Weekly #FIRGUN Newsletter

It's?#Firgun?time!

As every Friday, it's my pleasure to share a weekly summary of the movers and shakers in Israeli tech and venture. Please note: this Linkedin newsletter replaced my previous mailchimp/ social post. Hit "subscribe" to get it straight into your inbox next week!

"Firgun" (Hebrew: ??????/ pronounced 'feer-goon')?is an informal modern Hebrew term and concept in Israeli culture (originally Yiddish), which describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person. It's the opposite of schadenfreude. More about Firgun and why it matters on?VC Cafe:?https://lnkd.in/dg2a86p

- Argentina are world champions! Hard to not be happy for Messi and the team for what was the best game ever. Sending everyone happy Hanukkah wishes - may our light shine bright!

NEW INVESTMENT ROUNDS

- Congratulations? Yotam Gil and team Imagen on your $30M series A for ?AI-powered editing solutions for professional photographers!

- Mabruk? Elran Haber and team Biomica Ltd. on your $20M series A for microbiome-based therapeutics

- Kudos Isaac Bentwich and team Quris AI on your $9M seed extension to discover new drug candidates with AI!

- Well done Adi Sideman , Shahar Nechmad and team Revel.xyz for coming out of stealth with a $7.8M seed round for your NFT social collectibles platform!

- Big congrats Ofer Familier and team Dig on coming out of stealth with a $7.3M seed round to power video clips creation with AI!

- Way to go? Tuvik Beker and team Pangea Biomed on your $5M seed extension to develop ?precision oncology treatments for cancer patients combining mRNA and AI!

- Good stuff? Pini Shemesh and MyTower on your $4M series A to expand your property intelligence platform!

EXITS

- Congrats Meir Kliner and team Airobotics on the acquisition by American Robotics Inc. for an undisclosed sum to continue developing autonomous industrial drones.

NEW FUNDS

- Congrats Yahal Zilka , Rotem Eldar , Itay Rand and team 10D on securing $245M across 2 funds, a $185M series A fund focused on startups leveraging deep technologies across a wide range of verticals and a $60M opportunities fund. Looking forward to co-invest with Remagine Ventures !

APPOINTMENTS

- Congratulations? Alexander Zemlyak for moving to Israel to expand LETA Capital activity in the country!

- Mazal tov? Sian Goldofsky, MSc MBA for joining Glilot Capital Partners 's investment team!

MISCELANEOUS

- Congrats?Shai Cohen?and team?proteanTecs?for winning the top spot in the?Globes?most promising Israeli startups list for 2022

LAYOFFS TRACKER

- Houzz announced layoffs of 100 employees

THREE LINKS FOR YOUR BROWSER

1. Thank you in the Israel 2022 VC Survey by CTech by Calcalist and Kevin Baxpehler was featured in 'gaming is the origin story of the Metaverse'
2. A new report by the Israeli intelligence ministry warns that "the world is on the verge of a cliff and is likely to be struck by a variety of crises affecting all aspects of life"
3. Another week, another list of promising Israeli startups (by N12 News Israel )

CHART(s) OF THE WEEK

Generative AI continues to fascinate with its abilities. This week OpenAI announced Point-E, a generative AI engine that can produce 3D models from text prompts.

AI systems are evolving at a rapid pace. Just take a look at the chart below on language understanding and reading comprehension.

The latest market map (of 190 companies) was published by Antler

And where can we expect Generative AI to become most complex in real time according to Andreessen Horowitz

If you're interested in the topic of Generative AI, I recommend you read Midjourney Founder David Holz On The Impact Of AI On Art, Imagination And The Creative Economy

Finally, thank you to the GOAT, Messi for giving all Argentina supporters a Hanukkah miracle

There's so much to celebrate in our "small" community! Keep on creating!

#israel #tech #startups #venturecapital #ai #startupnation #vc #community #exits