Israel America Tech List — October 30th 2018

It’s municipal elections in Israel and Halloween in America. Time for the Israel America Tech List. We’ve got C-level positions, alternative fuels, and lots of deal news.

But first, a video of a beautiful moment of brotherhood and shared religious identity between Adam Sandler and Howard Stern on the bar mitzvah service of their youth…rife with cursing and complaining….

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It was the Ecomotion smart mobility summit today and yesterday in Tel Aviv so we have some of the latest on the country’s happenings in the vehicle sphere.

Robot taxis: Volkswagen and Mobileye (recently acquired by Intel) are planning to roll out Israel’s first ride-hailing service using self-driving cars starting early next year. The two companies are forming a joint venture with Israeli car importer Champion Motors, under which Volkswagen will provide the electric vehicles and Mobileye its autonomous driving technology Called “Mobility-as-a-Service,” it is expected to be commercialized by 2022. The Israeli government accepted the proposal and will be sharing required infrastructure and traffic data. Source

Alternative Fuels 1: Scientists at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba and the Technion in Haifa say they have found a key missing link in a chemical process involving solar power that could allow for the ongoing, automatic conversion of water into hydrogen fuel in a way that could become efficient enough to allow for the mass-production of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Researchers said they discovered a chemical mechanism by which hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is photochemically split over iron-oxide photo-electrodes. The process relies on solar energy, rather than on injecting huge amounts of man-made energy into the reaction, as current methods demand. Source

Alternative Fuels 2: Australian-Israeli startup Electriq~Global says it has found a way to use water to power electric vehicles.The Electriq~Global system contains three key elements: the water, a chemical called BH4 or Tetrahydrobiopterin, and a metal layer — a “catalyzer” developed by the company — that triggers the production of hydrogen from the mix. Electriq~Global’s fuel is 60 percent water, it is safe to store and transport, and is able to produce hydrogen on demand that is then turned into electricity. Source

Alternative Fuels 3: An Israeli chemistry researcher and a Finnish chemical engineer are the winners of this year’s Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels. The $1 million award, presented in Tel Aviv this week, is the world’s largest in the field. The winners are Doron Aurbach, a professor of chemistry at Bar Ilan University in Israel, and Dr. Lars Peter Lindfors, a senior VP of Technology at Neste Oyj, an oil refining and engineering services company in Espoo, Finland. Aurbach received a prize for his “pioneering contribution to the development of new batteries, including an innovative magnesium-based battery, Lindfors and his team at Neste have developed new ways to make bio-diesel fuel from organic waste materials, such as animal oils and used cooking oils. This is the first time an Israeli researcher has won the award. Source

In Other News

TAU Goes Global: Tel Aviv University has announced its partnership in an innovation and entrepreneurship center in Chicago. The venture is being led by the University of Illinois, with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University also among the founders. The state of Illinois has allocated $500 million to the project. SourceJob of the Week Two C-level positions are up for grabs this week at startups in the Tel Aviv area.

A well established tourism-technology company which connects tourists with service providers in the destination, with significant presence in several international markets is looking for a proactive and proven leader to manage the day-to-day operations of the company in its next phase of development as Chief Operating Officer. Apply here.

A company called infi which is changing how millions of people around the world think, feel, decide and behave with it’s Empathetic Artificial Intelligence™ platform that leverages every person’s unique psychological profile, is looking for a Chief Business Development Officer who will be in charge of exploring potential partnership opportunities and developing close relationships with prospective partners. Apply here.

If you have a job or other opportunity of some kind, let me know and I will happily include it in future emails!Tech Deals

Team8, an Israeli cybersecurity company creation platform, has raised $85 million and formed an “international coalition” incorporating Walmart, Airbus, Softbank, Moody’s, Dimension Data, Munich Re, Scotiabank and Barclays. Team8’s existing investors, including M-12, Microsoft’s venture-capital arm, Cisco Investments, Nokia, Bessemer Venture Partners, Temasek and Innovation Endeavors have also joined the coalition. Globes

Stellares, a US/Israeli artificial intelligence startup helping match companies with candidates in the labor market, has raised a $3.5 million seed financing round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners. Globes

Snappy, an Israeli corporate gift company, has completed a $10 million financing round led by 83North with participation from Hearst Ventures. Globes

Eyesight, an Israeli automotive computer vision company detected driver drowsiness, has raised a $15 million financing round led by Jebsen Capital, Arie Capital, and Mizrahi Tefahot. Globes

Placer.ai, an Israeli foot traffic analytics platform, has raised $4 million in funding from investors including Array Ventures, IrishAngels Ventures, and Stage Venture Partners, as well as angel investors such as Ran Makavy of Lyft, and Craig Abrahams of Playtika. Globes

89Bio, a US/Israeli startup developing a treatment for fatty liver disease, has raised $60 million in a first round of funding led by OrbiMed Israel together with OrbiMed US and Longitude Capital, and joined by RA Capital Management and Pontifax. Globes

StarkWare Industries, an Israeli startup developing blockchain applications for zero-knowledge proof technology, has raised a $30 million series A financing round led by the Paradigm fund, founded by Coinbase founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang. Other investors in the round include Intel Capital, Sequoia USA, Atomico, Coinbase itself, and DCVC. Globes

Maverick Medical AI, a Tel Aviv-based startup using machine learning to identify clinical risk factors from medical records, has raised $675k from Israeli early-stage investor The Time, and the government’s tech investment arm Israel Innovation Authority. Calcalist

Gainsight, a U.S.-based customer success company, has acquired Aptrinsic, a US/Israel-based startup helping customers derive actionable insights from product trends and usage analytics. No financial details were disclosed. The company has raised a $7.2 million series A led by Opus Capital and Storm Ventures. Calcalist

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