Israeli startups soldiered through the weird year that has been 2020, closing out December with $768 million in funding. One of the most interesting things from the past month is the fact that early-stage startups surpassed growth-stage startups not only in amount of transactions, but also in total funded capital.
Thanks to Rappaport & Willenz
In December, Israeli startups reported 28 funding rounds, with early-stage startups (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A) grossing $397 million. Two of Israel’s tech ecosystem’s most familiar entrepreneurs belong to the early-stage group - Assaf Rappaport and Avigdor Willenz - who founded two new startups, Wiz and Xsight Labs, and reported over $200 million in funding this month.
The Series B and up startups reported $371 million in funding in December, including the new Unicorn on the block - BigID, which raised $70 million and surpassed the billion dollar valuation mark.
When comparing December’s funding totals from the previous two years to 2020’s, you would think that the global pandemic wasn’t really a factor. In December 2018, Israeli startups raised $230 million, with 2019 reports coming at just under $200 million - less than a third of 2020’s total.
Though when comparing November’s numbers, when Israeli startups secured over $1 billion on 35 rounds, we see a bit of a drop off. However, considering that December is a holiday month it’s pretty natural for this to happen.
In the mergers and acquisitions department, Israeli startup RestAR was acquired by American giant Unity; Six months after it was founded, CloudEssence is acquired by a U.S. cyber company; and Israeli smart marketing consolidates powers with Kenshoo acquiring Signals Analytics.
December Funding
Databand.ai raises $14.5M
Israeli startup Databand.ai, a DevOps observability tool that predicts data faults, announced a $14.5 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Accel, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Blumberg Capital, F2 Capital, Differential Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau. Read more…
Versatile lands $20M
Versatile is developing a system that is aiming to usher the old-school construction sector into the era of smart solutions. Read more…
MitrAssist Medical brings in $50M
Israeli MedTech startup MitrAssist Medical, which develops a minimally invasive solution for patients with MR (Mitral Regurgitation), announced a $50 million funding round. Read more...
BrainsGate scores $14M
BrainsGate was successful in securing the European CE mark of approval, while also filing for both FDA and PMA clearances in February 2020. Read more...
SixAI brings in $5M
The Japanese-Israeli venture develops autonomous robot navigation and management systems for industrial purposes and logistics warehouses, and claims to be the world firs ‘robot employment agency’. Read more...
Griin secures $2M
Israeli startup Griin provides a new bean-to-cup process that is meant to upgrade the most important meal of the day - coffee time. Read more...
Unit raises $18.6M
The Israeli startup develops a system that enables companies to implement financial tools directly into their own networks - without getting lost in bureaucracy. Read more...
Orca Security nets $55M
Orca Security claims to provide cloud infrastructure with complete visibility, unearthing vulnerabilities from all across the organizational network. Read more...
SeeTree lands $30M
Israeli startup SeeTree lands a massive round to provide tree farmers with the intelligence they need, and trees with the care they deserve. Read more...
Firebolt emerges with $37M
Israeli startup Firebolt, providing a performance upgrade to cloud data warehouses, officially launches into the high-tech sphere with $37 million in funding. Read more...
At-Bay secures Series C
The Israeli startup provides insurance for the digital era, covering companies against cyber attacks, which these days are not a matter of if, but when. Read more...
Remilk raises $11.3M
We have milked them long enough. Without soy, almond, or other milk replacements, this Israeli startup creates real milk products, without the cow suffering. Read more...
Wiz closes $100M Series A
Israeli startup Wiz leverages its founding team of former Microsoft execs to provide optimal cloud security. Read more...
Xsight Labs emerges from stealth mode
After partially revealing itself through Intel’s VC arm’s announcement last May, Israeli startup Xsight Labs, a fabless semiconductor startup, is officially emerging from stealth mode with a new chip and $116 million in funding. Read more...
Bionic comes out of stealth with $17M
Israeli startup Bionic, which develops a smart application analytics platform, emerged from stealth mode with a $17 million in combined Seed and Series A funding. The investment was led Battery Ventures' investors Dharmesh Thakker and René Bonvanie. Read more...
myInterview raises $5M
myInterview develops a video platform for job interviews, where interviewees send short videos of themselves answering questions asked by the hiring companies, alongside sending in a resume for a relevant position. Read more...
Hibob secures $70M
The Israeli startup develops a friendly virtual helper named Bob that provides a comprehensive HR toolkit. Following the round, Hibob hits half a billion valuation. Read more...
Sealed.ai scores Seed
Sealed.ai’s platform leverages AI technologies to upgrade financial companies’ sales call processes, pulling data from companies’ CRMs to create comprehensive data-backed profiles. Read more...
Noname launches from stealth mode
Noname develops enterprise API security solutions, and launched from stealth mode with $25 million in funding from Lightspeed, Insight Partners and Cyberstarts. Read more...
Reflectiz raises $5M
Israeli cyber startup Reflectiz developed a system for monitoring third-party components in industrial machinery. To date, the company has raised $6 million.
Senecio Robotics scores $12M
The Israeli startup developed a system that automates the production and release of sterile mosquitos to combat diseases carried by the little buggers.
Zoomin lands $12M
Israeli startup Zoomin Software claims that it can help both users and technical support representatives find an optimal solution for their problem, without flipping through dozens of pages of technical jargon in search for answers. Read more...
BigID secures $70M
The Israeli startup raised around $170 million in little less than a year, and won't stop growing. This latest round propels the privacy-focused startup into Unicorn land. Read more...
Trigo raises $60M
Trigo CEO and co-founder Michael Gabay said: “Our technology enables grocers to integrate the efficiencies and insights of digital commerce into the physical world while providing a frictionless checkout experience for customers." Read more...
BlazePod lands $8.5M
During a time when gyms are less accessible, Israeli innovation provides athletes everywhere with a train anywhere solution. Read more...
Suridata.ai scores Seed round
These days there is a major challenge facing CISOs - how to properly manage an enterprise’s most sensitive data over a plethora of platforms. A new Israeli startup has developed a system that wants to utilize ML and NLP capabilities to help combat this growing worry. Read more...
Crispify reels in $700K
Avis backs the Israeli startup that claims that it can detect hazardous chemicals and viruses in our cars by monitoring the air we breathe. Read more...
CommonGround raises $19M
CommonGround promises a life-like video chat experience. Despite rising prior to the global pandemic, you won't hear them complaining. Read more...
Shareitt lands $2M
Israeli startup Shareitt developed a marketplace for selling and buying second-hand items. The catch? No real money involved, only Shareitt coins. Read more...
Pigmentum scores $1M
The Israeli plant genetic modifier developed by the company also gets invited to join a leading Foodtech incubator. Read more...
BioBeat raises $8M
The Israeli MedTech startup developed a sensor that monitors vital signs in real-time and uploads the data straight on to the cloud.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Unity acquires RestAR
The American game engine maker acquires the Israeli startup that leverages computer vision to provide retailers and brands a 3D modeling platform.
Contrast Security acquires Israel's CloudEssence
Israeli cyber startup CloudEssence, founded just 6 months ago and develops a security platform for Cloud Native applications, has been acquired by American cyber company Contrast Security. Read more...
Kenshoo consolidates marketing magic
Global data-backed marketing giant Kenshoo announced its intent to acquire Israeli startup Signals Analytics, a provider of AI-powered analytics for market intelligence. Read more...