|
May,
2007  Volume
5.2 | | | |
| |
Maryland/Israel Trade News |
|
Maryland Investors Are Active
in
Israel
Four Maryland investors
have found Israel an attractive investment market.
Athlone Global Security, Nobska Ventures, Novak
Biddle and The Zitelman Group have invested in
emerging Israeli technology companies over the
past several months. Here's a
profile of their
activities.
The
MIDC's MarketReach America program brings Israeli
investment opportunities to Maryland. See related
article about Israeli medical device and life
science delegation visit to Maryland on July
25-26, 2007.
| |
| | |
|
Athlone Global Security Invests in
Israeli Homeland Security
Companies
Athlone
Global Security is a private equity group
that invests in emerging growth companies
specializing in critical homeland security
technologies that are ready to be commercially
introduced in North America and Europe. The
company is assembling a portfolio of 25 to 30
investments focusing on Israeli products and
services due to the breadth and sophistication of
the country’s homeland security expertise.
Athlone's
Maryland ties are strong. The
company has partnered with
the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC), a
specialized homeland security incubator in
Annapolis that will be the first US office for
Athlone's Israeli portfolio companies. They
also hired Dr. Charles O.
Heller, a serial entrepreneur, investor and former
Director of the University of Maryland Dingman
Center for Entrepreneurship, to run the
Maryland office. A long-time friend of the
Maryland/Israel Development Center, Dr. Heller
participated in an MIDC sponsored trade mission to
Israel in 1998.
Athlone's
investments include:
-
DefenSoft Planning
Systems , an innovative Israeli
homeland security company that develops software
solutions for defense and security systems.
DefenSoft's primary product, Lighthouse, is a
breakthrough system to optimally plan the
position of sensors. Applications for this
product include borders and coastlines, military
bases, airports, seaports and other sensitive
sites.
-
Icaros , a Maryland-based
company with R&D facilities in
Israel, has automated the creation of a
geographical database for homeland security and
defense that delivers accurate three dimensional
photomaps quickly and cost efficiently. It also
has developed a three dimensional change
detection technology that enables a user to
monitor spatial phenomena.
-
EMZA
Visual Sense developed the "Wise
Eye," an autonomous micro-device incorporating a
sophisticated sensor, power source and
communication capability for remote surveillance
and monitoring applications. The unit
"learns" its normal
environment, detects and analyzes changes, and
sends only clear alerts with outlined images to
the central monitoring station for follow up.
Based in Kfar Saba, Israel, EMZA executives
participated in the MIDC's MarketReach America
program in 2005.
-
Persay, Inc.
develops and sells
biometric speaker verification software
platforms and solutions. The company’s
products provide increased security, with
extreme accuracy and at low cost, to various
customers, including British Telecom, AT&T,
Morgan Stanley, and Orange Israel.The company
was spun out of NASDAQ-listed Verint
Systems.
Nobska Ventures Invests
in ClassifEye
Nobska Ventures invested $1.2
million in Israel-based ClassifEye , which is
developing mobile commerce applications and
services enabled by a secure, software-only
solution for fingerprint identification and
authentication using existing cell phone or
internet cameras, eliminating the need and cost
for dedicated biometric hardware devices. Their
core, patent-pending technology enables biometric
authentication, non-repudiation and device
security for large, rapidly growing global markets
and applications, including mCommerce, mBanking,
Enterprise Security and Homeland Security. The
company is currently launching US operations with
an experienced management team and Board of
Advisors recruited by Nobska. Deployment and first
pilots are in negotiation for early 3rd quarter
2007.
Nobska
Ventures supports exceptional entrepreneurs
and management teams in the mid-Atlantic area and
in Israel with early stage venture capital and
experienced strategic and operational counsel.
Investors in Nobska Ventures include successful
entrepreneurs, institutions, and major
corporations with strategic interests in Nobska's
investment focus areas: information and
communications technologies for enterprise
management and security, defense intelligence and
electronics, homeland security and
healthcare. Nobska partners Rob
Rosenbaum and Gary Applebaum, M.D., serve on the
board of the MIDC. Rob is treasurer and Gary is
chairman of the Life Sciences
Committee.
Novak Biddle Invests
in FiberZone Networks
Israeli firm
FiberZone Networks placed a
long-distance call to Bethesda, Maryland for
capital, and an $8 million second round of venture
funding came on the line. The round was led by new
investor Novak
Biddle Venture Partners of Bethesda and
previous backers Portview Communications Partners
of Bethesda and StageOne Ventures of Tel
Aviv. FiberZone makes hardware and software
that companies use to mechanically connect
fiber-optic lines that transmit phone calls, video
and Internet communications. Its products also can
automatically track the connections with a
computer rather than by hand. Other equipment uses
electricity to connect lines and transfer the
information.
