Israel High Tech Scene Week in Review Feb 28 – Mar 6
Papaya Global Another Israeli Startup To Hit Unicorn Status (JBN)
Startup Nation is full of unicorns today. Israeli startup Papaya Global which offers a cloud based platform for companies to handle their payrolls, has just reached a billion dollar plus valuation. The company became the latest from Startup Nation to achieve the coveted unicorn status with the close of a $100 million Series C funding round, led by GreenOaks Capital Partners.
Israeli Chip co Xsight Labs Raises over $100m (Globes)
The Kiryat Gat-based company aims to deliver end-to-end connectivity solutions for cloud infrastructure. Israeli fabless semiconductor Xsight Labs has announced the closing of its Series D financing round led by Valor Equity Partners and Atreides Management with the participation of new investors Fidelity Management & Research and Accton Technology and existing investors Battery Ventures, Intel Capital…
Next Insurance To Buy AP Intego For $500 Million (JBN)
Next only recently raised $250 million. Israeli insurance company Next Insurance is buying out a smaller American company called AP Intego. The purchase price is reported to be $500 million. The move comes just six months after Next Insurance raised an additional $250 million in capital in a Series D round of funding led by Google sister firm the investment fund CapitalG.
Israel’s Lumenis Sells Surgical Operation For $1.1 Billion To Boston Scientific (JBN)
Boston Scientific and Lumenis have had a business relationship for 20 years now. Boston Scientific has acquired the global surgical business of Israel’s Lumenis LTD. Lumenis is a privately-held company that develops and commercializes energy-based medical solutions. The sale was for of $1.07 billion in cash, subject to closing adjustments
Israeli Video Startup Kaltura Looks To $1 Billion IPO (JBN)
Yet another billion dollar exit for Startup Nation. Kaltura, an Israeli startup which provides live and on-demand video SaaS solutions, has filed with the SEC for its IPO. Kaltura expects to raise up to $100 million in the initial public offering, giving it a $1 billion valuation.
Compass Real Estate Platform Going Public In Spite Of Losses (JBN)
The company lost $270 million in 2020. Compass, a real estate brokerage company, has filed its plans for an IPO with the SEC. The move comes in spite of the Compass‘ recent layoff of 15% of its staff and a net loss of $270 million for 2020.
Curv Digital Asset Startup Looking To $200 Million Exit (JBN)
Curv secures Cryptocurrencies. Israeli startup Curv, which offers a cloud based platform for securely managing cryptocurrencies, expects to be bought out for more than $200 million. There is no word yet as to the identity of the potential buyer. The company has raised $29.5 million to date.
Harel Insurance Earmarks $100 Million for Startup Investments (Calcalist)
The Israeli insurance company’s nine investments in young companies have so far yielded it 300% returns. Four years ago, Israeli insurance company Harel established a small department to carry out a series of investments that differ from its usual mode. The department, which was largely kept under the radar, invests small amounts directly in early stage technology startups. Those investments, which reached a total of $100 million, have proven successful and yielded Harel an average return of 300%.
Israeli Scientists Develop Healthy “Biological Antibiotic” To Replace Antibiotics (JBN)
Overuse of antibiotics is a major health issue in the world today. Dr. Natalia Freund and doctoral candidate Avia Watson at the Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine may have just discovered a healthy alternative to traditional antibiotics. Using human antibodies they have developed what they call a “Biological Antibiotic.” The researchers’ study was conducted in collaboration with laboratories in the United States and China and published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications.
Perrigo Sells Generics Division for $1.55b to Altaris (Globes)
Perrigo will now have no activities in Israel. The sale threatens 850 jobs in the Negev and the company might delist from the TASE. Perrigo Company (NYSE:PRGO; TASE:PRGO) announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Generic Rx Pharmaceuticals business to Altaris Capital Partners LLC for $1.55 billion, including $1.5 billion in cash. As part of the consideration, Altaris will also assume more than $50 million in potential R&D milestone payments and contingent purchase obligations with third-party Rx partners. The deal will be completed in the third quarter.
Israel’s Wiz Cloud Security Is Now A Unicorn With $1 Billion Valuation (JBN)
Israel may soon have more Unicorns than not. The startup Wiz, which offers cloud computing services, is set to become the next Israeli unicorn. Startup Nation seems to be awash with new unicorn these days. According to Calcalist, Wiz will reach this milestone when it soon completes another $100 million round of new investment. Wiz states that it delivers the first cloud visibility solution for enterprise security, offering a “360° view of security risks across clouds, containers and workloads. No agents. No sidecars.”
Israel’s Axonius Is Now A Unicorn With $1 Billion Plus Valuation (JBN)
Axonius is a cybersecurity firm. Axonius, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, is now worth more than $1 billion. The company just declared this to be the case today as it added another $100 million in new investment. This latest round follows a 2020 investment of $58 million, increasing total funding to $195 million leaving the startup with unicorn status.
Yotpo Raises $200 Million For E-Commerce Platform (JBN)
It promises to authenticate all user reviews. Israeli ecommerce firm Yotpo has raised another $200 million. This will give the company a valuation of $1.3 billion, Calcalist reports. Lust last August the Yotpo raised $75 million in a Series E financing round which then gave it a $1 billion valuation. The new funding will mark $376 million in total for the company in financing to date.
BYTE Files to Raise $300m to Target Israeli Tech co (Globes)
Another Israeli special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has filed to raise money on Wall Street to target merging with an Israeli tech company. Another Israeli special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has filed to raise money on Wall Street to target merging with an Israeli tech company. BYTE acquisition filed on Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $300 million.
Israel’s Medisafe Keeps People From Forgetting To Take Their Meds (JBN)
The company just brought in $30 million. Medisafe is an Israeli digital therapeutics startup. Medisafe develops digital drug companions and has raised $30 million in a Series C round of funding led by Sanofi Ventures and ALIVE Israel HealthTech Fund. The company says that it will use the new funding to expand its end-to-end solutions supporting patients managing medications and accelerate revenues growth.
Israel’s Medi-Tate Bought by Olympus For $300 Million (JBN)
Medi-Tate offers men non-surgical options for urinary issues. Olympus, a Japanese medical corporation, has paid $300 million to acquire 100% of Israeli medtech startup Medi-Tate. Olympus made its initial investment in Medi-Tate of $20 million in November 2018, under an agreement that included the rights to distribute Medi-Tate products. That investment also gave Olympus an option to acquire 100% of the Israeli company at a later date.
Cybersecurity Firm SentinelOne Expects $10 Billion IPO (JBN)
The company was worth only $3 billion last fall. Israel’s Cybersecurity Firm SentinelOne is planning its IPO. The company expects that it will get a valuation of $10 billion from its initial public offering, Bloomberg reports. Just last fall SentinelOne reached a valuation of $3 billion after closing an investment of $200 million. This came after the autonomous cybersecurity platform company secured a new patent from the U.S for three separate innovations — automatic feature extractor, code detector, and position-independent code detection. https://jewishbusinessnews.com/?s=SentinelOne+
MyHeritage Sold For $600 Million – Adds New Feature To Turn Old Pics Into Videos (JBN)
Deep Nostalgia will let you make family videos out of old photographs. Israeli genealogy company MyHeritage has been sold for $600 million. That, at least, is the sum cited by anonymous sources in reports in both Globes and TechCrunch. The buyer is American private equity giant Francisco Partners. News of the sale comes as MyHeritage launches a new feature called Deep Nostalgia.
