Silicon Valley is home to many of the world’s most renowned technology companies. From mammoths like Apple, Google, Facebook, and eBay, to startups like Firebase, Optimizely and Lyft; the area is well known for producing the best tech products on Earth. However, just about 7,475 miles away is an unlikely location booming with promising tech companies. That place goes by Silicon Wadi—more commonly known as Tel Aviv. Yet, it’s not just Tel Aviv, but Jerusalem and all of Israel that is displaying exceptional potential in the tech startup sector.
Just how promising is Israel’s tech industry? Promising enough for Google to open Campus Tel Aviv, a shared work environment for Israeli startups, developers, and entrepreneurs. Here, tech-savvy professionals are given access to Google’s devices, experts and, workshops, all with the goal of helping Israel maintain its reputation as a startup nation.
Despite this, there has been recent speculation that Israel is not the tech powerhouse it used to be a few years back. The Central Bureau of Statistics says high-tech companies accounted for 12.5 percent of Israel’s economy output in 2013, which is 1.5 percent less than it was in 2012. However, tech exports grew by 13 percent over 2012, totaling $17.95 billion, and shining a more promising light on the tech outlook in the country.
2015 is a new year, full of promising startup firms that are working their way into foreign markets. Here are just a few Israeli tech firms that are worth watching in 2015.
Personalization is the word for 2015, and Telesofia is the company. Founded by a team of medical doctors and internet industry veterans, Telesofia is aiming to make medical information clear through interactive and personalized patient education videos. Their proprietary platform enables health providers to automatically generate personalized education videos for patients. These videos can range from discharge instructions, to describing the proper use of medication. With estimates saying only 50 percent of patients properly understand medication instructions, these personalized videos are in high-demand. Telesofia delivers these videos to patients via text, email, or embedded in a patient portal/app. The Israeli startup was founded in 2011, and raised $1.5 million in funding in 2014. This year could very well be the year Telesofia takes off in international markets, as many health systems around the world are beginning to invest in smarter healthcare options.
On the digital video front is AnyClip Media: a company that saw great success since officially launching in April 2014. AnyClip utilizes metadata and content-tagging technology to provide viewers with relevant digital videos based around the content of the website and web content. For example, if you are reading an article on Tom Brady and Deflate-gate, and it mentions that he attended the University of Michigan, the video player on the side of the page may queue up a story or ad on Ann Arbor, Michigan—where the university is located. This is AnyClip Media at its simplest, as its technology is actually quite complex and intricate. The company has also taken a special interest in combatting ad fraud. AnyClip Media is consistently ranked as one of the top 15 companies on comScore’s Video Metrix, a list of the largest video properties in the digital space. Keep an eye out for AnyClip Media, especially in the U.S. market.
The internet is capable of amazing things, but it also presents disturbing realities. One of those is privacy, or lack thereof. Many times internet users click boxes or agree to privacy agreements and don’t completely understand what they are signing away. That’s where MyPermissions comes in. MyPermissions monitors all connected applications across social networking sites and gives users control over the data that apps are able to access. Its suite of security tools protects users from unknowingly sharing photos, documents, locations, contacts, emails, or any other sensitive information. It also allows them to approve or revoke what apps access their data, and how they do it. This Israeli-based startup has made its app available on iOS, Android and Chrome, and is working with the $2.6 million in funding it raised in 2013.
Keep in mind that these are just a few of the many high-tech startups that call Israel home. Nearly 1000 new Israeli companies launch every year, each with the dream of achieving success equal to Telesofia, Anyclip, and MyPermissions. It will be both intriguing and exciting to see the new innovations that pop up throughout the country in 2015.