Israel Mobility - Feb. Newsletter
Autonomous Mobility valuation hype continues with another series of SPAC pushing startups valuation 3X in several months. On one hand many analysts claim that the valuation in the sector is too high, though on the other hand Israeli autonomous startups are relatively undervalued compared to global competitors in the segment. As those companies become available to the public, I get more and more inquiries regarding those. It is important to keep in mind each company require a close analysis and while there are defiantly great opportunities, the valuations are based on the expectation of the startup capturing a majority of the segment needs, which obviously cannot be true for all players. Invest smartly and enjoy reading!
Feb. 1st: Provider of connected car data platform, Otonomo Technologies Ltd (אוטונומו) announced a SPAC merger with Software Acquisition Group Inc. II at a $1.4b valuation. The merger will be completed at 2021Q2 and will include a net injection of $280 million into the Israeli company. The merged company will list on Nasdaq under the OTMO ticker. Otonomo’s employees will also sell shares worth $30 million and they will hold a 72% stake in the company when the deal is completed. Otonomo has raised $82 million to date including a $46 million Series C financing round last April from SK Holdings, Avis Budget Group, Alliance Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and StageOne Ventures. The valuation in April was $465 million, meaning Otonomo has tripled its valuation in the past 10 months. Otonomo provides a connected-car data platform, which enables auto manufacturers, mobility service providers and application developers to share and integrate car-generated data.
Feb. 1st: Smartphone distraction prevention start-up SaverOne (סייברוואן 2014 בע”מ) will install its systems in 30 Kavim buses for a pilot trial. At the end of the pilot period, the Israeli bus company will have an option to purchase up to 1,500 of SaveOne’s systems at a reduced price. This pilot joins other pilots that SaverOne has been conducted in recent months with local government companies such as The Israel Electric Corporation, Israel Railways and IDF, as well as large commercial companies such as Hanson Israel, Plasson and Champion Motors. SaverOne technology offers an in-vehicle protection system designed to prevent accidents that result from texting while driving. The system prevents the driver from using texting applications while the vehicle is in motion using RF, machine learning and signal processing.
Feb. 2nd: Wireless vehicle charging company ElectReon Wireless Ltd. (אלקטריאון) wins a tender to provide road charging technology in Germany. The €1.9M project is funded by the Roads Innovation Program of the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) and aims to develop an economical and functional solution for inductive charging of electric vehicles while driving. Eurovia Germany will lead the road construction task, ElectReon will act as a subcontractor providing the project with its wireless dynamic charging technology. As part of the project, ElectReon will integrate its wireless vehicle receiver to a Volkswagen electric vehicle to be tested on the electric road. Considering the growing support from the German authorities and ElectReon other collaborations in Germany, the company announced it is establishing a local subsidiary in Germany.
Feb. 2nd: Commuting platform start-up Hip (Hip) secures $12M in a seed funding round to help companies bring employees back to the office. The round was led by NFX and Magenta Venture Partners, with participation by AltaIR Capital and Former Executives at Uber, Booking.com and Google executives. Hip is based in Tel Aviv and NYC and employs 20 people. Hip’s platform connect commuters with third-party bus and shuttle operators via an app and help connect companies to the bus and shuttle providers. The platform offers route planning and has a contact-tracing tool to help companies also track COVID-19 infections. Employees can use the app to book tickets, reserve seats and track their transportation in real time.
Feb. 3rd: Developer of modular platforms for EV, REE Automotive (REE אוטומוטיב) is going public on Nasdaq through a SPAC merger with 10X Capital at a $3.1B valuation. The transaction features a $300 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) which is set to give the combined entity a value of about $3.1 billion. REE’s existing Israeli investors will own more than 80% of the combined company. REE’s investors include Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Fiat Chrysler, as well as Mobileye co-founder Ziv Aviram, Gil Agmon and Israeli institutional investors. REE is developing a technology that enables flat and modular chassis, allowing multiple body configurations on a single platform.
Feb. 8th: AI-based city-wide traffic management start-up Axilion Smart Mobility (Axilion Ltd.), celebrates its IPO on The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and entering the TA-90 Index. Axilion is joining the 11 new companies that are listed on The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since the beginning of 2021. Axilion solution support cities in managing traffic using video AI technology based on Azure cloud. The company’s solution transforms traffic signals into a dynamic and adaptive traffic network.
Feb. 10th: Automotive cybersecurity provider CYMOTIVE (CYMOTIVE Technologies LTD) is establishing an R&D center and a vehicle test lab in Bar Lev High Tech Park in the Galilee. This will be the company’s second center in Israel, alongside a sister company operating close to Volkswagen‘s HQ in Wolfsburg, Germany. The new Galilee center, which will be inhabited in the coming months, is designed to develop vehicle security products, some of which are already in hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the European roads.
Feb. 10th: Developer of radar system for the autonomous vehicles RadSee (RADSee Technologies) secures $3M from defense technology company RADA (ראדא תעשיות אלקטרוניות בע”מ). RADA received 12% equity stake in RadSee, at a company valuation of $25M. The agreement provides RADA with an option to increase its holdings in the start-up in the future. RadSee target to develop a 4D imaging radar with a high performance at low cost, using commercially available components and patented technology. Range: 400M, Resolution: 0.25°, FoV: 120°.
Feb. 14th: Israeli electric vehicle charging company Chakratec (צ’קראטק) prepares for a TASE IPO. Market sources believe that Chakratec will try to raise several tens of millions of shekels at a pre-money valuation of NIS 350-400 million. Chakratec is developing kinetic storage to boost electric vehicle charging and enables more than 150,000 high-power charge and discharge cycles without degradation over the full system lifetime of 20 years. The energy is stored as kinetic energy in a fast-rotating flywheel. The non-chemical flywheel is a sustainable and reusable system, without any toxic or polluting chemical batteries.
