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December 13, 2012 |
From the Leadership
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Tom Glaser
President |  |
Lorin Coles
Chairman | |
As we close out 2012, it is useful to pause and reflect on the year. For AICC, it was a period of continued success in delivering valued services to Southeast and Israeli companies. Our strong outreach into the region, particularly South Carolina, are paying off in new members and deals. Our educational programming continues at a very high level through the expansion of Israel Innovation Impact (I-3) events, offering Israeli companies the opportunity to present to our Southeast audiences using new technology. Missions to Israel and Israeli delegations to our region drove positive relationships and results.
Yet on the geopolitical front, Israel continues to face hostilities from her neighbors and evident lack of support and understanding from the world community. This is especially ironic considering it is a small country that contributes both economically and in a humanitarian sense way out of proportion to its size. On the plus side, our recent US elections showed that no matter who won, Israel is still our country's most valued ally in the Middle East.
In this holiday season, we wish our Israeli and Southeast members and friends all the best of health, prosperity, and happiness with the hope of greater things to come in 2013! |
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Developments and Transactions |
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2nd South Carolina Mission to Israel
Produces Deal and Leads
NeuroQuest Gets Funding, Looks to Open US Center in State
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NeuroQuest CEO Ilya Budik (c) announces US plans in
South Carolina |
Israeli companies present to delegation at Caesaria event
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Under the auspices of the South Carolina-Israel Collaboration, a delegation of the state's business, university, and economic development leaders travelled throughout Israel, December 1-6, for a weeklong mission to pursue economic, trade, and research opportunities with counterparts in that country. Their itinerary included visits to Israel's major research universities, meetings with key government officials, briefings, presentations on "Why South Carolina", and the prospect of pursuing opportunities with specific Israeli companies.
In all, the delegation conducted more than 100 meetings in the country. Many companies were interested in learning about the potential of South Carolina as a base for penetrating the US market, and members of the delegation reported that they are following up on excellent leads for their own businesses and the state.
One Israeli company, NeuroQuest, announced financing totaling $500,000 by Charleston-based The Intertech Group and the Maryland/Israel Trendlines Fund. The company is also engaged in discussions with the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) about a grant to support the opening of a US development center in Charleston as the base of its clinical and regulatory work.
A portfolio company of the Trendlines Group's Misgav Venture Accelerator, NeuroQuest is moving quickly towards an important validation trial of novel blood-based immune biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Their platform for neurodegenerative diseases is based on the research of Prof. Michal Schwartz, Chair of Neuroimmunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, who pioneered the concept of Protective AutoImmunity. The success of the validation trial would present a new approach for a simple, inexpensive, and early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.
Dr. Jacobo Mintzer, Co-Director of Alzheimer's Research & Clinical Programs of the Medical University of South Carolina, has joined NeuroQuest as its new VP of Clinical affairs to leverage his experience in over 200 Alzheimer's related clinical trials. Mintzer participated in the original South Carolina delegation last year which met NeuroQuest in November 2011. NeuroQuest's CEO, Ilya Budik, credited the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region for forging these important connections for his company.
Leading the 2012 delegation was Jonathan Zucker, President of Charleston-based The InterTech Group and chair of the Collaboration's steering committee, whose company has provided AICC with annual grants to organize the Collaboration. "This trip was our opportunity to build on the success of our first mission and to land some significant companies and partnerships that will benefit our state and create jobs here," said Zucker.
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NCR to Acquire Retalix
Duluth, Georgia-based NCR Corporation has announced a definitive agreement for NCR to acquire Raanana-based Retalix, a leading global provider of innovative retail software and services, for a transaction value of approximately $650 million that is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013. NCR is a global technology company leading how the world connects, interacts and transacts with business through assisted and self-service solutions and comprehensive support services that address the needs of retail, financial, travel, hospitality, gaming, public sector, and telecom carrier and equipment organizations in more than 100 countries.
According to both companies, the addition of Retalix will strengthen NCR's global leadership position in the retail industry, and builds upon its successful integration of Radiant Systems into the NCR portfolio of solutions. "Retalix is a strong, strategic fit for NCR, and the combination of our two companies will drive significant value for both our shareholders and customers," said NCR Chairman and CEO Bill Nuti.