Zitelman
Group Invests Broadly in Israeli Technology
The
Zitelman Group of Rockville,
Maryland has invested broadly in Israeli
technology investing in the Misgav Technology
Center incubator, one of the incubator companies,
Flexicath, as well as in eBIZ.mobility Ltd.,
creators of a ground-breaking online payment
processing solution for digital content downloads.
The Zitelman
Group is a merchant and investment banking
firm started in 1985 that takes a lead
investment position and brings in other partners
to co-invest in private debt and equity
transactions. The company specializes in early
stage companies, providing strategic guidance and
helping to turn entrepreneurs into successful
businessmen and women. TZG also has an office in
Jerusalem, Israel.
Flexicath raised $3 million
in a fundraising round led by The Zitelman
Group. The company developed a new
intravenous sterile catheter that reduces the
chances for infection and the cost of inserting
catheters. The catheter sits inside a sterile
silicon sleeve whose tip is inserted into the
vein, allowing it to be inserted without touch or
need for sterilization. Flexicath has a patent pending on the
Flexicath Firm-grip™.
The company is housed in the Misgav Technology Center
incubator in northern Israel. The MIDC and its
parent organization, The
Associated: Jewish Community Federation of
Baltimore, are investors in the incubator. The
Trendlines Group , which represents
the MIDC in Israel, is the primary investor
and manager of the incubator.
eBIZ.mobility created the
Universal OneTouch Online Purchasing™ solution so
consumers can buy digital content online without a
credit card or fear of identity theft. The system
allows consumers to charge downloads to existing
accounts at phone companies, ISPs and banks.
Consumers who have been unable or unwilling to buy
online because of safety or ease-of-use concerns
will find the OneTouch solution a welcome payment
alternative for lower price digital content
downloads like music, video clips, ring-tones and
games.
MIDC to Host
MarketReach America Investment Conference
for Israeli Life Science Delegation July
25-26; Gov. Martin O'Malley to
Speak
The
Maryland/Israel Development Center and The
Trendlines Group of Israel will host the fifth
round of MarketReach
America for Israeli medical device and
life science companies from July 25-26, 2007.
Representatives from major American biomedical
companies including Medtronic, BD Technologies,
Novation, Hanger Orthopedic as well as life
science investors will meet the Israeli
entrepreneurs to discuss partnering and investment
opportunities. Johns Hopkins
University will co-sponsor the event, which will
take place on the university campus.
Gov. Martin O'Malley
will speak at the Gala Dinner to welcome the
delegation and honor MIDC founding chairman Hanan
Sibel. The dinner will be on Wednesday evening,
July 25th, at Woodholme Country Club.
In today's business
environment, companies face many hurdles in
bringing projects, products, and technologies to
market. It's not just finding and raising capital
but coping with lengthy development and regulatory
processes. On the path to success, overseas
entrepreneurs and managers must transform their
local business into international concerns to
maximize their opportunities. It's here that
MarketReach America provides invaluable
assistance. The program brings together Israeli
companies with a U.S. team of experts to provide
them with an important business support structure
network for the purpose of commercializing a
marketable product and producing sales.
For information to
participate in MarketReach America and the
Gala Dinner, contact Barry Bogage at 410-767-0681
or bbogage@MarylandIsrael.org.
Israel
Celebrates 59
Since its
independence 59 years ago, Israel "has taken in
some 3,000,000 immigrants, roughly one-third of
them in the years 1990-1999, bringing its current
population to 7.15 million," reported the Taub
Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel. "Some
19,000 immigrants arrived in 2006, but immigration
has been decreasing since 2002 - a year after mass
immigration from the former Soviet Union
ended."
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
ARINC &
Starling: Providing Broadband at 47,000
Feet
Maryland-based ARINC and Israel-based Starling Advanced Communication
, announced an agreement to jointly provide
fully integrated broadband Internet solutions for
business jets. ARINC’s SKYLink is the only
in-flight broadband satellite service for business
aircraft. The agreement meets the increasing
demand for reliable and cost-effective in-flight
broadband applications in the medium and large
size business jet segments. It will open new
horizons for business travelers, enabling
broadband in-flight applications, such as the
Internet, VPN, PDA, VoIP, e-mail, mobile phones,
video conferencing, and instant messaging. Under
this agreement, ARINC, a world leader in
transportation communications and systems
engineering, will combine their own SKYLink system
with Starling's MIJET and MiniMIJET - the world's
fastest fuselage mounted broadband antenna systems
for in-flight applications, which will open up the
broadband Internet market to thousands of
additional aircraft.
Israel's Check Point Acquires
Maryland's NFR Security for $20
Million
Check Point Software Technologies
Ltd., of Israel, the market leader in
Internet security software, announced they have
signed an agreement to acquire NFR Security , a Maryland-based
company and leader in real-time threat prevention.
