Top Startups

50 Most Promising Israeli Startups 2020 - Covid-19 Edition

Israel is home to over 200 growth stage companies. Check out Calcalist's list of the country’s 50 most promising startups that we believe will survive and thrive despite coronavirus turmoil

Meir Orbach and Hagar Ravet 15:1928.04.20

Every year on Israel’s Independence Day CTech publishes Calcalist's list of the 50 most promising Israeli startups. This year, compiling the list was more difficult than ever since the world economy, and the tech sector as part of it is still in the midst of the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. On one hand, companies that looked on a sure path to an exit back in January, now face extinction because their industry collapsed. On the other hand, the pandemic, with its health, economic and social fallout can provide an opportunity for companies in the startup nation that enjoys unparalleled innovative and entrepreneurial resources, backed by hefty investment opportunities.

 

The foundations aren’t going away and companies will continue to launch, grow and succeed. Under the current circumstances, we just need to select the most promising ones using slightly different parameters.

 

Tel Aviv's skyline. Photo: Shutterstock Tel Aviv's skyline. Photo: Shutterstock

 

Top 50 Israeli Startups - 2019 Edition >>

Top 50 Israeli Startups - 2018 Edition >>

 

After consulting with a wide range of industry experts, we chose to highlight companies that managed to push through and succeed despite the difficult circumstances, while doing their best to avoid hurting their workforce in the process. We chose to forego our traditional ranking system this year and instead focus on various categories of activity, noting, in particular, the fields that the crisis made essential: cybersecuritylogistics and e-commerce medtechdeep techentertainment and media , unicorns. We asked the industry’s leading investors, consultants, and entrepreneurs, to pinpoint the startups they think have the best chance to survive and thrive during the covid-19 crisis (the selectors were instructed not to reference companies that were part of their own investment portfolios). After crunching the figures and opinions, we compiled a list of the 50 most promising companies. We believe that the future will prove that the companies in this list, like those in our previous versions, will justify their inclusion.

 

Deep Tech

 

Logz.io

 

Products: machine data analytics platform

Year founded: 2014

Founder: Tomer Levy

Number of employees: 220

Funding raised: $100 million

Investors: 83North, Openview, General Catalyst

 

Logz.io co-founders. Photo: Ryan Frey Logz.io co-founders. Photo: Ryan Frey

 

Binah.ai

 

Product: big data analytics

Year founded: 2016

Founders: David Maman, Michael Markzon, Konstantin Gedalin 

Funding raised: $14.5 million

Investors: Maverick Ventures, iAngels, Global IoT Technology Ventures Inc. (GiTV) 

 

 

Binah.ai co-founder David Maman. Photo: PR Binah.ai co-founder David Maman. Photo: PR

 

Pecan

 

Product: predictive analytics tools

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Noam Brezis and Zohar Bronfman

Number of employees: 30

Funding raised: $15 million

Investors: Dell Technologies Capital, S-Capital

 

 

Quantum Machines

 

Product: quantum computing processors

Year founded: 2018

Founders: Itamar Sivan, Yonatan Cohen, Nissim Ofek

Number of employees: 25

Funding raised: $23 million

Investors: Avigdor Willenz, TLV Partners, Battery Ventures

 

  

QM founders Nissim Ofek (left), Yonatan Cohen, Itamar Sivan. Photo: QM QM founders Nissim Ofek (left), Yonatan Cohen, Itamar Sivan. Photo: QM

 

WekaIO

 

Product: scalable file storage

Year founded: 2013

Founders: Liran Zvibel, Omri Palmon, Maor Ben Dayan

Number of employees: 120

Funding raised: $68 million

Investors: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Nvidia, Qualcomm Technologies, Gemini, NVP

  

 

Wiliot

 

Product: smart stickers that transform regular products into smart devices

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Tal Tamir, Yaron Elboim, Alon Yehezkely

Number of employees: 46

Funding raised: $70 million

Investors: Vintage Investment Partners, Pepsico, Verizon, 83North, Qualcomm Ventures, NVP

 

Entertainment and Media

 

JoyTunes

 

Product: music education apps

Year founded: 2011

Founders: Yigal Kaminka, Yuval Kaminka, Roey Izkovsky

Number of employees: 75

Funding raised: $43 million

Investors: Insight Venture Partners, Kaedan Capital, Zohar Gilon

  

JoyTunes co-founders Yigal  Kaminka and Yuval Kamink. Photo: Omri Shapira JoyTunes co-founders Yigal Kaminka and Yuval Kamink. Photo: Omri Shapira

 

 

Cloudinary

 