Read More
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Outbrain Acquires Scribit
Netanya-based Outbrain has acquired Atlanta-based Scribit, (formerly Vertical Acuity), a content platform that allows brands to curate long form content from leading publications on their site. The price of the deal was not disclosed, but it has been announced that the Atlanta team will continue to operate.
Outbrain is a leading content discovery platform, reaching a highly engaged audience through distribution on top publisher sites including CNN, Fox News, Hachette Filipacchi Media, Mashable, MSNBC and Slate. The company, founded in 2006 with 175 employees, provides publishers a service for recommended links to increase traffic and generate revenue. Outbrain also works with brands and agencies including Starcom, Digitas, Mindshare, American Express, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills and Exxon, offering a way to distribute content alongside publisher's own editorial recommendations.
Scribit was founded by Atlanta technology start up veteran Gregg Freishtat who commented on the deal, "Outbrain gives us a larger platform, greater scale, global reach, and an amazing team of people who share our vision and passion for online marketing and creating amazing consumer experiences. We will be able to accelerate our product plans and sales and marketing efforts in ways we could never have accomplished on a standalone basis."
Read More
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Economic News From Israel |
- Rehovot-based BioView has signed a cooperation agreement with Abbott Molecular Inc. under which BioView will develop an automated cancer screening system to carry out Abbott's lung cancer diagnostic test. Under the new collaboration, the two companies will jointly conduct clinical trials in order to certify the test for marketing in the US.
- Yokneam-based Given Imaging has applied to the FDA for approval to market the PillCam Colon 2 endoscopic capsule for visualization of the lower gastrointestinal tract. They had originally intended the device to replace colonoscopies, but it is now indicated as complementing them, thus reducing the target market for the product from $4 billion to $1.7 billion. The company's North American headquarters is in Atlanta.
- KLA-Tencor has opened a new center in Yokneam in addition to its R&D, production, and sales center in Migdal Haemek in the lower Galilee. Yokneam is the Atlanta Jewish community's Partnership city in Israel, and the company believes that at its location will attract employees from central Israel while still being near to the company's main offices.
- 3M has announced an equity investment collaboration in Yokneam-based VocalZoom that has developed a speech enhancement technology and voice enabled user interface that allows voice communication and recognition in any environment. The terms of the investment through its corporate venture capital fund, 3M New Ventures, was not disclosed, although reports in the Israeli media have indicated that it was several million dollars.
- Atlanta-based Vumii has been recognized at the GSN's 4th Annual Security Awards competition for its Accuracii 1500 long-range camera system. The winners were announced at the Government Security News gala dinner in Washington, DC on November 29th. Vumii is the Atlanta-based subsidiary of Karmiel-based Opgal.
- Google has opened its start-up incubator and R&D center in the Electra Tower in central Tel Aviv, and will occupy a full 1,500 square meter floor in the building entirely devoted to entrepreneurs, with the goal of encouraging innovation in Israel. The campus will give entrepreneurs access to Google's teams and other experts, as well as a wide range of smartphones and tablets for developing and testing mobile apps. The heart of the program will be the Launch Pad, a 2-week bootcamp for training new start-ups.
- Avi Gross, founder of US textiles company Divatex Home Fashions which he sold in 2007, will invest up to $2 million in Caesaria-based Elbit Vision Systems, a developer of inspection systems for in-line and off-line applications and product quality control. The company will use the investment to expand operations in Asia. The company's US headquarters is in Greenville, South Carolina.
- Philips Healthcare announced the establishment of a new development center in Haifa that will focus on image processing and analysis, and conduct long-term research in the field as well develop applications for contemporary markets such as virtual colonoscopy and virtual catheterization applications. The company currently has 600 employees in Haifa at a center that specializes in 3D CT scanners.
- Tel Aviv was ranked as the world's #2 region for start-up activity according to a worldwide study released by Startup Genome and Telefonica Digital of more than 50,000 entrepreneurs. Key findings included Access to Capital, Role of Angels, Show me the Money, and Smaller Markets. Silicon Valley ranked #1, and following Tel Aviv were Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York.
- Israeli pupils have been ranked as 7th in the world for math, following the results of 2011 tests for primary and junior high school students. The results show that Israeli pupils rose from 24th place worldwide in the TIMSS test, a significant improvement.
