CTech's Wednesday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

NFX raises second, $275 million fund; Huawei temporarily suspends Israeli employees with U.S. citizenship

NFX raises second, $275 million fund. NFX's first fund, closed with commitments of $175 million in October 2017, has yet to see an exit but some of its more mature startups already raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Read more

 

Huawei temporarily suspends Israeli employees with U.S. citizenship. According to information obtained by Calcalist, the policy was not Israel-specific but rather implemented by Huawei globally wherever it has employees of American nationality. Read more

 

Gal Gadot in a Huawei ad. Photo: PR

Zebra Technologies acquires prescriptive analytics startup Profitect. Profitect develops a prescriptive business analytics software that offers business intelligence services to companies including Unilever, Walgreens and Abercrombie & Fitch. Read more

 

Let DJ Khaled spin you away from traffic. Google-owned mobile navigation app Waze is introducing DJ Khaled’s voice into its navigation system. Read more

 

Veego emerges from stealth with backing from Bosch. The Israel-based startup uses artificial intelligence algorithms to develop products that when installed on gateway devices can automatically detect, analyze, and fix problems in smart home systems. Read more

 

Cybersecurity startup GuardiCore raises $60 million. GuardiCore offers cybersecurity defense software for data centers and cloud systems. Read more

 

Shell backs vehicle inspection startup Ravin AI. Ravin AI’s technology uses computer vision and deep learning to create a real-time image of vehicles in order to detect and analyze car damage. Read more

 

Home cannabis farming startup Seedo launches EU distribution hub. Seedo develops a device about the size of a mini-fridge used for home cannabis farming under controlled conditions. Read more

 

Former Israeli chief of staff hops on cannabis wagon. Dan Halutz, newly appointed chair of CFR, is the latest in a chain of prominent public figures in Israel to join a medical cannabis company. Read more

 

Specialized vehicle insurance startup Voom emerges from stealth with $7 million. Voom offers on-demand insurance for vehicles such as e-scooters, motorboats, and small planes. Read more