Product: digital assets management tools

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Itai Lahan, Nadav Soferman, Tal Lev-Ami

Number of employees: 250

Funding raised: $10 million in a secondary market funding round

Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners

   

Drivenets

 

Product: disaggregated networking solution

Founders: Ido Susan, Hillel Kobrinsky

Year founded: 2015

Number of employees: 250

Funding: $110 million

Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, Samsung Ventures, C4 Ventures

  

Eko

 

Product: interactive video technologies

Year founded: 2010

Founders: Barak Feldman, Tal Zubalsky, Yoni Bloch

Number of employees: 95

Funding raised: $62 million

Investors: Intel Capital, Sequoia Capital, Sony, MGM, Warner Music

  

Moon Active

 

Product: Mobile gaming development solutions

Year founded: 2011

Founder: Samuel Albin

Number of employees: 440

Funding raised: $10 million

Investors: Gigi Levy-Weiss, Guy Gamzu, David Alliance, Insight Partners, Singulariteam Ltd, Jonathan Kolber, Roy Oron 

 

WSC Sports

 

Product: AI-driven platform that analyzes live sports broadcasts and creates customized short-form video

Year founded: 2011

Founders: Daniel Shichman, Aviv Arnon, Shmulik Yoffe, Hy Gal

Number of employees: 150

Funding raised: $39 million

 

Spot.IM

 

Product: audience engagement system

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Nadav Shoval, Roee Goldberg, Ishay Green

Number of employees: 111

Funding: $66 million

Investors: Insight Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Millhouse Capital, AltaIR Capital

  

Nadav Shoval and Ishay Green. Photo: Shaxaf Haber Nadav Shoval and Ishay Green. Photo: Shaxaf Haber

 

Zencity

 

Product: smart city management system

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Eyal Feder-Levy, Ido Ivry

Number of employees: 65

Funding: $8 million

Investors: Microsoft’s venture arm M12, Vertex Ventures, Canaan Partners, i3 Equity Partners

  

Unicorns

 

Monday.com

Product: customizable workflow management solutions

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Roy Mann, Eran Zinman

Number of employees: 470

Funding raised: $234 million 

 

AppsFlyer

 

Product: marketing analytics

Year founded: 2011

Founders: Oren Kaniel, Reshef Mann

Number of employees: 850

Funding raised: $294 million

Investors: Qumra Capital, General Atlantic, Pitango, Magma Venture Partners, DTCP, Israeli businessman Eyal Gura

 

 

AppsFlyer co-founders. Photo: AppsFlyer AppsFlyer co-founders. Photo: AppsFlyer

 

JFrog

Product: software automation tools

Year founded: 2008

Founders: Shlomi Ben Haim, Frederic Simon, Yoav Landman

Number of employees: 550

Funding raised: $226 million

Investors: Battery Ventures LP, Scale Venture Partners, Dell Technologies Capital, EMC Ventures

 

Lightricks

 

Product: content creation apps

Year founded: 2013

Founders: Zeev Farbman, Amit Goldstein, Itai Tsiddon, Nir Pochter, Yaron Inger

Number of employees: 350

Funding: $205 million

Investors: Viola Ventures, ClalTech, Insight Partners, Golman Sachs

 

SentinelOne

Product: enterprise AI cybersecurity system

Year founded: 2013

Founders: Tomer Weingarten, Almog Cohen

Number of employees: 500

Funding: $430 million

Investors: Insight Partners, Sound Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Tiger Global, Samsung, NextEquity, Third Point Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Data Collective, SineWave Ventures

 

Via

Product: ridesharing and smart transportation services

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Daniel Ramot, Oren Shoval

Number of employees: 500

Funding: $787 million

Investors: Pitango Venture Capital, 83North, Exor NV, Daimler AG

 

 

Oren Shoval. Photo: Orel Cohen Oren Shoval. Photo: Orel Cohen

 

Vast Data

Product: flash-based storage

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Renen Hallak, Shachar Fienblit, Jeff Denworth

Number of employees: 150

Funding: $180 million

Investors: Siemens' Venture Arm Next47, 83North, Mellanox, Dell Technologies Capital, Goldman Sachs, NVP

 

Logistics and E-Commerce

 

Fabric

 

Product: warehouse managing robots for online retailers

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Ori Avraham, Shay Cohen, Elram Goren, Eyal Goren

Funding raised: $136 million

Investors: Innovation Endeavors, Playground Global, Temasek Holdings, Aleph, Corner Ventures

 

 

Fabric co-founders. Photo: Ran Yehezkel Fabric co-founders. Photo: Ran Yehezkel

 

 

