Uri Levine

Exciting insights from Startup Nation Central’s new Q1/24 report point to unique #investment opportunities! Learn more here >> #innovation #startupnation Israel Innovation Authority רשות החדשנות Israel Innovation Authority

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"AR computing!" Say goodbye to traditional laptops. An Israeli entrepreneur has innovated a technology that bids farewell to our traditional laptops. Tamir Berliner- founder of Sightful and the innovator behind the Spacetop G1! What is the Spacetop G1? Spatial computer that seamlessly integrates the functionality of a laptop with the capabilities Of Augmented Reality (AR). A 100-inch virtual workspace replaces the need for a physical screen. Spacetop G1 adapts to various environments, whether at home, in the office, or on the go. This represents a step forward in integrating AR technologies with daily tasks. Spatial with AR transforms how we interact with digital content, personally and professionally. The real test will be in its execution. The usability of the AR interface, the battery life, the comfort of AR glasses, etc., are crucial. I believe Sightful has managed to address these practical concerns effectively. And I am awaiting the official release in india. Congrats to Tamir Berliner and the team for their bold move and fantastic innovation. The Spacetop G1 is an evolution in how we think about personal computing. Soorya Narayanan | AppLogiQ #applogiq #innovation #entrepreneur #techentrepreneur #augmentedreality #spatialcomputing #management #startups

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In a world where perception is almost everything, come hear us chat about how to build your brand to win 🦾 #loolventures #googleforstartups

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2023 was a tough year for Israeli startups. After a few slow quarters, the Israeli startup ecosystem is starting to show signs of recovery and stability. According to the latest tech review for Q1 2024 (by LeumiTech and IVC Data and Insights): - Israeli startups raised $1.74 billion in Q1 2024, just 1% below Q1 2023 - Q1 2024 had more seed rounds than each of the 3 previous quarters in 2023 - Cyber dominated in M&A and large rounds Link to the my post (and the report) in the first comment 👇

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Over the past decade, I have reviewed over 1,000 cv's in search for the best team members to join our team. I see a lot of people in Israel in need of jobs these days so sharing some tips from my experience as a manager and Organizational Psychologist that I hope can be helpful. If you have any questions or additional insights, please feel free to comment below or pm me. I divided the job-seeking journey into 4 stages: 1. Self-reflection 2. CV building 3. Networking 4. “Dating” your future boss In this post I will cover some pointers for the first 3 stages. Next post will cover pointers for the last stage. *Self-reflection* 1. Self-reflection and understanding what you are good at and what you are passionate about. 2. Who are you - Need to be able to answer this in 2-3 lines at the top of the CV. Are you a manager and looking to be in a leadership role or more of a hands-on executive? Is your focus marketing/sales/coding/project management? Pro tip: Ask your friends to be honest with you and share the value they see you bring. It will crystalize your own view as well. *CV and LinkedIn profile* 1. CV building - how does your future boss know you are great at what you do? What success and impact did you have that you can articulate with numbers? 2. The design is great. But the most important is the content. Make sure clear description in the header what you do and keep it short, with bullet points and a 1-pager. Make sure no mistakes. If there is even 1 typo, it is a no-go. 3. Passion talks. Years ago I hired a young man with very little experience because he came with great passion and told me how he taught himself code at age 11. See how you can find that story that highlights your greatness. *Networking* 1. Networking and asking friends for an intro or to put in a good word. Identify 10 people you will have coffee with to brainstorm your career. Some will give you great advice. Others will give you a good lead. 2. Don't only think about networking with those who can give you the job today but rather with those who know people that can help you. 3. The best way to build trust is to show your work in action. I once hired someone because he reached out and explained to me in a loom video why one of my client websites stinked and how that can be fixed. He didn't tell me what he does but showed me. What tips have you found as a manager that you would give future employees?

