CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ISRAEL - UKRAINE

Cloudera acquired Israeli Metadata Management Platform Startup OCTOPAI, the Israeli startup, was acquired by data analytics Cloudera to advance metadata and AI integration. The terms of the deal were not disclosed Octopai develops a data lineage platform equipped with advanced AI for metadata management. Its automated data discovery and lineage capabilities will amplify Cloudera’s ability to deliver trusted data insights to enterprises.  Octopai was founded in 2016 by Gal Ziton and Itay Kahalany. To date, the startup raised $18 million. Octopai is currently headed by CEO Yael Ben Arie and employs around 25 people, who will join Cloudera in its new Israel office. Cloudera was founded in 2008 and went public in 2017. Source: https://lnkd.in/g4aSf5DT

Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Launches Marketplace of the Ukrainian Tech Companies CodeUA, a global marketplace for top Ukrainian tech companies, was developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in cooperation with the Lviv IT Cluster and the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP). Ukrainian code is used in Ryanair, Cisco Motorola, Volvo, and Volkswagen. The state aims to create favourable conditions for the development of tech businesses to turn Ukraine into a hub of technological innovation. “The digital economy is the basis for supporting and further restoring the country”, says Mykhailo Fedorov. Using this platform, large foreign businesses could find partners among Ukrainian IT specialists. In the future, an AI assistant will be added to search for the most suitable options. With CodeUA, Ukrainian companies can find new partnerships, attract investment, or sign new contracts. CodeUA is already available at https://codeua.com. Source: https://lnkd.in/dcHzfDrA

New Report From the Startup Nation Central: Israeli AI Startups Secure 47% of Total Investments The Startup Nation Central issues an "Israel's World-Class AI Powerhouse: Leading Through Applied Innovation" report. In Israel, the AI sector remains one of the most prominent sectors for investment today with 173% growth over the last decade (with 12% growth in the rest of the tech sector), and AI startups excel in early fundraising. The Israeli AI companies represent only 30% of the ecosystem, but they secure 47% of total investments and 40% of fundraising rounds. Israel has emerged as a global leader in AI. Its share of AI investment surpassed that of the U.S. and Europe—at 3–4 times. “Major corporations like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple have significantly invested in Israel’s AI landscape, underscoring its global impact”, said Avi Hasson, CEO of Startup Nation Central. The full report is available: https://lnkd.in/dzsTQb6S Source: https://lnkd.in/dSCgRKNT

Israeli AI Infrastructure Startup Raises $21 Million to Pioneer Cost-Efficient GenAI Decart, an Israeli startup, raised $21 million in a Seed round led by Sequoia Capital. Decart built an AI infrastructure platform that enhances the efficiency of AI models, offering faster and more reliable training and real-time inference. Decart’s platform allows training massive AI models at scale, reducing training costs and improving efficiency tenfold. Now Decart is training AI foundation models to create new generative AI experiences. Decart is based in Tel Aviv and currently employs 25 people.The company was established in 2023 by Dean Leitersdorf (CEO) and Moshe Shalev (CPO). Source: https://lnkd.in/g28gHiH7

French Company Saint-Gobain Launched Its Ukrainian Plant for Production of Dry Building Mixtures For 11 Million Euros Saint-Gobain, an international French group invested more than €11 million to construct a plant in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. This plant will produce gypsum mixtures. Earlier the company imported its products to Ukraine from Poland, and now Saint-Gobain has a full production cycle in Ukraine - from raw material extraction to the creation of building materials. This plant will employ 50 people and produce 60 thousand tonnes of gypsum mixes developed by one of Saint-Gobain's research centres. The opening of the plant will contribute to Ukrainian production capacity and the creation of innovative value-added products, as well as to the economic growth of the region. Source: https://lnkd.in/dHQz43nv

Cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike is acquiring Israeli cyber startup Adaptive Shield, an Israeli cyber startup, was acquired by cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike. The deal's sum is not disclosed, but according to Calcalist כלכליסט, it was about $300 million. Adaptive Shield monitors and controls all security aspects in cloud environments, continuously identifying potential attacks. Its Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR) and SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) solutions help security teams manage the organization’s applications, identities, and detect unusual behavior within the SaaS ecosystem. This year it is the second time CrowdStrike is acquiring the Israeli company. Earlier, CrowdStrike acquired DSPM startup Flow Security for around $200 million. “Our mission perfectly complements CrowdStrike, stopping SaaS breaches while further accelerating consolidation on cybersecurity's most comprehensive platform. I'm incredibly proud of our team for building the most advanced SaaS security solution, defining the market,” said Maor Bin, CEO and co-founder, of Adaptive Shield. Adaptive Shield was founded by Maor Bin and Jony Shlomoff in 2019. In 2023, the company raised $10 million from financial giant Blackstone. Source: https://lnkd.in/dGi8qe3Y

The Head Of Innovation in Israel of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine Addressed the UVID Dronetech 2024 Conference ROTEM MEY-TAL, the head of innovation in Israel of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Ukraine, spoke about the drone industry in the times of the Russian war in Ukraine and the Iron Swords War at the Israeli national drone conference in Tel Aviv. A cheap and easily disposable drone may cost less than a tenth of the price of an artillery shell or a hundredth of the price of an airplane. This asymmetric product profoundly affects government policy, military perception, tactical warfare, industry and the economy. - Rotem Mey-Tal is the CEO of ASGARD Systems Ltd. - UVID Dronetech is the largest and prestigious drones event in Israel and one of the largest in the world, that focuses on the strategic view of the Civil, Security, and Defense domains.

Israeli-Ukrainian Trade Turnover For 8 Months of 2024 According to the Ambassador of Israel in Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, the trade turnover between Israel and Ukraine in the first eight months of 2024 equalled $615 million, which exceeded the numbers for the whole of 2023 (about 600 million). He supposes that it shows “that our economies have adapted to the military situation and logistical difficulties”. The volumes of exports and imports of the two countries are about the same. Israel mainly exports to Ukraine products of the oil refining and chemical industry, fertilizers, and polymers and imports grain, food products, and vegetable and animal oils. Source: https://lnkd.in/djP4T85w 

Israeli Startup Secures $10 Million For Spatial Hearing AI Technology Kardome, an Israeli startup that develops voice AI technology, secured $10 million in Series A funding led by Korea Investment Partners. To strengthen its presence in the Asian market, Kardome is also establishing a new headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Kardome’s technology improves voice recognition accuracy in challenging soundscapes and responds to natural, voice-driven, and context-aware interactions. Kardome’s software is used on more than a million devices. “Our Spatial Hearing software unlocks ambient audio's potential, making it possible for devices to truly understand the context of speech, whether in a busy car or a bustling street. This funding and these partnerships will accelerate our journey to bring this next-generation tech to the market, said Kardome's CEO Dani Cherkassky. Kardome currently employs 23 people, 15 of them in Israel. Dr. Dani Cherkassky and Dr. Alon Slapak founded Kardome in 2019. Source: https://lnkd.in/dcebCBYM

70% of the Surveyed Companies Plan to Invest in Ukraine Despite the War, - European Business Association European Business Association, in partnership with NEQSOL HOLDING, issued a “Ukraine’s Investment Attractiveness Index.” European Business Association conducted a survey among 80 CEOs; 38% manage the largest international and Ukrainian companies, and 39% manage small and medium enterprises. The overall score of the Ukrainian investment attractiveness improved in 2024 to 2.49 out of 5 (2.44 in 2023). It reached the level during the “COVID year” of 2020. There is a decrease in the percentage of business leaders considering Ukraine’s investment climate as unfavourable (from 84% last year to the current 79%), as well as extremely unfavourable (from 53% in 2022 to the current 20%). 9% view it favorably. Despite the war, 70% in 2024 instead of 57% in 2023 are already operating in the market and planning to continue investing. Reasons to invest in Ukraine are Ukraine’s EU candidate status, tariff and quota elimination for Ukrainian exports, the “transport visa-free regime” with the EU, digitalization of public services, and integration into the unified European electricity system as positive factors. The full report is available: https://lnkd.in/gy_PMSt8