- Imports into Israel (excluding diamonds, ships, and aircraft) fell by over 16% in seasonally adjusted figures in January-November 2012, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. However, exports rose by an annualized 5% in September-November. High-tech industrial exports (half of total industrial exports) rose by an annualized 36.1% in September-November (a monthly average of 2.6%), driven by pharmaceutical exports (mostly by Teva).
- Israel's unemployment rate jumped to 7.3% in October from 6.9% in September according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. The number of unemployed rose to 267,000, and labor force participation over the age of 15 fell to 63.8%.
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Darrie Schlesinger - AXA Advisors
provides assistance to business owners in the following areas of planning:
- Estate and Business Succession Planning
- Executive Non Qualified Benefits for Key Employees
- Design & implementation of "tax efficient plans modeled for the highly compensated using institutional distribution system.
- Employee Benefit Design and Implementation to include: Qualified Retirement Plans (401(k), SEP, Defined Benefit, ESOP, and Cash Balance Plans
Contact Darrie Schlesinger at 404-760-2335 or darrie.schlesinger@axa-advisors.com.
AGE 82272 (12/2012) (12/2014) |
12/13
4:00 pm |
| 12/18
12:00 pm |
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12/19
4:00 pm |
| 1/8
8:15 am |
| 1/16
7:45 am
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| 1/16
12:00 pm
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Israeli Companies Contacting Us |
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Mobile Management
Tel Aviv-based developer of a platform that provides the latest innovation in Mobile Workforce & Fleet Management that gives companies the tools for running and managing a well functioned organization, helps cost reduction, saves man hours, and improves organization efficiency and productivity. Seeking introductions to mobile operators and VARs. |
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Weight Loss
Haifa-based developer of a simple, easy-to-use device that reduces the size of bites and slows eating, thus causing users to eat slower, become aware of each bite, and consume fewer calories. User inserts the intra-oral disposable device between the teeth in the upper and lower jaws using an applicator, and is easily removed after the meal. Seeking investment and introduction to potential partners for the US market. |
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Escape Systems
Jerusalem-based company offers personal rescue and evacuation devices that have been developed in the last 5 years in Israel. The devices are simple to operate, many of them do not require prior installation, and enable escape from any opening without requiring additional assistance. Seeking introduction to high-rise tenants, building management and owners, municipalities and institutions, and emergency services. |
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Smart Faucet
Haifa-based developer of a unique and patented digital shower system that sets new standards for significant reduction of water consumption and energy usage in showers, along with monitoring abilities like water pressure inside the pipes, circulation temperature, etc. Conducting a pilot at the David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv, and seeking introduction to investors, partners, and customers in the Southeast. |
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Thanks to Renewing Members |
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Members Exposed to Israeli Mobile Technologies
Over 70 members and guests were treated to presentations by 3 innovative Israeli mobile technology companies at the December 11th breakfast event hosted by at&t in Atlanta. Sharing their solutions were Tel Aviv-based C4 that specializes in development, marketing and delivery of Command & Control systems; Netanya-based eVigilo whose mission is to enhance emergency responders' mass notification capabilities by using a geo-targeted multi-channel alert and notification system; and Tel Aviv-based Mobli that utilizes social media by leveraging the power of smart phones, enabling people to quickly and easily share and experience events via high-quality videos and photos uploaded on-location and in real-time.
Glenn Lurie, at&t's President, Emerging Enterprises & Partnerships, delivered the keynote address. His company has one of its three global innovation development centers, known as the at&t Foundry, in Tel Aviv. A panel of experts that included Doug Busk (The Coca-Cola Company) and Andrea Busse (IntelaText) was moderated by Dawn Ely (Global Success Centers). David Teske, head of the IP Tech Group at Alston & Bird, the I-3 series sponsor, shared key legal considerations.
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Click to watch Glenn Lurie's presentation |
The event was spearheaded by AICC's Hi-Tech Committee. "We were pleased to offer a topical program on Mobility, certainly a key driver of how we do business today and in the future. Clearly, the Israelis are top innovators in this field, and we look forward to assisting these and other Israeli companies in their US market plans," said Adam Coffsky (Gartner), chairman of the committee.
 
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