This is a fateful summer. Old conceptions, promises waiting to be fulfilled, dreams in asphyxia, all of these give way to disillusionment and caution. Celsius customers understood that a “deposit” with a promise of an annual return of 17% is actually a leveraged investment portfolio; Mobilai’s captains have concluded that the IPO is not a realistic move and that they currently have no choice but to stick with the company that acquired it, Intel, and its creeping stock; The shareholders of Iron Source – which despite the decline in value is still trading at a handsome multiplier – realized that it is better to hold a minority stake in a giant company than to have a controlling stake in a medium-sized company; While investors in the automated video industry – an industry that was once considered glorious and has produced promising Israeli companies such as Sunday Sky and Edomo – are making their way out of it.
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And also: in the past, Israel was filled every year with hundreds of delegations of Chinese businessmen who moved between the major tourist sites in Jerusalem and Masada and the high-tech companies of Tel Aviv and Herzliya. Israelis called the trend “eco-tourism” – not because of the environmental contribution but because it was “economic tourism”. Between a mud bath in the Dead Sea and a sumptuous meal at the late Rafael Restaurant, they invested hundreds of millions of dollars in start-ups and funds. Chinese capital reached 6% of all investments in Israeli high-tech in the middle of the previous decade – but has since completely evaporated.
Here are eight interesting topics we covered this week in the high-tech and science pages of Globes
A merger of hope
“Merging to create hope for employees”: Iron Source has little choice but to merge. A senior in the ad-tech world: “Without a merger, even if Iron Source’s financial data is very good, employees will have to wait at least two or three years for a substantial increase in value, and many of them will not be ready for it and will leave.” Globes commentary.
2. Below zero
A month after freezing the withdrawals for its customers, Celsius filed for bankruptcy. The case of the digital currency giant, which has promised its customers dreamy and excessive returns, reflects the underlying problems in the decentralized market. Five comments following the affair of Celsius, the Israeli crypto giant that collapsed, and gave an important lesson to the entire market.
3. Where did Sunday Sky go?
Sunday Sky planned to go public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at a value of NIS 1 billion.
4. They almost took over Israeli high-tech – and then disappeared
A Chinese wave swept Israeli high-tech a decade ago: Thousands of business tourists and dozens of government investors flocked here in pursuit of blue and white technology. Subsequently, restrictions on the issuance of foreign currency from China alongside American pressure led to a disconnect between Chinese capital and domestic industry. Today the model of detachment from Chinese capital is used by those who want to detach from Russian capital. “Disconnecting from Chinese high-tech” – second article in the series.
5. To what extent has the global crisis affected Israeli high-tech?
In April-June, Israeli start-ups raised $ 4.1 billion, a decrease of 27% compared to the first quarter of 2022, and of 50% compared to the fourth quarter last year. According to the report by the research company IVC and Leumi-Tech, the funding was cut mainly for start-ups in advanced stages and the fintech field.
6. The “Submarine” Podcast: What is behind the layoffs in high-tech?
Israeli high-tech companies today are divided into two types: companies that lay off workers and those that will still lay off. In the first five days of July alone, close to 600 workers were fired, a very high rate. At the same time, companies are stopping recruitment and some of the parties have been canceled. Why is this happening right now and will the waves of layoffs become a drift? Listen.
8. Dominance is maintained, but Mobilai is no longer alone
Mobilai has a solution for the field of trucks, but in this market the activities of autonomous driving companies are no less prominent than it, such as Waimu, Aurora, Uber and the Swedish OneRide. Even in the field of smart vehicles, Mobilai is no longer alone. Despite the market leadership, an IPO these days does not make sense or is possible. Globes commentary.
9. One industry, two pay scales
In recent years, the number of companies that combine high-tech and biomed has increased, and this has changed the work culture and the wage picture in the industry. While the salaries of programmers compete with the conditions offered in high-tech, the salary scale of postgraduate scientists is much lower. Now, industry executives say, the crisis is permeating everyone.