CTech’s Monday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Alibaba founder Jack Ma is visiting Israel. He’s scheduled meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding has landed in Israel Monday with a large delegation including senior executives from Alibaba's subsidiaries. During his visit, Mr. Ma will meet with state officials, local companies, and investors. Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Bloomberg

Court ruling could see multinationals pay more taxes in Israel. Over 300 multinational companies operate local research and development outposts in Israel. A ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court last Sunday could see Israeli subsidiaries of multinational companies pay more income tax in the country. Read more

Vector Capital buys 25% stake in dark web monitoring company KELA. Tel Aviv-based KELA develops automated technology for monitoring dark web sites. Its system automatically scans a chosen set of sources and threats, giving immediate notification of compromised, company-specific information, such as employee or customer details, email addresses, and passwords. The acquisition was made at a company valuation of $200 million. Read more

United Therapeutics to buy pharma company SteadyMed in a $216 million deal. United Therapeutics has agreed to pay $4.46 per share in cash at the time of closing, and an additional $2.63 per share in cash upon the achievement of a milestone which is related to the commercialization of SteadyMed’s star drug, Trevyent. In 2017, SteadyMed won a patent war against United Therapeutics over the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in Trevyent. Read more

Israeli government intervention likely to void deal with U.S satellite contractor Loral. Last month, Israeli satellite operator Spacecom announced it awarded Loral with a contract to design a new communication satellite, choosing the U.S.-based company over Israeli state-owned aerospace contractor IAI. Read more

First class of Israeli government cyber course for ultra-Orthodox women graduates. Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up around 10% of the Israeli population but only 0.7% of the tech sector, according to a study published in August 2017. The reason many ultra-Orthodox people have fallen by the wayside of the country's technology boom is partially due to a focus on religious studies among many ultra-Orthodox men and on social and cultural restrictions on the employment of women. Read more

Jerusalem officials are setting up a venture capital fund focused on biotech. And they are looking for private investors to join in. 150 biotech startups call Jerusalem home, according to a new report. Read more

How Lemonade convinced the market it is disrupting insurance. The home-insurance startup’s head of marketing and content explains her strategy for connecting with customers. Read more

Israeli hospitals move to protect MRI, Insulin Pumps from cyber attacks. Two of Israel's general hospitals are extending their security measures to the realm of medical devices. Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Rambam Healthcare Campus, Israel's third and fifth largest hospitals, respectively, have contracted cybersecurity company Cynerio to deploy its technology in their systems. Read more

Israeli diplomats now undergo technology training. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has added seminars and training sessions on technology and innovation to its training programs for diplomats headed to overseas assignments. Read more

Frutarom launches food tech innovation lab. Frutarom will operate the lab, a part of a network of government-backed incubators operating in Israel, as part of a three-year contract. The main focus of the program will be on technologies related to natural food products such as food colors, functional food, and natural pesticides. Read more

Government-owned Israeli aerospace company IAI opens Berlin office. As defense budgets in European countries increase, IAI deepens its focus on the market, an executive at the company said. Read more

Chinese bike sharing companies Ofo, Mobike to launch services in Israel. Ofo will launch its service in a Tel Aviv Suburb, Mobike will launch a pilot at the Tel Aviv University. Read more