Author: Sarah Pritzker

Sarah Pritzker is a writer living in Israel. She writes for various Israeli startups and cares a lot about the startup scene in Israel. She has circumnavigated the globe, stopping in nearly every continent, and loves learning about different cultures.
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Kaiima – AgriTech’s Pick for Solving World Hunger

World hunger is a serious problem, and one that scientists, farmers, politicians, and world leaders are constantly struggling to overcome. This is why when Israeli company Kaiima turned out a bumper crop of experimental produce, the entire world stopped to listen. And they had some pretty fascinating things to say.

The Kaiima Method

Kaiima is a successful agro-biotech that is tackling the world’s hunger problem by making crop production a more efficient and productive process. The science behind their methods is known as Clean Genome Multiplication (CGM) technology and it effectively enhances the crop’s production levels, by dramatically encouraging the vegetation to increase the chromosome production in the plants.

This is actually a natural process that is already occurring in the plants, so the CGM is simply giving it a boost in order to do its job better. The Kaiima method is a further development of this process that they’ve termed EP (Enhanced Ploidy) for the greater ploidy genomes that are produced without damaging quality.

According to Doron Gal, CEO of Kaiima, “In agriculture, this is considered a game-changing technology…Kaiima is the first since the green revolution that has an interesting yield-enhancement technology.” And that technology is really making waves in the agricultural communities across the world.

Seeing Resounding Results

So is the Kaima method as good as they say it is? Their 2014 numbers for corn, soy, wheat, and rice closed near $30 billion, a real bumper crop if ever there was one! These specific crops are in tremendous demand globally, with a 90% increase over the last 30 years. Overall, Kaiima has been able to increase crop production by 10-50%, a development that hasn’t been seen since the beginning of the “green revolution”.

With production levels like this, when the seeds go to market in a few weeks, everyone is hopeful that the rising global hunger problems will be significantly reduced.

Kaiima’s Global Aid

Kaiima has gained global recognition over the past few years for its tremendous strides made in struggling countries across the world. In 2013, the bio-agritech company teamed up with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in India in an attempt to breed new types of rice that would have greater biomass and grain yield, effectively feeding more people with less. Their efforts in Africa to establish stronger vegetation were equally successful.

Investors such as Horizon, The World Bank Group, the International Financial Corporation, and Infinity Group are all backing this noble project. Currently Kaiima has subsidiaries in North America and Israel, and the company plans to expand their operations for further research and development. Kaiima means sustainable, and that is certainly something that they are helping to achieve!

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IAI Helps India Get a Foot Up on Its Defense Network

IAI had another successful trip to India this week, as a major deal between the Indian Ministry of Defense and this leading developer and producer of defense systems and technologies was signed at the Defexpo 2016. The conference was held last week in Goa, India, and IAI president Joseph Weiss flew in to sit with heads of many of the major defense and security companies within India.

Signed, Sealed & Delivered

The upshot of all these meetings was outstanding success for both sides, as a number of deals amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars were signed. The Indian defense organizations were interested in several technologies including the air defense systems, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and radar systems, all of which are going to provide India with a stronger line of defense than ever before.

As Weiss himself said, “India has unique operational requirements, and IAI is dedicating its best talents, technologies and capabilities to meet those challenges. We will continue our long-term, strategic partnership with India, meet our customers’ expectations and implement the ‘Make in India’ policy led by India’s Prime Minister.”

IAI in Action

IAI is an aerospace and defense company based in Israel. It is the largest government run organization, and it supplies advanced systems including satellites, space systems, robotics, cyber solutions, electronic intelligence, and command and strategic control systems, as well as more germane systems such as their passenger to freighter conversion systems.

Of course, this is not the first time IAI has signed a deal with the Indian Ministry of Defense. The prominent defense company has been supplying defense technology to India and several other governments for over a quarter of a century, with joint ventures, subcontracts, and cooperation agreements spanning the globe. The Israeli company has worked closely with India in particular, offering their important services and innovations to several branches of the Indian defense forces including coast guard, navy, air force, and border control.

The Future of Defense

The expo was a valuable opportunity for IAI to display some of their latest innovations, many of which have already been successfully demonstrated within India and have won the interest of the Indian Ministry of Defense. Some of the exciting developments included newly engineered IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that can be detonated in non conventional ways and an early warning system driven via radar sensors that are invaluable for signalling against mortar attacks.

India and Israel will continue their research and development together to provide the most productive and solid defense systems available.

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India Investing in Israel, Israel Updating India

India and Israel have been courting each other for nearly twelve years now, and in recent years the relationship has blossomed into a full-blown love affair. The two biggest investment firms in India are already smitten with the small, technology-based country, and now the third conglomerate is getting in on the fun. Aditya Birla has dispatched representatives to assess the current situation in Israel as a precursor for some major investments into the development of several lucky startups, and Israel is welcoming the idea with open arms.

Aditya Birla Scopes Out The Scene

The Group Executive President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Dev Bhattacharya, came to Israel in February with the explicit instructions to scout out the prospects. Along with several directors of various branches of Aditya Birla, Bhattacharya reviewed close to 500 startups across Israel that covered the spectrum of the technology industry. After the initial assessment, Aditya Birla will bring a select few of the chosen companies over to India to pitch their concepts to the board of investors. The lucky winners will receive a fund that will allow these companies to continue researching and developing their concepts.

The companies reviewed covered a wide range of industries including cybersecurity, water tech, financial technology, new media, and cleantech. Aditya Birla already has their hand in most industries across India, so the spread is in keeping with their current domestic practices. The company currently stands at approximately $41 million.

