Israel AV Mobility Newsletter | Aug. 2021
Former president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, joined the AutoTech ecosystem in Electreon, showing the maturity of the industry locally and the growing global impact. The IPO trend continues with Otonomo SPAC on Nasdaq and Cipia prep to IPO on Tel-Aviv stock exchange.
Aug. 1st: Mobile payment solutions for public transportation provider HopOn, expands its activity for the European market by acquiring UK-based payment solutions company ECR for $10 million. This news comes after the recent announcement by HopOn that it had secured an investment from UMI Auto Group this May.
Aug. 2nd: Transport optimization platform supplier Trucknet (טראקנט), completes a $2 million post-IPO equity funding. Investment house Meitav Dash, Yossi Avrahami, Arbitrage Value Hedge fund and Shlomi Ardan participated in this round. Following the announcement, Trucknet’s share price jumped by 33% embodies a market value of NIS 131 million ($41 million).
Aug. 2nd: Designer and manufacturer of electric scooters INOKIM (אינוקים) , merges its Israel business operations with a manufacturing facility in China. According to INOKIM, the merger deal is valued at several tens of millions of dollars. The merger will provide the company with better control over the entire value chain for its electric scooters from R&D to manufacturing and downstream to marketing & sales, in order to support management’s plan to build up its global expansion. The firm announced its plan to open logistics centers and flagship stores across the United States, United Kingdom and additional locations in Europe.
Aug. 3rd: Israeli Autotalks (אוטוטוקס), partners with German ZF to provide its V2X solutions. Autotalks’ dual-mode V2X chipset will be integrated into ZF´s ProConnect Connectivity Unit. At the first stage, ZF is set to integrate the solution in autonomous e-shuttles by 2getthere, starting with a major project in Europe. Autotalks’ chipsets can be used for vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) capabilities, which allow them to communicate with roadside units (RSUs) and interface with road infrastructure objects such as traffic lights. ZF also have strategic collaborations with Israeli technology companies Cognata and OptimalPlus.
Aug. 4th: Israeli auto-tech company Cipia Vision (formerly Eyesight Technologies) has filed a draft prospectus for an IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Analysts assess Cipia will try to raise several tens of millions of dollars at a company valuation of $150 million, pre money. Cipia does not have a controlling shareholder and most of its shares are held by several Chinese investors, a Danish investor and Japanese company Mitsui. Its Israeli shareholders are Rami Lipman and Prof. Eli Talmor, who serves as chairman.
Aug. 8th: Former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin appointed as the president of Israeli electric vehicles company ElectReon Wireless Ltd. (אלקטריאון). The company stated that Mr. Rivlin’s role will be to promote the company’s cooperation with governments and global companies, as well as discussions with decision-makers worldwide.
Aug. 9th: AI technology company Rekor Systems to acquire traffic management company Waycare (WayCare Technologies). The companies signed a definitive agreement of which Rekor will provide $61 million in total consideration, accepted to take place during the third quarter of 2021. Waycare’s AI platform is complementary to Rekor’s platform and can be quickly integrated into Rekor One™ to broaden Rekor’s suite of solutions for safety and incident management. Waycare solution uses AI to aggregate and process data from various sources to help government agencies with crash prediction, congestion detection, as well as incident management and identification.
Aug. 9th: Innoviz Technologies (אינוויז) collaborates with China-based “full-stack” L4 autonomous driving company, Whale Dynamic on next-generation L4 LiDAR-driven autonomous driving Platform. The new Whale Dynamic AD platform will utilize InnovizOne LiDAR as its primary sensor, replacing the InnovizPro LiDAR used in previous versions.
The following day, Innoviz also announced a partnership with autonomous system provider Curium to enable a safe vehicle calibration experience in Southeast Asia. Curium will apply its patented calibration techniques to its driving system using the capabilities of Innoviz’s LiDAR sensor. In addition, Curium will invest resources to distribute and promote Innoviz’s products throughout Southeast Asia.
