Lior Vernia

East Jerusalem based medtech accelerator JINNOVATE launches with 14 Arab-Israeli led portfolio companies https://lnkd.in/d35gczUz Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem Techlinic Mahmoud Khweis Israel Innovation Authority רשות החדשנות USAID ARC Innovation Takwin VC Ezadeen Alsaad Jafar Mahfouz Muawyah Akash ISRAEL21c — Good News From Israel

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It was a real pleasure to participate yesterday in a fireside chat organized by the Commercialization Reactor as part of its bootcamp for researchers who are considering becoming future deep tech entrepreneurs. The robust discussion we had was moderated by Anton Adamovitch with the participation of Kristaps Jaudzems and Robert Dwilinski. The goal was to provide some broad recommendations and suggestions to the bootcamp participants on what to take into account when preparing for discussions with VCs or other investors. Here are the key teakeaways: 🔗 business strategy and IP strategy are intertwined; clarity on IP ownership is crucial for investors; ⚖ team composition is critical: scientific expertise must be balanced with strong business acumen; 🛒 market validation and understanding the competitive landscape are essential for attracting investment 🔀 scientists should be open-minded and flexible when commercializing their research, considering various paths (e.g., startup, licensing). ⚠ don't approach VCs immediately; seek advice from accelerators, mentors, or business angels first. ⛔ lack of competition can be a red flag for investors, suggesting the problem you are working on may not be significant I hope it was a meaningful experience for the participants of the call, too bad we couldn't meet in person and explore these themes in more detail. Maybe next time! Radix Ventures Michal Olszacki Małgorzata Szcześniak DJ Nag Vassil Karaivanov Ilona Gulchak Wojciech Ratymirski Gabriela Konopka-Cupiał Krystian Gurba Krzysztof Gulda

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Very interesting report of Israel's AI ecosystem by F2 Venture Capital, Google Cloud and Deloitte. 🔍 On a high level: - The AI startup ecosystem in Israel is booming, with over 2,150 active AI companies, representing ~30% of the local tech sector. - Startups leveraging AI attracted over 60% of all capital raised in 2023. - The country ranks 3rd globally in private AI investment, demonstrating its strong position in the global AI market. 💡 Key takeaways from the report: - Vertical AI is a stronghold. It attracts the largest share of private funding, with Life Sciences, Healthcare and Fintech (banking, financial services and insuretech) leading the charge. Israel's deep domain expertise in these sectors positions it as a potential global leader. - Autonomous Enterprise (Horizontal AI) shows promise. Cybersecurity is a particular strength, capturing 56% of the segment's funding However, the development of multi-modal, end-to-end solutions and AI agents presents further opportunities for cross-industry applications. - AI & Data Ops is a key area for growth. Israel's strong talent pool and focus on enhancing existing infrastructure make it well-suited to address the growing demand for cloud-based AI Ops platforms and efficient data management solutions. There are also plenty of challenges: securing and nurturing AI talent, sustaining investment and navigating the global AI landscape/competition. Link to the report in the first comment 🔗

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For the startup ecosystem to win in AI, we don't need more LLMs, we need: - startups that help deliver unique value that is enabled by Gen AI - startups that can build a speclized AI layer on top of Gen AI ..and most importantly all startups need to learn how to leverage GenAI capabilities to significant accelerate their product and go to market activities... Hebrew article: https://lnkd.in/d6dC5b9Y

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Here's to the Hebrew speakers among us :) A quick podcast w/ me on AI and Hyper personalization - trust this makes sense :) https://lnkd.in/dFBk93vn

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Everyone is Talking About AI – But Is the Bold Vision of It Transforming the World Really Happening Right Now? Here’s a link to an incredible lecture (sorry, it’s in Hebrew) by Daniel Schreiber, a visionary who has doubled his company’s size over the past two years while reducing its workforce – thanks to AI. In this thought-provoking talk, Schreiber lays out three transformative premises: 1. Every job that can be done over Zoom will eventually be done better by AI. 2. No employer will prefer humans over AI for such tasks, as the costs of AI are drastically lower than those of human workers. 3. In 5-10 years AI will be better than humans in everything! This revolution will largely take place by the end of this decade. This isn’t just a bold vision – it’s a wake-up call. Schreiber builds his case so convincingly that it forces you to reflect deeply on where AI fits into your organization. Can organizations afford to ignore the massive disruption reshaping industries in their strategies for 2027? Time to reflect. Watch the full lecture here: The Aliens Have Landed – and They're Ready to Work for Free https://lnkd.in/ggZfyK5u