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Is it shopping season for Israeli technology? The recent surge in M&A activity in Israel is the most significant sign of hope and optimism I’ve seen since October 7th. It demonstrates the potential of Israeli tech and the faith placed in it by top global companies. When technology leaders choose to further expand into Israel and acquire local teams, you know financial outlooks are positive. In cybersecurity - often the poster-child of Israeli tech - we’ve seen five acquisitions in quick succession totaling more than $1Bn. Flow Security by CrowdStrike (~$200M), Avalor Security, a Zscaler Company ($350M), Gem Security (acquired by Wiz) ($350M), Silk Security by Armis ($150M) and Entitle by BeyondTrust (~150M). All are led by exceptional individuals, well done! Perhaps more telling is the emerging AI industry. Last week NVIDIA announced its acquisition of two companies for a combined value of $1Bn. Congratulations RunAI ($700M) and Deci AI ($300M). Mainstream media is so focused on the voices of a racist minority calling for boycotts and divestments that they fail to capture actual news. Antisemites might yell the loudest, but the actions of multinational corporations speak louder than words. I am optimistic about the future. Are you?

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Fundraising is the number one focus for Israeli #founders. In taking feedback from my recent survey, https://lnkd.in/efvpYYCT, fundraising seems to be what most founders are focused on this quarter. The beginning of 2024 has been much more active on the #VC side, and the market seems to have stabilized. This is good news for many CEOs who have delayed #fundraising to the point where they have more to show… and where the timing feels more “right”. Yet, navigating the world of fundraising for early-stage Israeli startups in today's economic climate is a challenging endeavor. Rounds take longer to close. #Investors look for more data points. Relationship-building between founders and investors is a real thing again. Here are some points to keep in mind as you get ready to raise your next round: Get your story right - Seriously. I see many founders creating complicated decks and diving into unnecessary details. Make it simple... investors are flooded with decks, emails, texts, and phone calls. Getting the story right, and grabbing their attention is a good place to start, no matter the stage of the company. Leverage your network - The importance of a strong network cannot be overstated, especially now. Reach out to your current investors, advisors, and strong connections for advice, warm intros, and potential funding opportunities. Many of them cannot just open doors, but follow-up with their contacts after the connection is made. Backchanneling is one of the most underestimated elements of fundraising. Do your research - Don’t just ask for an intro to fund X, Y, or Z. Which partner in the firm is most interested in your space? How many investments have they made in the past 12 months? Does the fund have fresh capital or is it towards the end of their investment period? These are all important things to know before asking for an intro or meeting with VCs. Resilience is paramount - Fundraising can be a long and difficult process, but resilience and adaptability are key. Keep refining your pitch and keep your eye on the ball. Eventually, a lot of it is about consistency, and not giving up.  Remember, fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay positive, stay focused, stay connected, and keep your energies high. As we’re deep into Q2, many funds are looking for interesting opportunities and startups to invest in. We, at 97212 Ventures, are extremely active so feel free to reach out if you’re at the pre-seed or seed stage. #venturecapital #startups #nyctech

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#IsraeliStartups, particularly in the #healthcare sector, are thriving due to a combination of factors. 🇮🇱 #Israel is recognized as a global leader in #medicalinnovation, boasting a vibrant ecosystem of about 1,500 companies in healthcare and life sciences. 🦾💻🌐 This innovation is driven by a strong foundation in technological advancements, such as AI and #RemoteDiagnostics. 🧲💸 Significant #investment is another pillar supporting Israeli healthcare startups. In recent years, these companies have raised billions, exemplified by the $6.5 billion amassed by 250 active startups in areas like #DigitalHealth, #MedicalDevices, and #Biopharma. These factors combined, position #Israeli #healthcareStartups not only as leaders in innovation but also as crucial players in the global healthcare market. 🇮🇱

