START-UPS

23 amazing start-ups from Tel Aviv to watch

8 Feb 2018

Old Port of Jaffa and modern skyline of Tel Aviv, Israel. Image: Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock

Tel Aviv is alive with tech start-ups and it is a city with an unwavering eye on the future.

The second most populous city in Israel, and effectively the country’s business capital, Tel Aviv is a firm fixture on the world’s technology map.

It is clearly a city where people like to work hard but play hard, too, with a world-renowned nightlife. Nestled alongside the Mediterranean and home to thousands of start-ups, the city and its surrounding areas are home to hundreds of venture capital firms but also global operations of tech giants such as Google, SAP, Microsoft and Facebook, to name a few.

Boasting a technology cluster known as Silicon Wadi, Israel is a start-up nation, and much of the tech industry can be found in the area around Tel Aviv and in nearby cities such as Ra’anana, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Netanya, Rehovot and Rishon LeZion.

The Israeli tech industry began to form in the 1960s with forerunners including Tadiran and Elron Electronic Industries. The industry’s evolution was boosted by the 1967 French arms embargo, which was a catalyst for the creation of a domestic military industry defined by cutting edge R&D.

Notable tech giants to emerge from Israel include Amdocs and Check Point Software Technologies.

From IT security to the cameras in our smartphones, Israeli entrepreneurs mostly based in or near Tel Aviv have played a key role.

As one of the most technologically influential hubs in the world alongside Silicon Valley, Berlin, Helsinki, Kista and London, Tel Aviv is notable for the sheer number of start-ups that go on to list on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

Like most start-up cities, Tel Aviv has a bustling events scene, with notable events including Blockchain Israel, GarageGeeks, UX Salon, Startup Grind and Yazamiyot for women entrepreneurs.

Useful groups to follow on Facebook include Start-Up Stadium, Secret Tel Aviv and Innovation Israel.

Annual tech events include DLD in September, Journey, Microsoft Tech Summit and Innovex.

Established incubators include The Time, Samurai Incubate and Techcode, while active accelerators include 500 Startups, TheHive, Kamatech and The Junction.

And so, here are 23 Tel Aviv start-ups that we think are worth watching in 2018.

Airobotics

Airobotics has developed a pilotless drone platform that collects aerial data and valuable insights for industrial facilities. Founded in 2014 by Meir Kliner and Ran Krauss, Airobotics has raised $71m in funding so far, the most recent being a $32.5m Series C round led by BlueRun Ventures, also including such investors as OurCrowd and Microsoft Ventures.

Aurora Labs

25 amazing start-ups from Tel Aviv to watch

Aurora Labs has developed a ‘self-healing’ platform for monitoring errors in a vehicle’s performance, preventing expensive recalls for the car industry. Founded by Zohar Fox (CEO) and Ori Lederman (COO), Aurora raised $2.7m in a seed round led by Maniv Mobility, MizMaa Ventures, Expansion Venture Capital and Trucks Venture Capital.

Arbe Robotics

Arbe Robotics is developing a high-resolution radar system to help vehicles detect and identify objects. Founded by Kobi Marenko, the technology enables cars to see the environment in any weather or light conditions. Founded in 2015, the start-up recently raised $9m in a round led by OG Tech Ventures and OurCrowd.

BlueVine

BlueVine allows small businesses to get paid immediately on their outstanding invoices. Founded by Eyal Lifshitz, Moti Shatner and Nir Klar, it has operations in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto. The company has raised $318m in investment from investors that include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, Citi Ventures, Rakuten Fintech Fund and Silicon Valley Bank.

Bringg

Bringg is the creator of a SaaS platform used by companies in the logistics, retail, food, CPG and services industry, aimed at achieving logistical excellence despite complex delivery ecosystems. Founded by Lior Sion and Raanan Cohen, the start-up has raised $31m so far, including a $12m Series B round in January, which included Salesforce Ventures as an investor.

Corephotonics

Corephotonics is a pioneer in the area of dual camera technologies for smartphones. Founded by David Mendlovic and Gal Shabtay, it has raised $50m to date, including a recent $15m round led by Samsung Ventures, Foxconn and MediaTek. The funding will enable the company to expand for automotive, drone, surveillance and action camera opportunities.

DataRails

DataRails transforms complex spreadsheet data into clear and insightful information. Founded in 2015 by Didi Gurfinkel, Eyal Cohen and Oded Har-Tal, DataRails recently took part in the Microsoft accelerator in Tel Aviv and has raised $7m in total funding from investors that include Vertex Ventures, Cyrus Angel Fund, Oryzn Capital and Star Farm Ventures.

Deep Instinct

Applying deep learning to cybersecurity, Deep Instinct’s predictive capabilities can result in zero-day threat detection. Founded in 2014 by Eli David, Deep Instinct raised $32m in funding last year from investors Columbus Nova Technology Partners, Nvidia, Coatue Management and ATW Partners.

Dome9 Security

Dome9 Security is a cloud infrastructure security and compliance platform. The company has strong traction in the enterprise market. Founded by Roy Feintuch and Zohar Alon, Dome9 has raised $29.3m to date, including a $16.5m Series C funding round last year led by SoftBank.