 

Capitolis

 

Product: online marketplace for capital management

Year founded: 2017

Founders: Gil Mandelzis, Tom Glocer

Number of employees: 6

Funding: $70 million

Investors: S Capital, Spark Capital, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital

 

Forter

 

Product: payment fraud prevention tools

Year founded: 2013

Founders: Alon Shemesh, Michael Reitblat, Liron Damri

Number of employees: 235

Funding: $100 million

Investors: Sequoia Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Scale Venture Partners, March Capital, Salesforce Ventures

 

Glassbox

 

Product: Customer behaviour analytics service

Year founded: 2010

Founders: Hanan Blumstein, Yaron Gueta, Yoav Schreiber

Number of employees: 140

Funding: $70 million

Investors: Brighton Park Capital Management, Updata Management, Ibex Investors, CreditEase Israel Innovation Fund (CEIIF), the Israeli venture arm of Beijing-based consulting firm CreditEase, Gefen Capital Management

 

Gong.io

 

Product: Sales intelligence system

Year founded: 2010

Founders: Amit Bendov, Eilon Reshef

Number of employees: 305

Funding raised: $134 million

Investors: Sequoia Capital, Battery Ventures, Cisco Investments, Shlomo Kramer, Norwest Venture Partners

 

Papaya Global

 

Product: payroll, payments, and workforce management tools

Year founded: 2016

Founder: Eynat Guez, Ruben Drong, Ofer Herman

Number of employees: 110

Funding: $50 million

Investors: Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Dynamic Loop Capital, New Era Capital Partners

 

Eynat Guez. Photo: Amit Sha'al Eynat Guez. Photo: Amit Sha'al

 

Moovit

 

Product: public transit navigation app

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Roy Bick, Yaron Evron, Nir Erez

Number of employees: 215

Funding: $133 million

Investors: Intel Ventures, BMW i Ventures, BRM Capital, Sequoia Capital, Vintage Investment Partners, Hanaco Ventures

 

Namogoo

 

Year founded: 2014

Founders: Chemi Katz, Ohad Greenshpan

Number of employees: 100

Funding: $69 million

Investors: Blumberg Capital, GreatPoint Ventures, Hanaco Venture Capital, Oak HC/FT

 

Namogoo co-founders Ohan Greenshpan and Chemi Katz. Photo: Efrat Saar Namogoo co-founders Ohan Greenshpan and Chemi Katz. Photo: Efrat Saar

 

Rapyd

 

Product: Infrastructure for payment services

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Arkady Karpman, Arik Shtilman, Omer Priel

Number of employees: 280

Funding: $180 million

Investors: Oak HC/FT, Tiger Global, Coatue Management, General Catalyst, Target Global, Entrée Capital, Stripe

 

Riskified

 

Product: online fraud prevention tools

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Eido Gal, Assaf Feldman

Number of employees: 500

Funding: $230 million

Investors: Pitango Venture Capital, Capital One Growth Ventures, Qumra Capital, General Atlantic 

Syte

 

Product: visual search engine

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Lihi Pinto Fryman, Ofer Fryman, Idan Pinto, Helge Voss

Number of employees: 100

Funding: $30 million

Investors: Viola Ventures, Storm Ventures, Axess Ventures, Lyra Ventures, Remagine Ventures

 

Tipalti

Product: payment automation technologies

Year founded: 2010

Founders: Chen Amit, Oren Zeev

Number of employees: 280

Funding: $146 million

Investors: Zeev Ventures, Group 11, 01 Advisors, Greenspring Associates, TrueBridge Capital Partners

 

Chen Amit. Photo: Orel Cohen Chen Amit. Photo: Orel Cohen

 

Verbit

 

Product: transcription and captioning tools

Year founded: 2017

Founder: Tom Livne, Eric Shellef, Kobi Ben Tzvi,

Number of employees: 102

Funding: $65 million

Investors: Stripes Group, Viola Ventures, Vertex Ventures, Oryzn Capital, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures

 

Cyber and Security

 

Axonius

 

Product: cybersecurity asset management service

Year founded: 2017

Founders: Avidor Bartov, Dean Sysman, and Ofri Shur

Number of employees: 80

Funding: $95 million

Investors: YL Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, OpenView, Vertex Ventures

  

Dean Sysman. Photo: Orel Cohen Dean Sysman. Photo: Orel Cohen

 

IntSights

 

Product: cyber intelligence

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Guy Nizan, Alon Arvatz, Gal Ben-David

Number of employees: 170

Funding: $70 million

Investors: Blumberg Capital, ClearSky, Qumra Capital, Glilot Capital, Blackstone

  

