CTech's Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News
Israeli female techies employ Merkel cutout to protest underrepresentation. Psy-Group CEO touted company’s ability to “change public discourse”
Psy-Group CEO touted company’s ability to “change public discourse.” A Monday report by The New York Times identified Rick Gates as the top Trump presidential campaign official who contacted Israeli intelligence firm Psy-Group for a potential social media campaign against Republican and Democratic rivals. Declining to comment on contacts with Trump’s team, Psy-Group CEO Royi Burstien said in the Hebrew-language interview the company was involved in “significantly changing public discourse” on national and corporate levels, including on political issues. He did not identify clients or countries in which the company operated. Read more
Female techies with the cardboard cutout of Merkel. Photo: Orel Cohen Investment firm Thoma Bravo to buy Imperva for $2.1 billion. Originally founded in Israel develops and sells information security software for databases and web apps. The company will delist from Nasdaq and operate as a privately-held company under its current administrative team if the deal goes through. Read more
For Israel, new statistics raise brain drain concerns. One out of seven Israelis with STEM doctorate degrees lived abroad in 2017, according to a new report. The ratio is higher in specific fields: one out of five Israelis with a locally-obtained doctorate in computer science was living out of the country in 2017, and for those with doctorates in mathematics the ratio was nearly one out of every four (24%). Read more
SoftBank considers majority stake in WeWork, report says. The Japanese group might invest $15 billion to $20 billion in the co-working company, the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, Jack Ma to attend Israeli innovation summit. Other planned attendees include Facebook executive David Marcus, venture capitalist Yuri Milner, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Read more
Perforce Software to buy mobile quality assurance company Perfecto Mobile for around $200 million. Perfecto has raised some $92 million in investments since it was founded in 2006. Perforce is expected to maintain Perfecto’s activity in Israel. Read more
Intel launches AI research center in Israel. A delegation of top Intel executives led by interim CEO Robert Swan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday. Swan, along with several dozens of Intel’s top management, arrived in Israel Sunday. The historic visit to Israel was organized by Amnon Shashua, CEO of autonomous vehicle technology company Mobileye, which was acquired by Intel in 2017 for $15.3 billion. Read more
Israeli startup to present new gel-fueled space engine. Israeli startup NewRocket plans to have a working prototype of its propulsion engine which uses a gel-propellant by the first quarter of 2019. Read more
Teva nearing sale of Israeli manufacturing plant. The pharmaceutical company is negotiating the sale of a manufacturing facility located in the town Kiryat Shmona in the north of Israel. Read more