Previous Investments

Infosys made headlines when they bought out Panaya, a major database management service in Israel that is based on the cloud, for $200 million. This was a worthwhile investment that helped Infosys advance their service offerings and expand their reach. Tata is another smart Indian company that jumped on the Israel bandwagon early on. They have already invested in the Tel Aviv University’s Technology Innovation Momentum Fund, and Tata is looking towards their groundbreaking discoveries in several fields including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, cleantech, and software development.

According to Shlomo Nimrodi, Ramot’s CEO, “Tata is a huge company, worth $100 billion at least, but they have made a strategic decision to significantly expand that worth in the coming years, and the best way for them to do that is via innovation.” So it seems that Israeli innovations are the up and coming trends for developing economies.

A Win-Win Situation

The partnership is being viewed as a positive move for both sides of the arrangement. The Israeli startups are excited to be getting the funding to fuel further development of some concepts and technologies could very well change the face of the world. The Indian investors are also thrilled to be the recipients of these new technologies and are anxious to see what this undervalued resource of the Middle East will produce in the future. With this deal in the bag, the world can expect to see more Indian-Israel relations cropping up in the coming years.

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Beating Zika & Making a Difference, Israeli Biofeed Takes on the Challenge

Biofeed is a company with a mission. They’re out to change the world, and they are well on their way towards doing it. Thanks to the Grand Challenges contest hosted in Israel this year, Biofeed has been given 500,000 NIS to continue their research combating the Zika virus. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the insect responsible for spreading the pernicious virus, has been the subject of the team’s research for some time now, and at last the Israeli corporation is seeing results.

A Global Issue

Zika is commonly misdiagnosed since the symptoms including high fever, rashes, and joint pain, often go unnoticed or misread until later stages. While generally not lethal, the Zika virus is a prolific disease due to its fast and far-reaching method of transmission – the insects bite people and then fly great distances to spread the malady. Aside from being a major discomfort, Zika can cause brain damage to fetuses in-utero and a temporary form of paralysis for the mother. The virus is currently affecting millions of victims across Africa and other poverty-stricken nations. With time though, Biofeed plans to make this problem disappear.

Biofeed to the Rescue

Biofeed is working with a scented poison that will attract and infect these insects, eradicating entire colonies in the process. The substance is perfectly harmless for humans, but it will effectively wipe out these pesky pests.

When asked what the motivation was for such a movement, Mashav, Israel’s agency that deals with International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, director Gil Haskel explains, “Much of the world’s population is suffering from lack of food and access to clean water and exposure to diseases. Israeli entrepreneurs have developed technologies that will improve the quality of life for billions around the world.” Biofeed is one of the companies taking these challenges head on.

Making Waves All Over the World

The Grand Challenges contest is helping Biofeed and other innovative companies complete their altruistic missions. The concept behind the initiative is to connect world-changing technological developments with the entrepreneurship to fund their discoveries. It is their hope that these breakthroughs will help make the world a better place, specifically catering their efforts towards global issues that exist in Africa, South America, Asia, and other problem areas throughout the world.

A nationwide initiative, the Grand Challenge has already seen dramatic results. Nine other companies were also given the grant to further their developments within their specific fields. Some of the other Israeli contestants include Amaizz, a company that is helping Kenya solve their crops issues;  FIT, the creators of expanding prosthetic appendages to help ease the adjustment cycle and pain in children with these needs; and Semorex, a research lab conquering cancer by killing off cancerous cells.

This is the second year Israel is participating in a Grand Challenge contest, and governments, entrepreneurs, and organizations alike are all anxious to see what major results will come out of this pint-sized country.

 

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Israeli Ophthalmologist is Saving The World by Changing The Winds

Wind turbines are a popular form of renewable energy that are slowly being adopted all over the world. One of the leading researchers and developers of this earth-friendly alternative is Leviathan Energy Renewables, Ltd. based in Israel. And with traditional Israeli tenacity one scientist is striving to change the world by harnessing these winds. And he is succeeding beyond expectations.

Leviathan Energy Renewables Making Leviathan Changes

Dr. Daniel Farb is the CEO of Leviathan. Together with his team, Farb is revolutionizing the way the world uses this alternative energy source in both its breadth and depth of usability. Farb’s goal is to make this form of renewable energy so efficient that anyone in the world can use it no matter where in the world they are. So not only are Leviathan’s innovations making the wind turbines more powerful, but they are successfully introducing them to areas all over the world that have never been able to utilize such technology before.

Leviathan Across the Globe

Leviathan Energy holds over 30 patents in different countries across the globe including the US, South Africa, Canada, and of course Israel. Some of these innovative concept designs are similar to their previously launched inventions such as wind energizers. These are panels that increase the speed of the wind near the wind turbines, essentially evening out the force of the wind against the turbine for greater efficiency. This can actually be useful in areas that experience lower wind speeds.

So how effective are these Farb-introduced methods? According to the research, previous attempts at improving wind turbine production have been focused on the turbine itself and have yielded approximately 1-2% improvement. In contrast, Leviathan’s methods are seeing as much as 30% increased production levels.

Crowdfunding Their Way to Success

Investors are lining up to fund this project, but everyone wants to see a working prototype first. Since the working turbines of today are generally 80-100 meters wide, Farb is now set on raising $1 million to fund the continuation of his research and development centers. If successful, this one Israeli could impact the climate change dilemma of the entire world.