MD, a urologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and principal investigator for the study.

BlueGreen Water Technologies cleans up SC lake, set for statewide operations

CleanTech pioneer BlueGreen Water Technologies is making it safe for people in upstate South Carolina to take a dip in a popular swimming lake, WYFF4 reports. BlueGreen’s special treatments cleaned up Lake Whelchel, one of the many bodies of water across the US affected by cyanobacteria, harmful algae blooms that can be dangerous to humans and fish. The company has begun steps to treat other affected lakes across South Carolina.

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 3,400 High-Tech Jobs

Read the OurCrowd High-Tech Jobs Index Q1 2022 HERE. 

Search and filter through Portfolio Jobs to find your next challenge