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Glad to share my recent video interview with Inc. Arabia, where I discussed what 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈 means for us today. In a world where technology often focuses on profit and efficiency, I believe we need 𝐀𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬—addressing real challenges and putting people first. We talked about key areas that I’m passionate about: • 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: Making AI accessible to all, across languages and cultures. • 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: How countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the way by fostering innovation without compromising on safety and ethics. • 𝐀𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲: Helping people understand AI better, so they feel empowered by its potential and aware of its risks. At the end of the day, the more we understand AI, the more value we can unlock for society. #HumanCentricAI #GITEX2024 #SmartCities

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I was happy to share my thoughts on what 2025 has in store for Israeli tech and venture, published on Calcalist כלכליסט today. If I could summarise 2024 in one word, it would indeed be "Resilience". And for the record, despite the headline, I do believe that the new administration in the US is generally good news for tech and venture, including Israeli startups. I've also mentioned 3 investments we made which are still in stealth... Link to the article in the first comment 👇

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Israeli AI Drug Discovery Startup Pepticom Ltd. raises $6.6m https://lnkd.in/dvu2akKc Immanuel Lerner, Ph.D. Amit Michaeli Maayan Elias Robicsek Gideon Bar Shaul Lerner Guila Assayag Dikla Haham Alexandra Vardi Victoria Kozokaro Michal Saam Rachel Hamburger Galia Kut Eyal Agmoni Chartered Group Eizaburo Miyashita

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We do not believe that 2023 was a lost year. Looking at the funding landscape, growth equity raised nearly $38 billion between 2021 and 2023, averaging over $12 billion annually, far surpassing the $6 billion and $8.5 billion seen in 2019 and 2020 respectively. This means that companies raised a lot of capital before 2023 and, as a result, did not need to raise in 2023. Also, while exit volumes in 2023 dipped by 19% compared to 2022, they still totaled an impressive $10.9 billion across 92 deals, highlighting the significant activity that persisted in the market. https://lnkd.in/ewR3XacU

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🌍 Excited to share my latest insights published at Arison ESG Center. In this post, I explore how we can effectively bridge the gap between financial performance and sustainability outcomes in climate tech investments. At Gravity Climate Fund, Zafrir Yoeli and I are passionately dedicated to making climate tech not just a responsible choice, but the best investment opportunity available. Together, we’re working towards a more sustainable future while driving impactful financial returns. Join us on this journey to transform the investment landscape! #ClimateTech #ESG #SustainableInvesting #ImpactInvesting #GreenFinance #Innovation #InvestmentStrategy #ReichmanUniversity !

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YL Ventures is thrilled to partner again with Seattle-based Eran Barak having led the $11 million #seed round of his new #startup MIND! YL Ventures also seeded Eran's last #venture Hexadite, which was acquired by Microsoft. Together with cofounders Itai Schwartz and Hod Bin Noon, and CRO Tyson Hempel (former CRO of exited YL Ventures portfolio company Medigate), Eran is launching today the first-ever platform to put Data Loss Prevention (#DLP) on autopilot! Other investors in the round included #cybersecurity luminaries from CrowdStrike, Adobe, ADT and FireEye, Inc. MIND is a new breed of DLP that leverages #AI and smart #automation to instantly and comprehensively identify, detect, and prevent #data leaks. With the capacity to monitor billions of data events 24/7 in #realtime, MIND is a DLP solution completely reimagined for today's complexity, already ripping & replacing painful legacy solutions at enterprises across America. Read more here: https://mind.io/ And in Reuters: https://lnkd.in/gRhBEkbV

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I had the privilege of discussing Deloitte Israel's Point of View – Preparing for Israel 2025 in light of ‘Iron Swords’, in an interview with @"The Marker" newspaper. 🔍 This comprehensive POV delves into the current and prospective economic landscape of Israel. It accentuates the pivotal transformations anticipated across diverse sectors, incorporating factors such as national security, real estate & infrastructure development, migrant labor, supply chain dynamics, and the hi-tech industry. We've engaged with executives from leading companies across various sectors within the Israeli economy in November and again lately. Based on these interactions, we've constructed a projection for the upcoming 2 years utilizing scenario analysis methodology. 💼 An intriguing aspect of the POV is its emphasis on resilience. A timely reminder of the crucial role adaptability and strategic foresight play in uncertain times. Find the full interview here 👉 Link Deloitte Shally Tshuva #EconomicAnalysis #IsraeliEconomy #IronSwords #Resilience #RealEstate #HiTech https://lnkd.in/dmmw2GJg

