Dear Friends of the Mofet Venture Accelerator,
Nine months ago, the Mofet Venture Accelerator embarked on an expeditious journey: Repositioning Mofet as the only technological incubator in Israel specializing in the fields of agritech and food. Since that time, I can happily proclaim that not only was this a sound strategic decision, but additionally it has been a successful one.
From January through the beginning of May, we examined more than 100 technologies and initiatives from academics and private entrepreneurs. As well, a new company began operating within Mofet: CattleSense (see column at right). During the summer, we expect to welcome two more companies. We continue making connections with agritech-focused investors in Israel and around the world. And the positive responses confirm our belief that agritech and food represent attractive markets.
We at Mofet know how tremendously important it is to develop novel technologies. Beyond that, and no less important, is presenting our companies to potential investors and strategic partners worldwide. To this end, we participated in the very successful Trendlines U.S. Road Show from March 26 to 30 where we presented four promising Mofet companies (see below).
Other exciting activities continue this month: We are proud to be a co-organizer of the first international conference for investors in agriculture -- the AgriVest Summit -- to be held on May 14 at Mikveh Israel, Israel's first agricultural school. (On a personal note, I am pleased to note that I am one of its many graduates.) AgriVest is just ahead of Agritech Israel 2012, May 15 to 17 in Tel Aviv, where we are also presenting (Hall 1, Booth 25).
These intensive business development activities represent only part of the work we do at Mofet Venture Accelerator. Turning the seeds of entrepreneurship into successful businesses remains our overriding mission.
Best regards,
Nitza Kardish, Ph.D.
CEO, Mofet Venture Accelerator
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| Recent Raises for Our Portfolio Companies |
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Sol Chip Raises $300,000
In January 2012, Sol Chip raised $300,000 from angel investors. As well, the Israel Electric Company has expressed interest in Sol Chip's technology and is considering an investment. These investments will enable Sol Chip to start commercialization, supply samples to potential customers, and begin sales in 2013. Sol Chip develops a smart solar battery for low-power devices providing improved power delivery in a maintenance-free, sustainable solution.
NovoSpeech Raises $100,000; Completes Core Development
NovoSpeech announced that a current investor, the Maryland/Israel Trendlines Fund, has committed $100,000 to the Company. NovoSpeech is currently raising $500,000 to accelerate time-to-market for its next product, which will provide a superior speech recognition solution for applications that require a vocabulary of up to ~3,000 words, and to fully prototype its large-vocabulary, continuous-speech product.
NovoSpeech completed development of its core automatic speech recognition technology. Benchmarking results show that its proprietary innovations provide unprecedented recognition accuracy in real-life (noisy) environments, across a wide range of speaker accents.
Meetings with dozens of key players at the Consumer Electronics Show (in Las Vegas, in January) and at Mobile World Congress (in Barcelona, in February) indicate a strong market response to NovoSpeech's value propositions.
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 The Trendlines Group U.S. Road Show Four Mofet portfolio companies took part in the very successful "five-day, five-city" Trendlines U.S. Road Show at the end of March. Leviticus Cardio, Magdent, NovoSpeech, and Sol Chip were among the 13 participating companies. In each of the five cities -- Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore, and New York City -- the event schedule varied, but the focus was a short presentation by the CEO followed by one-on-one meetings with interested investors (photo gallery). For two months prior to the road show, each CEO worked closely with Trendlines Business Development consultants to build their companies' stories, refine their messages, and sharpen their presentation skills. The hard work paid off. Without exception, the feedback was positive. In fact, we heard from conference organizers in one city that this was a top-notch Israeli delegation developing exciting technologies, and the presentations were among some of the best by entrepreneurs of early-stage companies. |
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Join Us at the AgriVest Summit, May 14, Mikveh Israel
Joining together with the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute and the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor, Mofet is a co-organizer of the first international conference for investors in agriculture -- the AgriVest Summit -- which will be held at Mikveh Israel, Israel's first agricultural school. About 100 agritech-focused investors from all over the world are expected to attend.
AgriVest will present the challenges facing agritech, introduce Israel entrepreneurs, highlight solutions (and opportunities), and bring together government officials and local and international investors.
Visit Us at Agritech Israel 2012, May 15-17, Tel Aviv
 Agritech Israel 2012, the 18th International Agricultural Technology Exhibition, is one of the world's most important exhibitions in the field of agricultural technologies. This year's Agritech will be held at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv. Visit the Mofet booth at Agritech (Hall 1,Booth #25).
Mofet Companies at AgriVest, CIPA, and Agritech
- Sol Chip's CEO, Shani Keysar, Ph.D., will present "Everlasting solar battery for better agriculture" at CIPA (International Committee for Plastics in Agriculture), part of Agritech.
- Shlomo Navarro, Ph.D., one of the founders and scientific leaders of Organis, will present "Protecting food packaging materials by natural nontoxic insect repellents" at CIPA.
- CattleSense will participate in both the poster presentation at CIPA and as one of the "promising Israeli start-ups" presenting at AgriVest.
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Liola Technologies Concludes Successful Pilot
Liola Technologies recently completed a successful pilot with one of the world's top 20 semiconductor manufacturers. The Company is developing a software suite that streamlines and optimizes complex manufacturing processes and systems. Daniel Porat is Liola's CEO.
Magdent Passes CE Audit
Magdent received notification it passed the CE audit and will receive certification shortly. Magdent is developing a novel device utilizing electromagnetics that changes the modality of dental implant procedures. CE certification will allow the Company to commercialize its product.
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Welcome to our newest company: CattleSense
CattleSense is developing a system for remote monitoring of beef herds in large open pastures or spaces. The system produces an online picture of the overall physiological condition of the herd and pasture for more effective herd management. The Company's CEO is Ilan Arbel. |
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