CTech’s Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Citizen Lab calls on Francisco Partners to address impact of surveillance products. Verint is negotiating a $1 billion merger with NSO, an Israeli cyber surveillance company controlled by the private equity firm. Citizen Lab, a digital and human rights research group, sent an open letter to Francisco Partners, calling on the firm to address the impact of products offered by its portfolio companies. A spyware developed by NSO was used to spy on human rights activists, and journalists in the UAE and Mexico, according to past reports by Citizen Lab. Read more

Roman Abramovich, second from the right, visits the offices of Storedot. Photo: Storedot

Roman Abramovich’s Israeli homecoming marked by tech investments and tax benefits. On Monday, the Russian-born oligarch received his official Israeli papers after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport. Expected to become the wealthiest man in Israel, Mr. Abramovich investment portfolio includes more than a dozen Israel-linked startups and venture funds. Read more

Mommy Work is a coworking space for busy moms, err, parents. Located in the small tech bubble of Ra’anana, not far from Tel Aviv, Mommy Work is a coworking space for parents with young children. It offers onsite daycare and a tightly scheduled work-play agenda—diaper change is at 9:45 and 12:15, according to the company website. Read more

Israel warns Mobileye its drivers are on the hook for violations made by self-driving cars. Two weeks ago, an Israeli broadcaster aired footage showing Mobileye’s self-driving car running a red light in Jerusalem. Read more

3D printer maker loses second CEO in two years. On Tuesday Stratasys announced Ilan Levin will be stepping down as both CEO and director on Friday. Mr. Levin was appointed as the company’s CEO in July 2016. Earlier this month, the company reported a 6% year over year drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2018. Read more

IronSource alums' company Zinc to launch digital coin. Zinc, a Tel Aviv-based blockchain startup, is developing a protocol that would let users choose what personal data to share with advertisers. Founded by former executives from the Israeli monetization unicorn, Zinc lists IronSource as a design partner. Read more

Israel to deny entry of Indonesian tourists starting June. The ban comes after Indonesia started denying entry visas from Israelis, following recent confrontations in Gaza. Read more