Israeli start-ups raised nearly $ 400 million in October [recruitment summary]

Did not you manage to keep track of everything that happened this month? (That's okay, you're not alone) Here are all the investments, acquisitions and fund raising of recent months in the Israeli start-up scene

Israeli start-ups raised nearly $ 400 million in October [recruitment summary]

The start-up nation grows and excels in many technological ideas, but not all of them succeed in taking the idea and turning it into reality without investing. In this monthly column we will present a summary of the Israeli start-ups that raised investments this month from funds, angels and even the state.

Vensica Medical raised $ 2 million

Although irritable bladder syndrome is not life-threatening, hundreds of millions of sufferers worldwide experience severe quality of life damage caused by the need for frequent urination, including frequent waking up, difficulty in holding back, and even incontinence. The Israeli start-up Vensica Medical, which has developed a new method to combat this syndrome, is now raising $ 2 million in a $ 10 million placement.

Vensica Medical's unique system, called VensiCare, consists of a catheter and ultrasound transducers that increase the permeability of the bladder lining, allowing for more efficient absorption and higher concentration of drugs in a simple, painless, ambulatory procedure. The procedure does not require anesthesia, does not involve pain, and does not damage the bladder tissue.

Vensica Medical was founded in 2014 by Avner Geva, and its total funding, including the current round, is $ 3.2 million. The current $ 2 million round was led by the US biotech company Cogentix, which is traded on Nasdaq, and is based on a company valuation of $ 10 million. About a year ago, the American company, which focuses on developments in the urology market, was sold to Accelmed by Israeli investors Mori Arkin and Uri Geiger. With the completion of the human clinical trial, Cogentix is ​​given the option of full ownership acquisition in Vensica.

Playtech acquired the Israeli gaming company Jelly Button

A year after its acquisition by the Chinese consortium of companies for $ 4.4 billion, Playtech entered the world of casual gaming. This month, the company announced the acquisition of the Israeli gaming company Jelly Button for tens of millions of dollars.

Jelly Button Games was founded in 2011 by Alon Lev, Moti Novo, Ron Saranga, Ron Rajuan and Mor Shani, gamers and devoted game lovers who stand behind a pickled studio. The company was based on a seed round led by the Kaedan Capital Fund and self-financing by the founders. Over the years, the games of the company, which specializes in casual gaming, have gained more than 80 million downloads and currently employ about 80 employees in its offices in Tel Aviv.

Jelly Button company

Kryon Systems raised $ 12 million

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, humanity has been witness to the process of replacing the working man with the working machines, and in recent decades we are slowly seeing the trend shift from machines to software and robots that replace daily tasks of many workers. This month, Kryon Systems, which develops a platform for robots that can perform logical tasks instead of humans, announced the completion of a $ 12 million round of financing led by Aquiline Technology Growth and Vertex Ventures.

Crayon Systems is a company active in the field of Robotic Process Automation. The company develops a platform for building and managing organizational robots. Its solution enables the robot to perform any logical action that an employee can perform: whether it is accounting, hiring employees or handling insurance claims. The robot can learn to perform the task. The boundary of the robot moves in the field of creativity. Once the task involves an element of invention or any creative thinking, the robot can not help. The company claims that Crayon was established to facilitate the work of people in all industries, while reducing the waste of time on administrative tasks and reducing the burden on employees.

kryon systeme .c

Phytech has raised $ 11 million

The Israeli agriotech company Phytech (P-Tech), which helps farmers increase their yields by means of smarter irrigation, has announced a $ 11 million raise. The current round (Series B) was led by Tencent, with existing investors Syngenta Ventures.

Industrial IoT changes the old farming methods, and today digitization, sensor use and forecasting applications are essential tools for farmers to optimize their production and meet the growing demand. Phytech helps farmers keep pace with constant sensing and analysis of crops, and in fact provides them with tools that streamline irrigation methods, and guides them how much and when each crop should be irrigated. In this way farmers can increase the yield of their crops, while reducing the waste of resources (water). The entire process is carried out with a dedicated smartphone application that displays all the crops and characterizes their needs using colors that indicate their condition (green, yellow and brown).

Phytech Project

Cathworks raised $ 15.8 million

Cathworks, which develops tools for non-invasive measurement to guide stent transplants in cardiac catheterization, has announced the completion of a second round of $ 15.8 million, led by the Quark Venture Fund and the Treasures Foundation. Among the investors in the current round are Pontifax, Planaven, Corundum, and the American fund, Bestar Ventures. Another large US medical equipment company participated as a strategic investor. The funds raised in this round will enable Quethrox to conduct a global clinical trial to obtain approval from the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration.

The Catherox solution enables a noninvasive functional evaluation of the coronary arteries by using algorithms that construct a three-dimensional model of coronary blood vessels. Such a solution allows the surgeon to make evidence-based decisions during catheterization, in accordance with Western medical guidelines.

GROW raised $ 2.4 million

Cultivation and self-cultivation of fruits and vegetables for eating is not an easy task, which involves quite a bit of trial and error. GROW, which is developing a smart plant that is supposed to assure you of quality crops and quality harvest through the smartphone, has announced the completion of a $ 2.4 million financing round led by Resolute Venture. GROW CEO Idan Cohen is one of the founders of Boxee, the TV box, until finally the company was sold to Samsung.

Grow Duo is a smartphone with a number of sensors, which connects to your smartphone using Bluetooth. All you have to do to start growing fruits, vegetables or spices is to connect the product's internal irrigation system to a permanent hose or faucet, to plant the seeds in the soil, and the application will guide you from now on. The applet uses the user's location and historical and up-to-date information on the weather in its area to recommend which items will grow optimally in its smart garden. Through the application you can even order the seeds and fertilizer to the door.