OurCrowd AI Fund to collaborate with NVIDIA Inception
A weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform
Startup of the Week
ITsMine: AI-powered managed data protection SaaS
Ransomware attacks against businesses have evolved. Today’s malware uses double and triple extortion tactics that not only encrypt a firm’s files but also steals them, often resulting in the loss of intellectual property, erosion of customer confidence, and substantial financial regulatory penalties. The AI-powered managed data protection as a service platform from Israeli startup ITsMine defends systems against advanced ransomware attacks. It provides real-time alerts and displays critical forensic information, even after data exfiltration, and with no endpoint agents. In case of a breach, the system tracks and kills stolen data, even if it’s located on an external offline system. 2023 was a banner year for the company as it reached several financial milestones including 46% IRR growth, signed key international clients across various sectors, and was named a Gartner Cool Vendor in Data Security. OurCrowd is leading ITsMine’s Series A-2 round.?
OurCrowd AI Fund to collaborate with NVIDIA Inception
The OurCrowd AI Fund, in collaboration with NVIDIA, will offer select AI startups a fast track into the NVIDIA Inception program. The OurCrowd AI Fund?provides investors with access to the next?revolutionary wave of global venture capital opportunities?in mission-centric AI companies and the generative AI space, helping solve real-world?problems across multiple verticals. “Our collaboration with OurCrowd AI Fund will develop the next generation of AI startups, helping to shape the way that AI will benefit multiple aspects of our lives,” says Arik Kol, Senior Director, Head of NVIDIA Inception Israel.
Israel’s economy recovering despite war, Medved tells Bloomberg TV
Despite Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah, high-tech investors didn’t stop investing and some kept on flying into Israel, OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved told Bloomberg TV’s “Wall Street Week” daily. “We’re entertaining delegations from Thailand and Korea and all over Europe. People are still visiting, they’re still making investments,” Medved told hosts David Westin and Katie Greifeld. “There’s a lot of smart money out there that says: wait a minute, Israel’s not going anywhere, Israel’s on sale – OK, I’m getting into it. My greatest concern is for smaller Israeli startup companies without revenue that saw up to 20% of their workers called up to the military reserves. That’s why we started the Israel Resilience Fund, which has made commitments into 26 companies in less than 3 months.”
Meet the woman protecting 500 million devices around the world for Verizon, Virgin and Orange
SAM Seamless Network, an Israeli startup headed by a former officer in Israel’s elite 8200 military intelligence cyber unit, is protecting 500M connected devices in more than seven million homes and businesses around the world, Jeremy Ruden writes in the Times of Israel. The company’s platform secures networks provided by some of the largest telecommunication companies in the world including Verizon in the US, Virgin Media in the UK, Orange in Belgium, Bezeq in Israel, and other major European providers. In the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), millions of smart devices, from garage doors to smart watches, have access to private Wi-Fi but many were designed without any attention to security. Once hacked, they can provide a gateway into home and business networks where cyber criminals can steal personal information and hold entire companies to ransom. “In the US, an average household has 22 connected devices,” says Sivan Rauscher, a former 8200 officer and SAM’s Co-founder and CEO. “We record an average of 16 attacks a day on every network,” she says. OurCrowd is leading SAM’s Series C investment round.?More information is available under NDA.
D-ID releases digital human “Agents”?
Our portfolio company D-ID released its futuristic Agents platform?featuring digital humans that interact with visitors in real time. The AI avatars can hear, think, and speak, enabling businesses of all sizes to provide consumers with lifelike customer experience and service on demand. The D-ID platform taps retrieval augmented generation (RAG) technology, enabling the Agents to comprehend the user’s environment and respond with over 90% accuracy in under two seconds. “Making D-ID Agents widely available is a leap forward in our mission to bridge the communications gap between humans and rapidly advancing technologies,” says Gil Perry, CEO and Co-founder of D-ID. “Our platform is not just about enhancing digital interactions, it's about transforming them into meaningful conversations, fostering trust and understanding between businesses and their customers.” Additional information on D-ID’s current funding round is available under NDA.