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🚨Ilya Sutskever the Israeli co-founder of OpenAI, has just announced the launch of his new company! On May 14th, Sutskever announced that he was leaving OpenAI, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, and mentioned that he was working on something important to him, but did not reveal further details. Now, we finally have answers. In an emotional post on X, Sutskever unveiled his vision for a new company called SSI, Safe Superintelligence Inc, which will focus on safe AI developments, a topic close to Sutskever’s heart. Sutskever believes that artificial intelligence can be a powerful force for improving the world, but only if it is developed responsibly and securely. SSI aims to create superhuman-level intelligence, with a strong emphasis on safety measures to ensure the technology benefits humanity rather than harms it. Sutskever’s company will have offices in Palo Alto and #TelAviv. One might say that Sutskever is returning to his roots or attempting to secure the NIS 10.5 million grant from the Scientific Committee for Attracting Researchers to Israel. Although SSI is just starting out, they are already recruiting employees for this exciting project. You should check out the company’s website: https://ssi.inc/ Good luck, Hadas Frank #ai #ArtificialIntelligence

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The City of Sderot has been an example of resilience and fortitude for the past two decades. It’s a city that has not only survived, but thrived through war, uncertainty and downturns. Even throughout the current war, the City has attracted new residents and grown! Given that, there’s no question that this is the right place to start supporting startups that are building solutions in Resilience, EdTech and Health. Over 300 companies applied, and 19 were selected to be part of the inaugural cohort of the Resilience Accelerator. As the world continues to be impacted by wars, economic struggles, pandemics and more, the need for new solutions grows. And the City of Sderot is poised to build them. Now more than ever. Proud to partner with Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, ARC Innovation, Resilience Accelerator, שדרות City of Sderot, the Fund for Sderot and other partners to make this a reality. Eran Segel Igal Bracha Avner Halperin Dalia Landes, Mor Segal, Avi Yariv and many more!

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IVC Data and Insights report on the Israeli venture market for Q1-Q3 2024 reveals: - $7.4 billion invested in Israeli startups, surpassing the entire 2023 total of $6.9 billion. - $13 billion generated from exits, a 26% increase from 2023's $10.4 billion. - 23% surge in foreign investments year-over-year. - 67% of capital sourced from global investors, with 33% from Israeli funds. - $2.7 billion secured by early-stage startups, the second-highest figure in Israeli startup ecosystem history (after 2022's record). These figures demonstrate investors' confidence in the long-term sustainability of the Israeli startup ecosystem. Trust received, challenge accepted. We're building the future, brick by brick.

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Tel-aviv has improved its position among the top startup ecosystems worldwide according to Startup Genome's 2024 report (https://lnkd.in/dN3aUa_h). What a powerful evidence of Israeli startup and innovation environment's resilience and the unshaken trust of the global investor community. The Israeli high-tech sector remains to be the engine of the nation’s economy, accounting for 18% of GDP, 48% of exports, and 11% of workforce. At Tachles VC we are proud we can back the next generation of cyber, cloud and infrastructure AI Israeli-born start-ups. Karel Tušek, Sivan Kanev, Boris Chovnik, Robin Bienfait

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Sometimes, we come across an ideas.rip story that truly brings added value. In 2023, while participating in the The Zell Entrepreneurship Program at Reichman University, Chen N. and Yiftach Meitar teamed up with Dr. Omri Lubovsky, Head of Orthopedics at Barzilai Hospital. They wanted to tackle a critical issue: preventing misuse of painkillers, a problem impacting millions worldwide. While the idea gained strong validation in Israel from both patients and doctors, challenges with navigating the U.S. healthcare system made it difficult to secure funding and transform the project into a venture-backed company. For Dr. Lubovsky, this remains a life mission, so if this idea resonates with you, don’t hesitate to reach out. You could help make a real difference. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/dSkfWR6Z

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What you are seeing is a mistake. It must be. Adobe is a great company, but even the great ones make mistakes. I was trying out Adobe Podcast to enhance the audio quality of my podcast. - The Engagement Lab, with Yahav Levy as my co-host (it is in Hebrew). The freemium allows up to 30-minute-long audio files; my episode was 40 minutes long. So what do I do? Upgrade. This is an excellent example of how setting your freemium/premium threshold can encourage upgrades. Anyhow, I click the upgrade and get the attached "give me your money" paywall. That's fine. That's what I expected... in a way. I was expecting access to Adobe Podcast, not Adobe Express. You know what, that's fine. Maybe Adobe Express is the better deal for me. But, What is it? In what way is it better for me? I'm a podcaster, not a designer... So, excuse me if I don't know what Adobe Express is! And even with all that empty space on the paywall, Adobe didn't find it necessary to mention it. And that's the mistake. Now what? Should I go off-tab to search for an explanation of what Adobe Express is? See if it's worth my buck. Or should I search for an alternative? Adobe Podcasters are not your usual customers. They may not know what Adobe Express is. A Podcaster subscription is a better fit for them, but if that's not doable... Could you tell them what they'll get for the Express subscription? Now, you don't need me to tell you that. I just wanted to bring your attention to this. But also use this opportunity as a lesson for those just starting their startup. A paywall is not a technical thing. It should be the beginning of a relationship. It's almost like a first date. Could you make it feel special?

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