Inflowz

Inflowz is the creator of an AI sales process-optimisation platform for high-velocity sales organisations, with a focus on optimising and maximising revenue. Founded in 2017 by Avinoam Nowogrodski, Ori Roniger and Rachel Haim Hadas, the start-up last year raised $3.5m in seed funding from Glilot Capital Partners.

Knowmail

Knowmail is the creator of a personalised AI engine that learns your work habits and helps you to focus, save time and improve the overall email and messaging experience. Founded in 2014 by Avi Mandelberg, Haim Senior and Oded Avital, Knowmail has raised $3.5m so far from investors that include CE Ventures, AfterDox, Plus Ventures, 2B Angels and INE Ventures.

Logz.io

Logz.io is a data analytics start-up that combines the ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana) open-source stack with machine learning. It simplifies log analysis using predictive analytics and machine-learning algorithms to find and predict critical events in the volumes of information in IT environments. Founded in 2014 by Asaf Yigal and Tomer Levy, Logz.io recently raised $23m in a Series C round led by OpenView, Vintage Investment Partners, Giza Venture Capital and 83North, bringing total investment to $46.9m to date.

Monday.com

Monday.com is the creator of innovative project management software that transforms how teams collaborate. The platform centralises emails, documents and presentations. Formerly known as Dapulse, Monday.com was founded by Eran Zinman and Roy Mann and has raised $34.1m in funding so far, including a $25m Series B round led by Insight Venture Partners with participation from Genesis Partners and Entrée Capital.

Nexar

Nexar develops software that protects users and their businesses against car crashes and road casualties. It uses a vehicle-to-vehicle communications network that connects with sensors and crowdsourced data. It also generates telematics reports for insurers. In recent weeks, the company raised $30m in a round led by Ibex Ventures along with Alibaba Innovation Ventures, Nationwide Insurance, Mosaic Ventures, Slow Ventures, True Ventures and Tusk Ventures, bringing total funding to $44.5m.

Octopus Control and Command

Octopus Control and Command has developed a smartphone app that serves as a cloud-based physical security system for facilities such as airports, factories, hospitals and other buildings. Users of the system include Coca-Cola and Visa. Founded in 2013 by Baruch Tagori and Tal Bar Or, Octopus recently raised $2.5m from Singulariteam, bringing total investment to $7.8m.

Otonomo

Otonomo provides a cloud-based SaaS platform for car manufacturers to share and monetise car data and offer drivers in-car services. The Tel Aviv start-up recently raised $25m in a Series B round led by Delphi Automotive along with Bessemer Venture Partners, StageOne Ventures and Maniv Mobility.

Scopio Labs

25 amazing Tel Aviv start-ups to watch

Image: Billion Photos/Shutterstock

Medtech start-up Scopio Labs has developed a novel diagnostics platform tipped as representing the next generation of microscopes or advanced digital microscopy. Founded in 2015 by Itai Hayut, Scopio Labs raised $7m last year in a round led by OurCrowd.

Sweet Inn

Resort booking platform Sweet Inn enables tourists to order holidays in four- or five-star resorts directly. Founded in 2014 by Paul Besnainou, the company last year raised €20m in a funding round led by Qumra Capital, BRM, La Maison and MI3.

Taranis

Agritech player Taranis uses deep learning on proprietary datasets – including sub-millimetre aerial imagery, field sensors, satellite imagery, weather forecasts and data from its field scouting app – to prevent crop disease and pest losses, helping farms to increase their yields. Founded in 2014 by Ayal Karmi, Eli Bukchin and Ofir Schlam, the company has raised $9.5m to date, including a recent Series A round led by Vertex Ventrues and Finistere Ventures.

Twiggle

Twiggle uses machine learning, AI and natural language processing to power next-generation e-commerce experiences. Founded in 2014 by ex-Google employees Dr Amir Konigsberg and Dr Adi Avidor, the start-up has raised $35m in funding to date, including a $15m Series B round led by MizMaa Ventures and Korea Investment Partners.

Workey

Workey is an AI-based anonymous career development platform that allows users to both know their worth and get concrete job offers in real time. Founded in 2014 by Amichai Schreiber, Ben Reuveni, Danny Shtainberg and Roy Reuveni, the company has raised $9.6m to date, including an $8m Series A round last year led by Pico Partners and Magma VC.

Yoobic

Yoobic is a smartphone app that can be used to track merchandising and marketing operations in a retail store. Founded in 2014 by Fabrice Haiat, Gilles Haiat and Thierry Haiat, Yoobic last year raised $5.3m in a Series A round led by Felix Capital.

Yotpo

Yotpo is a review and user-generated content marketing platform for businesses. Founded by Omri Cohen and Tomer Tagrin, the company has established offices in New York and has raised $101m in funding so far, including a recent $51m Series D round led by Access Industries. This round included participation from Vintage Investment Partners, Vertex Ventures, Rhodium, Marker, Blumberg Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and 2B Angels.

Want stories like this and more direct to your inbox? Sign up for Tech Trends, Silicon Republic’s weekly digest of need-to-know tech news.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com