Oracle, Stellar Cyber extend security to US Government cloud
Oracle is expanding its collaboration with our cybersecurity innovator Stellar Cyber to support regulatory compliance in the public sector. Stellar’s Open Extended Detection and Response platform, will be deployed on Oracle’s US Government Cloud which provides a highly secure, enterprise-scale cloud ecosystem isolated from commercial customers. Stellar Cyber anticipates an increase in the adoption rate of their security operations platform among Oracle’s existing customer base in the state, local, and educational sectors as a result of the expansion.
Tabnine upgrades AI coding assistant?
OurCrowd portfolio company Tabnine upgraded its industry-first AI-powered coding assistant for developers. The product’s new capabilities enable organizations to get more accurate and personalized recommendations based on their specific code and engineering patterns. “Just as you need context to intelligently answer questions in real life, coding assistants also need context to intelligently answer questions. This is the driving force behind Tabnine’s new personalization capabilities, with contextual awareness to augment LLMs by providing all the subtle nuances that make each developer and organization unique,” says Eran Yahav, Co-founder and CTO of Tabnine.
BlueNalu joins National Fisheries Institute
Our FoodTech pioneer BlueNalu is the first cell-cultured seafood company to join the National Fisheries Institute, Vegconomist reports. The institute is the trade association for the US seafood industry and actively encourages the consumption of seafood. “Their innovative cell-cultured seafood is a game changer that aligns with our mission to have Americans eat more seafood by expanding the market with additional options,” says Lisa Wallenda Picard, President and CEO of the National Fisheries Institute.
US utility adopts Locusview electric digital construction platform
A Tier-1 electric utility operating in eight US states deployed the digital construction management platform from our portfolio company Locusview for its as-built workflows, recording information about newly constructed electric assets. The utility’s electric construction workflows were previously managed with paper and unsupported GPS hardware, requiring tedious data processing and manual work. “With Locusview, electric infrastructure construction projects are delivered faster with quicker closeouts and minimized rework, optimizing capital investments, streamlining workflows, and ensuring high customer satisfaction,” says Shahar Levi, Co-founder and CEO of Locusview.
Nexa3D expands in dental industry ?
Our 3D printing pioneer Nexa3D signed with new partners in the dental industry. Both CAD-Ray and Harris Discount will resell Nexa’s printers which quickly creates trays, splints, and other dentistry indications. The company will also collaborate with Pac-Dent to produce three new resins for use in dental procedures, dentures and restorative applications. Nexa’s ultrafast polymer 3D printers deliver up to 20X productivity gains to dental professionals.?
Check out all funding opportunities on the OurCrowd platform
More than 1,800 high-tech jobs worldwide
Looking for a job? You may find your next adventure with an OurCrowd portfolio company on our?Portfolio Jobs?page. We have more than 1,800 vacancies at our portfolio companies around the world, seeking skilled staff at all levels from coders to bookkeepers, data scientists to dealmakers. Click on the link and start looking for the next step in your high-tech journey.
?
About this Newsletter
Startup Beat?is a weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from?OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform.
Subscribe now to receive Startup Beat every week.
OurCrowd is a global venture investing platform. To date we have more than $2.3 billion in commitments, 230,000 registered investors, 440 portfolio companies, 56 venture funds and 63 exits.
Are you interested in investing in privately held startups, funds and exclusive private market alternatives? Join our worldwide community of accredited investors. Register for the OurCrowd platform?HERE.
Nothing contained in and accompanying this communication shall be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation to purchase any security by OurCrowd, its portfolio companies or any third party. Information regarding OurCrowd’s limited partnerships and/or portfolio companies and the investment opportunities on OurCrowd’s website is intended and available for accredited investors only (criteria at?our website). OurCrowd urges potential investors to consult with licensed legal professionals and investment advisors for any legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice.
?