To continue with our special series dedicated to Israel’s innovative startup ecosystem in partnership with Geektime, here the highlights of this week!

As 2020 finally winds down and potential vaccines promise emergence from COVID reality, Israel’s startup ecosystem showcases its MedTech prowess, AI dominance, and data magic in this week’s recap of the Israel tech sphere.

Investments keep on coming, VCs keep on funding, multinational organizations recognize the innovative potential in Israeli startups, and a recap of the ecosystem’s fundraising efforts for the month of November.

Investments

Aquarius lands $37M

Aquarius Engines develops a smart miniature sustainable combustion engine that can help scale the big machines down to size. Aquarius recently announced a $10 million funding round, led by TPR, a Japanese automotive parts manufacturer. To date, the Israeli startup has raised $37 million from Paz Oil, Marius Nacht, Honda Group’s Musashi Seimitsu, and others. Read more…

TIPA scores $4M

Israeli startup TIPA, which develops biodegradable alternatives for plastic packaging, announced a $4 million funding round, led by R&D partnership Millenium Foodtech. Read more…

CAJA Robotics raises $12M

CAJA Robotics, which develops smart robots for warehouse logistics, announced a $12 million funding round. The investment was led by New Era Capital Partners, with participation from Angels and company stakeholders. Read more…

Databand.ai secures $14.5M

Israeli startup Databand.ai, a DevOps observability tool that predicts data faults, announced a $14.5 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Accel, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Blumberg Capital, F2 Capital, Differential Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau. Read more…

Bizzabo brings in $138M mega-funding round

Bizzabo, which originally developed a platform for convention management and during the pandemic has shifted to organizing virtual events, announced a $138 million funding round. The investment was led by Insight Partners, with participation from Viola Growth, Next47, and OurCrowd. Read more…

MitrAssist reels in $50M

Israeli MedTech startup MitrAssist Medical, which develops a minimally invasive solution for patients with MR (Mitral Regurgitation), announced a $50 million funding round. The company also witnessed its valuation increase, based on the current funding round the number jumped up to $300 million. Read more…

Versatile scores $20M

Versatile (formerly Versatile Natures), which develops an AI platform for optimizing construction, announced a $20 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Insight Partners and Entree Capital, with participation from existing investors, including Root Ventures, Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, Conductive Ventures, and veteran construction technology entrepreneurs… Read more…

VC action

Olive Tree Ventures closes $170M and expands Asian footprint

Israeli venture capital fund OTV (Olive Tree Ventures) announced the closing of a $170 million fund. The fund, which contains 12 portfolio companies so far, aims to back startups in the digital health sector. Read more…

Collaborations & Partnerships

UBQ Materials partners with Motherson

Israeli cleantech startup UBQ Materials, which develops sustainable materials from waste, continues to show industry versatility, by announcing a collaboration with Motherson Group, a multinational Tier 1 automotive manufacturer. Read more…

Cognata collabs with Seoul Robotics to validate LiDAR tech

Cognata, which develops ADAS and autonomous vehicle validation testing technologies, is partnering up with a South Korean based LiDAR perception company, Seoul Robotics. The joint venture aims to address market openings by creating various use cases to leverage for further development and marketing efforts. Read more…

Philips taps Israel’s cyber industry

Philips taps Israeli IoT security startup CyberMDX to integrate its healthcare security solution into Philips’ new healthcare-focused cyber-security services. The Israeli startup has developed a data-security platform tailored to the healthcare sector. Read more…

Nova Consulting teams up with Explorium

Israeli data-science startup Explorium, which provides enterprises with an augmented data discovery platform, announced a partnership with Nova Consulting, a leading data strategy and consulting boutique. Read more…

Israel’s MedTech ecosystem

Israeli AI is powering global diagnostics

PixCell Medical deploys hematology diagnostics at point-of-care; Aidoc partners with Imbio, and announced that leading Israeli hospitals have implemented AI imaging analysis technology; Ibex Medical Analysis joins forces with Institut Curie in battle against breast cancer. Read more…

Rocket innovation

NewRocket announced the launch of what it calls a ‘New Generation’ of rockets. The startup’s Next-Gen rockets are adaptable to a variety of satellites of all sizes. In addition to the rockets, NewRocket also develops PowerGel – an advanced gel-based fuel – which provides a more sustainable fuel solution that’s still powerful and controllable, following the strictest industry regulations. Read more…

Israeli startup November recap

Following a small dip in funding during October, Israeli startups raised over $1 billion ($1.032 billion to be exact) in no less than 34 transactions during the month of November. This comes to a $300 million bump compared to last month’s $731 million in 38 transactions. Even during the pre-COVID days of November 2019, Israeli startups “only” closed 26 transactions totaling $840 million. Read more…