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Are ICON - Israel Collaboration Network startups a supreme cohort of companies? Analysis of the last 5 batches - SV 12 until today. TL:DR - Sign me up as an LP please 🙂 (I just need to become wealthy first). Get the full free list in the link at the end of the post. Following the participation of some great friends in the program and their incredible feedback, I had to dive deeper and run the numbers (shoutout to Yonatan, Yosef, Gilad). 37 companies in the list, 2 are still in stealth. Let’s go! Most recurring investors? TLV Partners, Entrée Capital, Jibe Ventures. Many companies also took part in the Intel Ignite accelerator. 5 companies have been acquired (nice one Ron!) - Entitle, Easyway, Silk Security, Eureka Security, EverySQL. *Excluding them from my analysis going forward. Company sizes by headcount:  🥚 Small (0-15) - 15, 46.87%  🐣 Medium (16 - 35) - 12, 37.5% 🐥 Large (36+) - 5, 15.63% Fastest growing companies YoY in employees for each category: 🥇Opti AI (Small). 🥇Miggo Security (Medium) - Nice Daniel! 🥇OX Security (Large). All growing in high double to triple digits in headcount %. Makes sense since these are relatively early stage companies.  💵 Ludeo leads the list with the most funding to-date, totaling $42M raised. 💚 10 companies disclosed funding in the last 12 months.  💛 11 companies haven’t disclosed new funding in 12-24 months.  🧡 11 companies haven’t disclosed new funding in 24+ months. Ample investment opportunities for early-growth investors.  ARR (estimation, still in beta): 📈 3 companies crossed the $10M / ARR 📊 7 companies are between $2M - $6M / ARR Want to know who? Perform your own analysis? Check out the free full list through Dealigence in the link here -> https://lnkd.in/dsKf939y   P.S - This is a non-profit organization, so thank you to Yasmin Lukatz and her team for making this happen (always wanted to tag a ‘Shark’ in a post). P.S #2 - I’m not saying we did this analysis to participate in the next batch, but hey! If you are looking for a cool data & insights company, I haven’t been to SF in way too long 😎. Gil, Yaniv.

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I want it to be genuine. We will soon announce our decision to join Fusion VC, Israel's leading pre-seed accelerator. Instead of the generic "we are awesome" post, I want to highlight something rare in the startup community: the truth. At 28, I spent a year without a salary, moved to Miami for six months, faced daily pressure and anxiety, shared a bed with my co-founder at his uncle's house to save on rent, and received daily rejections that fueled my self-doubt. I don't think I'm special. If you're a founder, you can relate. The startup world often hides daily struggles behind shiny PR, leaving no option for vulnerabilities. I hope to raise awareness through my journey. Don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint. My past experiences have shown me that chasing dreams comes at a price, and hey, I just need the world, I'm not that hard to please. In the picture - I once drove for an hour to an investor's house, only to be kicked out in the rain after 5 minutes because he double-booked meetings. Hint: he is not part of our cap table :)

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Today, I came across a concerning trend that made me reflect on the state of our tech ecosystem. Despite the hype and excitement surrounding Israeli startups in recent years, the number of new technological entrepreneurship ventures has been on a steady decline. This downward trajectory persisted even during the explosive growth of 2020 and 2021. It's disheartening to witness the decrease in new early-stage tech companies sprouting into our ecosystem. The challenges we face seem to go beyond temporary economic crises or societal issues. The root causes may lie in how our government and investor communities are approaching sector strategies and regulations. As a part of the Israeli startup nation, it's crucial for us to address these underlying issues to ensure the continued growth and success of our tech industry. Keeping this trend going is not an option for our ecosystem, and it is maybe one of the most important challenges we need to think about in the near future. This graph came from the Israeli Innovation Authority's 2023 annual summary report and IVC data.

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Last week Bria was ranked #20 of the most promising startups in Israel, kudos to the team! It is a long journey to build a startup. At 8 years old, I fell in love with mathematics, and at that point, I knew that's what I'd get my PhD in. That passion not only shaped my academic path but also ignited my interest in visual technologies and AI, which led me to pursue a PhD in computer vision. During my studies, I began to realise just how much the future of content would change with AI coming into the mix. Fast-forward to 2020, during COVID and before the Gen AI hype, I combined my understanding of how visuals can be generated with AI and the valuable enterprise experience I gained in my previous role at Trax Retail, to co-establish an AI startup called BRIA. We had one simple goal: To make it easy for any individual and company to generate the exact visuals needed for any use. Our key objective in helping you achieve this is to ensure that we provide you with a transparent, open, and responsible AI platform trained solely on licensed data, no public figures and deep fake, no privacy infringement. And in a world where more than 43% of people don't trust companies to use AI morally, Responsible AI use has never been more important. In building BRIA, we've been able to help businesses all over the world scale their content development process. And what gets me even more excited is that we've been able to partner with different creators to ensure that their creativity is respected, rewarded, and isn't pirated. We trained our own high quality foundation models and built the core tools of Generative AI so everyone can use it. The journey so far has been anything but linear, and I'm eager to continue sharing the innovative features we're developing, discuss the critical importance of Responsible AI, and explore how you can leverage our platform to its fullest potential. Join us as we pave the way for a new era of content creation, where innovation meets integrity.