BigID

Product: network privacy policy management

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Dimitri Sirota, Nimrod Vax

Number of employees: 195

Funding: $146 million

Investors: Bessemer Ventures, Tiger Global

  

Cato Networks

 

Product: software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) security services

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Gur Shatz, Shlomo Kramer

Number of employees: 200

Funding: $200 million

Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Aspect Ventures, Greylock Partners, Singtel Innov8 Ventures Pte. Ltd., USVP Management Company LLC

  

Claroty

Product: cybersecurity for industrial networks

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Amir Zilberstein, Benny Porat, Galina Antova

Number of employees: 170

Funding: $100 million

Investors: Team8, Temasek Holdings, Bessemer Venture Partners, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens' Venture Arm Next47, Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV), Tekfan Ventures, Envision Ventures, Innovation Endeavors

  

PerimeterX

 

Product: protection against malicious bots

Year founded: 2014

Founder: Omri Iluz, Ido Safruti, Ophir Ashkenazi

Number of employees: 183

Funding: $91.5 million

Investors: DTCP, Salesforce Ventures, Data Collective DCVC, Canaan Partners, Vertex Ventures, Adams Street Partners

  

SafeBreach

Product: cyberattack simulations

Year founded: 2014

Founders: Guy Bejerano, Itzik Kotler

Number of employees: 50

Funding: $50 million

Investors: DTCP, Sequoia Capital, OCV Partners, PayPal

  

SafeBreach's co-founders. SafeBreach SafeBreach's co-founders. SafeBreach

 

SAM

Product: home network security

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Sivan Rauscher, Eilon Lotem, Shmuel Chafets

Number of employees: 65

Funding: $20 million

Investors: Intel Capital, Blumberg Capital, NightDragon Security

   

Snyk

 

Product: Cloud and external library security

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Guy Podjarny, Danny Grander, Assaf Hefetz

Number of employees: 300

Funding raised: $250 million

Investors: Stripes Group, Canaan Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global

   

Medtech

 

Tyto Care

Product: remote medical diagnosis tool

Year founded: 2012

Founders: Dedi Gilad, Ofer Tzadik

Number of employees: 50

Funding raised: $105 million

Investors: Insight Partners, Olive Tree Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Orbimed, Cambia Health Solutions, LionBird

 

 

Tyto Care co-founder Dedi Gilad. Photo: Tyto Care Tyto Care co-founder Dedi Gilad. Photo: Tyto Care

 

 

Aidoc

Product: AI-based medical imaging software

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Guy Reiner, Elad Walach, Michael Braginsky

Number of employees: 100

Funding raised: $40 million

Investors: TLV Partners, Magma Venture Partners, Square Peg Capital

 

 

Clew

 

Product: Predictive medical diagnostic tools

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Gal Salomon, Avigdor Faians

Number of employees: 30

Funding raised: $20 million

Investors: Pitango Venture Capital, Relyens, Agate Medical Investments

 

Emedgene

 

Product: machine learning genomic analysis

Year founded: 2016

Founders: Einat Metzer, Shay Tzur, Niv Mizrahi 

Number of employees: 40

Funding raised: $8 million

Investors: OliveTree Ventures, Mindset Ventures

 

Healthy.io

 

Product: home urine testing kit

Year founded: 2013

Founder: Yonatan Adiri

Number of employees: 120

Funding raised: $96 million 

Investors: Samsung Next, Aleph Venture Capital, Ansonia Holdings

  

K Health

 

Product: personalized primary care application

Year founded: 2016

Founder: Allon Bloch, Israel Roth, Ran Shaul, Adam Singolda

Number of employees: 110

Funding: $97 million

Investors: Mangrove Capital Partners, Comcast Ventures, Primary Ventures, 14W, Anthem

  

MDClone

 

Product: patient privacy system

Year founded: 2015

Founders: Ziv Ofek , Boaz Gur-Lavie, Erez Luz

Number of employees: 70

Funding: $41 million

Investors: aMoon, OrbiMed Advisors, Lightspeed

  

MDClone's team. Photo: MDClone MDClone's team. Photo: MDClone

 

 cybersecuritylogistics and e-commerce medtechdeep techentertainment and media , and unicorns

 

 

 

The list was compiled, written and edited by Meir Orbach and Hagar Ravet

 

The following organizations aided in compiling the list: Aleph, 83North, Intel Capital, Vertex, Samsung Next, Team8, Bessemer, Poalim Hi Tech, Viola Group, Insight, Pitango, JVP, Qumra, Citi Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, StageOne, IGP, AMoon

 

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