CTech's Wednesday Roundup of Israeli Tech News
Marketing company AppsFlyer in talks for $200 million round; NSO denies using WhatsApp to infect hundreds of users with surveillance malware
14:5030.10.19
Marketing company AppsFlyer in talks for $200 million round. The company’s latest round was in 2017, when AppsFlyer raised $56 million. The current round is led by growth equity firm General Atlantic, according to one person familiar with the matter. Read more
NSO denies using WhatsApp to infect hundreds of users with surveillance malware. WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook are suing Israeli surveillance company NSO, according to an op-ed published Tuesday by the Washington Post, which was authored by Whatsapp CEO Will Cathcart. Read more
AppsFlyer Co-Founders Oren Kaniel, left, and Reshef Mann, right. Photo: Guy Gilad
IFF, Frutarom sue Frutarom’s former CEO over $21 million bonus. In August, IFF revealed that during the integration process of Frutarom following its 2018 acquisition, IFF uncovered improper payments made to customer representatives with the knowledge of Key Frutarom executives. Read more
With $2.24 billion in funding in a single quarter, Israeli tech companies set a six-year record. In the third quarter of 2019, companies based in or otherwise linked to Israel raised $2.24 billion across 142 deals, more than in any quarter since 2013, according to a Monday report by IVC and ZAG. Read more
Intel's $11 billion Israeli expansion plan is back on track. In June, Calcalist reported that work on the $11.09 billion plan, initially intended to begin in 2019 in southern Israel, was being postponed to an undisclosed date. Read more
Volkswagen to test autonomous vehicles in Tel Aviv in 2022, says executive. Alexander Hitzinger, senior vice president of autonomous driving at the Group, told Calcalist he estimates that Volkswagen will begin offering autonomous driving-as-a-service by 2025. Read more
Cybersecurity veteran Roger Hale joins venture capital firm YL Ventures. Hale was formerly chief information security officer for software company Informatica and mobile learning platform developer Inkling. Read more
Library management company Ex Libris seals 10 million euro deal With German academic consortium. Ex Libris develops cloud-based software that manages and shares library collection databases. Read more
Fintech startup Become raises $10 million. Become, formerly known as Lending Express, develops an online service that helps small and medium-sized businesses find tailored loans from dozens of different lenders. Read more
3D printing startup Castor raises $2 million. Castor develops 3D printing software that automatically scans a company’s parts catalog to identify parts that can be manufactured using a 3D printer. Read more