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Over this past year, we’ve learned anew the strength that we have as a nation. And if you’ve read recent headlines regarding funding rounds and exits of Israeli startups, you will see a clear demonstration of resilience in action. According to a recent report by Startup Nation Central, the Israel tech ecosystem has recently completed: - 220 private investment rounds - An estimated $3.1 billion raised - $3.7 billion in M&A transactions - 20 new venture capital funds were established, raising $1.7 billion And it’s not just internal optimism. A recent poll conducted by the global accounting company Ernst & Young showed that about 60% of multinational companies expressed confidence in the Israeli tech industry. Some might say that what happens in Israel is simply miraculous. I say that it’s because of the resilience, grit, determination, creativity, innovation and perseverance of our people. And Google Cloud Israel is proud to support our hi-tech community, from early stage to enterprise and everyone in the middle. 76 years and counting… Israeli tech continues to deliver No Matter What. https://lnkd.in/dbpvwcuW. #GoogleCloud #CloudForIsrael #StartupNation #Resilience #NoMatterWhat

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We all have choices. Israeli entrepreneurs choose to thrive

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Episode #8: XOLTAR - AI companion for patients. Don’t miss this 90 second video about one of the hottest new startups in Israel; and FOLLOW us so you don’t miss another episode! In this video, Gerson Panitch interviews Asaf Shiloni. #whatsnextinisraeltech

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Some of our thoughts on current state of play in Israel tech. Link below.

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לכל מי שמחפש קשר ישיר לחברות ביטוח - האקסלרטור המקוצר והאיכותי הזה בשבילכם (והפעם נפתח ללא תשלום! ) Kobi Bendelak For those who thought of turning to the world of insurance but have not yet done so -* Join our 7th cohort - *Insurtech Israel Bootcamp* I'm excited to announce the launch of another special acceleration cohort of our joint business partnership. This time , our focus will be on supporting on startups that are considering entering or have recently begun to enter the insurance world. Our aim is to provide intensive support, equipping with the necessary tools, knowledge, and connections to thrive in the insurance industry both locally and globally. Here's a brief overview of the schedule: 10/03 - Opening of registration for the program 16/05 - End of registration 03/06 - Selection Day (physical event in Israel with virtual participation for partners abroad) 16/06 - The cohort starting day 18/07 - Graduates event - On TLV' s seashore Startups, therefore it is recommended that you register for the program (*the program is free of charge but requires an investment of time and involvement*) which will open up to you many contacts in the world, a lot of knowledge about the world of insurance and speed up the activity significantly yours in this complex world. Our past experience shows that the program has greatly helped the mature startups To register, please use this link - https://lnkd.in/eVVtqYdJ Key Highlights of Our Program: Our program boasts an impressive lineup of partners, including from the insurance space , *AIG, IAG from Australia , Lloyd's of London, AON, Sompo insurance from Japan, AF group & Broker Tech Ventures from USA, Migdal insurance & Direct Insurance from Israel , and from the technology and business space Dell Technologies, Sapiens, Microsoft, Milliman, Deloitte, ReSource Pro, Bolttech, and more*. These collaborations provide an unmatched platform for your growth.

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Israeli AI-Driven Cash Flow Management Platform Raises a $10 Million Panax, an Israeli AI startup that helps companies to handle cash flow, raised a $10 million Series A round of funding led by Team8, with participation from TLV Partners. The total funding of the startup is now $15.5 million. Panax will scale its go-to-market approach, build a more robust AI and data team, and expand its NYC office while keeping its R&D in Israel. AI helps the startup to put together financial data, identify insights and forecast cash flow. The startup also provides a possibility for foreign exchange. Panax focuses on midsize and large companies in industries such as manufacturing, logistics and real estate. Noam Mills, Sefi Itzkovich and Niv Yaar founded Panax 2 years ago. Source: https://lnkd.in/dEiBQjEg

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