Aug. 11th: 4D imaging radar company, Vayyar Imaging (Vayyar Imaging Ltd.) , has launched the ‘Vayyar Element’ – a new high-resolution mmWave tracker module. The miniature module is powered by a highly integrated 4D imaging Radar-on-Chip (RoC) and developed for seamless integration from consumer products to enterprise solutions. The module provides real-time insights into the presence and movement of people in its vicinity, empowering products to be react and adapt to human activity. Vayyar will offer three versions of the FCC-approved Vayyar Element module.
Aug. 12th: AI computer vision company Nexar (נקסאר), partners with New York State’s workers’ compensation provider for independent contractor the Black Car Fund (BCF) to protect rideshare drivers with in cabin cameras. Cameras will be placed in thousands of cars to protect BCF members in the case of an accident or assault. Nexar’s AI-powered dual-camera dash cams detect collisions, immediately notify BCF and send a detailed reenactment of the crash within minutes, allowing BCF to process workers claims.
Aug. 15th: Vehicle data platform provider (אוטונומו), completes $1.26 billion SPAC merger with Software Acquisition Group Inc. The merged company trade on Nasdaq as Otonomo Technologies Ltd. under the OTMO ticker. Otonomo raised $255.1 million including $112.6 million of cash held in trust following Software Acquisition Group’s public stockholder redemptions and $142.5 million from a private PIPE, including investments from institutional investors Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, BNP Paribas Asset Management Energy Transition Fund and Senvest Management LLC, with support from strategic investors Dell Technologies Capital and Hearst Ventures.
Aug. 17th: Provider of cybersecurity and smart solutions Mobilicom (מוביליקום), has launched a Cybersecurity suite for drones and robotics. The system can detect, prevent, and respond to multiple drone/robotics cyber-attacks in real-time without requiring intervention by an operator. Mobilicom’s Immunity Cybersecurity and Encryption (ICE) cybersecurity suite has been designed for commercial and industrial drone, robotics and autonomous platforms, protecting against more than 10 different types of cyber breaches and malicious attacks.
Aug. 24th: ProteanTecs, a deep data solutions for advanced electronics developer, announced that Uhnder, has selected its Universal Chip Telemetry (UCT) monitoring solution. ProteanTecs will provide insights and predictive data about performance, quality, and reliability of Uhnder’s radar-on-chip, through all product development and usage cycles. ProteanTecs cloud-based analytics platform applies machine learning algorithms to measurements extracted from on-chip monitors, strategically placed during design to provide a high coverage, high resolution picture of the system’s health and performance throughout its lifecycle.
Aug. 25th: Organic fast-charging batteries developer StoreDot (סטורדוט בע”מ) announces patent to decrease EV charging time. The technology is set to significantly improve the rate of miles per minute of charging, which remains a major barrier to EV ownership for many potential buyers and will be accessible to the entire market, marking a first for an advanced automotive battery company. The patent pending technology incorporates hardware and software advances that create a “booster” feature, allowing the battery to analyze the capability of the charging station in real time and to adjust the battery’s ability to carry high current rates. This communication between a vehicle’s XFC battery and charging system means that cells can be charged faster, safely accepting a higher current without overheating.
Aug. 25th: VisIC Technologies has completed a $35M funding round. The round was led by GoldenSand Capital and HG Semiconductors through Fast Semi Corporation. SuZhou industrial partner joined as a co-investor with an additional $10M. VisIC Technologies is a developer of Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices for electric transportation applications, focused on high-power automotive solutions.
Aug. 25th: High energy battery company Addionics (אדיוניקס) awarded funding from Innovate UK. The company will lead a project in which next-generation batteries for electric vehicles will be developed using smart 3D electrodes, which will achieve 2x higher accessible capacity, 50% faster charging time and 150% longer lifetime. Addionics is developing a technology to improve lithium-ion battery cell performance and manufacturing processes by focusing on the structure and architecture of the battery.
Sources: CTech, Calcalist, INOKIM Press Release, Israel Hayom, Globes, Rekor Press Release, CISION PR Newswire, Unmanned Systems News