Feb. 14th: Foldable electric city car developer City Transformer (סיטי טרנספורמר) completes a NIS 15.5M ($4.7M) round for a TASE IPO at a company valuation of NIS 450-600M ($120-180M). The IPO will take place at 2021Q2 including a group of investors led by Barak Rosen, CEO of Canada-Israel. The company is developing an electric city vehicle featuring a patent-registered folding mechanism that allows it to be narrowed to one meter width.
Feb. 14th: Provider of multimodal vehicle-sharing service GOTO Global (GOTO Global Mobility Ltd) secures $3.5M investment from Kia importer, Talcar Group. The investment represents a $45 million pre-money valuation, a 50% increase from previous round at July 2020. GOTO is a subsidiary of Shagrir, which holds 49.79% of shares, the Talcar Group will obtain 1,172,010 Class A shares, giving it 8.10% holdings. Goto’s solution allows users to access a range of shared mobility solutions including bikes, kick-scooters, electric mopeds and cars, via a single app, operating in Israel, Spain, and Malta. According to the company, in 2020, it powered 1.3 million rides and generated $12.5M in revenue.
Feb. 17th: Follow its SPAC merger with 10X Capital earlier this month, REE Automotive (REE אוטומוטיב) opens a UK-based engineering Center of Excellence. The Engineering Center, is expected to receive a $92 million investment across three years, will help accelerate engineering design, validation, verification, and testing of its REEcorner and Electric Vehicle technology. The center will be located at the MIRA Technology Park, Europe’s mobility R&D location in the United Kingdom.
Feb. 17th: Cloud-based automotive cybersecurity provider Upstream Security (בע~מ אפסטרים סקיוריטי) partners with ASRG – Automotive Security Research Group to enhance automotive cyber threat intelligence. ASRG works to promote the development of security solutions for automotive products and create a community of shared resources and networking. The platform will be used to inform ASRG automotive stakeholders about potential cyber threats to automotive products and provide the opportunity for public researchers, universities, and or individuals to anonymously submit automotive cyber threats or vulnerabilities.
Feb 17th: Real-time augmented visual intelligence provider EdgyBees (אדג’יביז)secures $9.5M in series A funding round. The round led by Seraphim Capital, with participation from Refinery Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Kodem Growth Partners, OurCrowd and Verizon Ventures. EdgyBees existing investors include 8VC, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital and NFX. EdgyBees offers a solution designed to bring full visibility and understanding to any dynamic scene by creating collaborative virtual versions of complex environments. The company’s augmented real-time intelligence fuses computer vision, multi-sensor data analytics, and 3D video generation to provide a simple visual layer.
Feb 18th: Robot-as-a-service developer Blue White Robotics (BWR), unveiled its new autonomous tractor RaaS platform for farmers. The kit can be installed on any existing tractor and can convert them into a fully autonomous unit. The system can spray, mow, disk crops and serve orchards for fruit trees, nuts, and vineyards. Farmers are frequently exposed to pesticides 12 hours per day and it is expected that the autonomous system will greatly reduce their exposure to chemicals. Till this day BWR has raised $11.5 million across two rounds, led by Jesselson Investment, Peregrine VC, Entrée Capital, and an investment group led by Datoroama founder Ran Sarig.
Feb 22nd: Chakratec (צ’קראטק) signs an MOU with holding company ARKO Corp, to distribute its kinetic storage systems for fast charging of EV. As part of the MOU, ARKO and Chakratec will conduct a preliminary pilot in USA next year. The MOU also includes a goal of an extensive deployment of fast charging points for electric vehicles throughout North America by 2030.
Feb. 25th: Mobileye teams up with two French firms to develop self-driving shuttles by 2023. Mobileye signs agreements with French Transdev Autonomous Transport System (ATS), part of Transdev Group, a private-sector transport operator and with Lohr Group, a car maker for specialty vehicles. The companies will integrate Mobileye’s self-driving system into the 16 passengers i-Cristal electric shuttle, manufactured by Lohr Group, with plans to integrate it into public transportation services powered by fleets of self-driving shuttles across the globe, starting in Europe. A pilot of the shuttles will be launched next year in France and the deployment of self-driving shuttles in public transportation networks, expected a year later in other European countries.
Feb 28th: Provider of real-time app for smart public transportation Moovit (מוביט) partners with Israel Railways and Carmelit metro to provide trip planning and payment options for riders in Israel. Moovit, which was selected by the Ministry of Transport for the project, allow local riders to pay for train services, as well as plan their routes.
Feb 28th: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) won a tender to establish a national cyber center for smart transportation in preparations for vehicles that will be able to communicate with users and transport infrastructure. IAI’s subsidiary, ELTA Systems, has been selected to establish and operate a smart mobility cybersecurity center in Be’er Sheva, in collaboration with The Ministry of Transportation, Ayalon Highways and the Israel National Cyber Directorate. ELTA will partner with Enigmatos, an automotive cybersecurity company, Bombardier Transportation, IBI Group and Beer Sheva’s Ben-Gurion University. The center is established in a franchise model of partnership between the state of Israel and the group of companies. The country will invest NIS 8M ($2.4M) in the project and the companies will invest an equivalent amount.
Sources: Globes, Sponsor, CISION PR Newswire,TechCrunch, CTech, Start-up Nation Central, Calcalist, TechTime, EINPresswire, Business Wire, The Times of Israel
