- Top investment opportunities
- Startup of the Week: Plantish has a ‘sea’ of opportunities
- AEYE Health: Strong signs for eye disease detection
- Size matters: 3D printing that’s larger than life
- Jerry Yang: ‘I do not invest in public markets’
- Scopio Labs raises $50M for its AI-powered, digital blood tests
- Freightos boosts Qatar Airways Cargo online bookings
- UAE’s Mashreq Bank taps ThetaRay for financial fraud prevention
- TytoCare receives European CE mark for remote lung analyzer
- CytoReason and Pfizer extend drug development collaboration
- Orbital Insight wins DOD contract to detect satellite disruption
- BeeFree Agro turns drones into cowboys
- Introductions
- More than 4,500 high-tech jobs
Startup of the Week:
Forbes: A ‘sea’ of opportunities for alternative fish
Plantish aims to produce 3D-printed fish from soy, seaweed and other vegetable proteins, but unlike other offerings of fish flakes or chunks, “the company is working on an innovative technology that enables the creation of whole cut fish fillets,” Forbes reports. The aim is to 3D print plant-based whole-cut “salmon” at cost parity with live salmon, and with the same taste, color, consistency and composition. The company has a prototype facility in operation producing “salmon” steaks that are recommended and used by leading Israeli chef Nir Zook. CEO Ofek Ron heads a strong team with deep experience in 3D printing and the plant-based food industry. OurCrowd is joining a pre-revenue up to $12M round led by State of Mind Ventures.
AEYE Health: Strong signs for eye disease detection
A clinical trial using software from our currently-funding company AEYE Health showed positive results in diagnosing a debilitating eye disease, Ophthalmology Today reports. Single images of eyes were run through AEYE’s AI-powered platform, which detected signs of more-than-mild diabetic retinopathy that can lead to blindness. The company is seeking FDA clearance for its autonomous screening solution for the disease. AEYE Health is funding now on the OurCrowd platform. Click for details.
Size matters: 3D printing gets larger than life
Largix has created the world’s largest robotic 3D printing platform, able to produce industrial-sized objects from common plastic materials for the first time. “This will be a gamechanger for us,” says Geert Denutte, the founder of CGK, a Belgian company that makes 13-foot-high storage tanks for storing and transporting hazardous liquids. “Nobody else is doing such technology. We estimate it will save us up to 50 percent in costs,” he tells Linda Gradstein in The Times of Israel. In addition, because the technology is automated, it can work “25 hours a day,” says Denutte, dramatically cutting the time required to make the tanks. Largix is set to transform 3D printing for the storage and chemicals industry and also has its sights set on the huge construction sector. The company is now funding on the OurCrowd platform.
Jerry Yang: ‘I do not invest in public markets’
“I do not invest in public markets,” Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang revealed in an online discussion with OurCrowd on Investing in the Future of FinTech. The general partner of AME Cloud Ventures is now focused on cloud and FinTech investing. “If you take a long-term perspective, then growing companies that are demonstrating growth and actually showing some strong fundamentals are going to do just fine over time. Whether 2022 will be an up year or down year, it shouldn’t matter – although I’m sure it does to some people.” Yang discussed the impact of companies like Alibaba and Tencent and the “leapfrog opportunities” now available for FinTech startups in various markets around the world. If you missed the live event, click below to stream the catchup featuring Yang and Claire Tomkins, the CEO of Future Family; Guy Kashtan, CEO of Rewire; Daniel Tsiddon of Viola FinTech; and Michal Geva, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Triventures.
Top Tech News
Scopio Labs raises $50M for its AI-powered, digital blood tests
Medtech startup Scopio Labs completed a $50M round to expand its FDA-approved imaging and AI analysis systems which significantly enhances diagnostic capabilities, Globes reports. “In the 21st century, people shouldn’t be looking through microscopes, manually counting cells,” says Itai Hayut, Scopio’s CEO. “Scopio’s full-field imaging and AI platform means tens of thousands of cells in a single sample can be examined, counted and analyzed instantly and reviewed by a specialist regardless of location.” OurCrowd investors can still join this round. Click HERE for details.
Freightos boosts Qatar Airways Cargo online bookings
As air travellers remain plagued by delays, our portfolio company IntellAct could help fix the problem, the BBC reports. Some 16% Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s largest cargo airline, is getting a huge boost in online bookings thanks to our portfolio company Freightos. Since the airline started using the company’s WebCargo platform in February 2021, they’ve received an additional 50,000 orders, The Peninsula reports.
UAE’s Mashreq Bank taps ThetaRay for financial fraud prevention
A study released by the Imperial College, London with the UK National Health Service shows the smart stethoscope created by our pMashreq Bank in the UAE will be using software from our portfolio company ThetaRay to help prevent money laundering, Reuters reports. The platform identifies financial cyberthreats so users can take action against suspicious transactions. “ThetaRay’s technology, underpinned by advanced machine-learning-based models complementing rules, sets the foundation for next-generation transaction monitoring,” says Scott Ramsay, Group Head of Compliance at Mashreq Bank.
TytoCare receives European CE mark for remote lung analyzer
Qure portfolio company TytoCare has received CE mark approval for its Lung Sounds Analyzer used in remote medical exams, paving the way for its immediate launch in Europe, Massive Device reports. Tyto Lung is a web-based software module that analyzes recordings made of the respiratory system by the TytoCare kit. The company is also seeking FDA clearance for the device.
CytoReason and Pfizer extend drug development collaboration
Our portfolio company CytoReason will continue to provide its computational disease models to help Pfizer develop new drugs as the two companies extend their collaboration which began in 2019, the Jerusalem Post reports. CytoReason’s platform has provided Pfizer with multiple insights in several R&D programs for over 20 diseases so far.
Orbital Insight wins DOD contract to detect satellite disurption
Orbital Insight will provide its geospatial intelligence knowhow to the US Department of Defense after it won a contract to create a new platform to identify satellite spoofing. The system will use AI and commercially available data to detect falsified or manipulated satellite signals which can be a risk to both government and commercial operations.
BeeFree Agro turns drones into cowboys
Living in the periphery might be a disadvantage for some startups, but for BeeFree Agro, it’s a necessity, Calcalist reports. The company, part of OurCrowd’s Labs/02 incubator, uses drones to help farmers manage and move livestock. “We need to be up here in the north – our test sites, our cattle farms are in the Galilee and Golan Heights, it is crucial for us to be next to the farmers, next to the fields, so we can run our tests and be close to our customers,” says CEO Noam Azran.
Introductions
Your portfolio gets stronger when the OurCrowd network gets involved. Visit our Introductions page to see which of our companies are looking for connections that you may be able to help with.
More than 4,500 High-Tech Jobs
Read the OurCrowd High-Tech Jobs Index Q3 2021 HERE.
- Sales Development Representative at D-ID (Tel Aviv)
- Track Engineer at skyTran (California)
- Product Manager at Peak (London)
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