With the acquisition of NFR, Check Point will
enhance its technological leadership and raise the
security bar in defending enterprise networks
against today’s most dynamic threats and
attacks. Check Point will incorporate NFR’s
award-winning, intrusion detection and prevention
technologies into the company’s market-leading
network security portfolio of firewall, VPN and
security management solutions. This solution will
provide the highest level of intelligence,
adaptability and manageability and will also offer
stand-alone intrusion detection and prevention
technologies solutions.
MIDC Hosts
Delegation of Israeli High Tech Women
Entrepreneurs
The MIDC hosted a
half day coaching session for a delegation of high
tech women entrepreneurs from Israel on April
18th, 2007 at the Johns Hopkins University,
Montgomery Campus. Springboard Enterprises, a
non-profit organization that promotes women’s
entrepreneurship, and the Israel America Chamber of
Commerce organized the delegation's visit
to the U.S. Over 40 experienced Maryland business
people volunteered to coach the entrepreneurs on
the US market entry strategies. The entrepreneurs
were in the telecom, security, IT and life science
industries. Participating companies
included:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
UPCOMING
EVENTS
MIDC to
Participate in Israel's Biomed and
Annual Venture Capital Conferences, June
3-11
Come
visit the MIDC at Biomed
Israel 2007 , June 5th-7th at the David
Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv. Biomed
is Israel's largest international conference
for the life science industry including
biotechnology, medical devices and healthcare
technologies. The MIDC will also host a breakfast
for Israeli biomedical companies seeking to meet
America life science investors at 8:30am,
Wednesday, June 6th.
Members
of the delegation will also participate in the Israel
Venture Association Annual Conference on June
10th-11th at the same Tel Aviv hotel. This
conference provides an excellent opportunity to
network with Israel's leading investors.
To
participate in any of these events, please contact
Barry Bogage at 410-767-0681 and bbogage@MarylandIsrael.org,
or Tina Ornstein at +011-972-4-958-3323 or tina@trendlines.com.
The
MIDC delegation includes:
-
Abba
David Poliakoff, MIDC Chairman and head of the
Business Law Department of Gordon Feinblatt
Rothman Hoffberger and Hollander
-
John
Holaday, Ph.D., serial biotech entrepreneur and
investor. Dr. Holaday's companies include
EntreMed, Maxcyte and Medicis Pharmaceutical
Corp.
-
Abner
Mhashilkar, Ph.D. of Toucan Capital
Ventures
-
Jonathan
Auerbach, CEO, GlobalStem
-
Henry
Gottesman, CEO, International Program
Managers
-
Janis
Peters, Sr. Business Development Officer,
Montgomery County, MD Department of Economic
Development
-
Barry
Bogage, Executive Director, Maryland/Israel
Development Center
MIDC
Professional Services Committee to Host Maryland
Comptroller Peter Franchot on June
21st
The next meeting of
the MIDC Professional Services Committee will
feature Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot as
keynote speaker. Comptroller Franchot will discuss
his role as one of only four officials elected to
statewide office in Maryland (along with the
Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General)
and his vision for the Comptroller's office.
Committee member Gary Chackman of The Chackman
Group has graciously agreed to sponsor the
breakfast. The meeting will be held at: 8:30am,
Thursday, June 21, 2007 at Suburban Club,
7600 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, MD
21208.
Peter Franchot was
elected Maryland's 33rd Comptroller on Tuesday,
Nov. 7, 2006. Prior to his election to statewide
office, Comptroller Franchot served 20 years in
the Maryland House of Delegates representing
Silver Spring and Takoma Park. As a Delegate,
Peter was a member of the Appropriations Committee
and served as Chairman of the Transportation &
the Environment Subcommittee. Through his career,
he has been a strong advocate for education,
health care, transportation and environmental
protection initiatives. In his role as
Comptroller, Peter has pledged to be a fiscal
watchdog for the taxpayers of Maryland and an
independent voice on the powerful, three-member
Board of Public Works, which approves millions of
dollars in state contracts each year. Peter is
committed to helping keep Maryland competitive in
the knowledge-based economy, assisting working
families and protecting the state's natural
resources. Comptroller Franchot attended Amherst
College (B.A., 1973) and Northeastern School of
Law (J.D., 1978). He served in the United States
Army, from 1968 to 1970. Peter is married to Anne
Maher, a lawyer, and they have two children,
Abigail, 25, and Nick, 22. Peter and Anne live in
Takoma Park, Maryland.
Space is limited.
Please RSVP to Eta Kushner at ekushner@MarylandIsrael.org
or 410-767-0695. Thank you.
MIDC
Technology Committee to Host Networking Event on
June 27th
The MIDC Technology
Committee will host a networking event at the home
of committee chairwoman Beth Perlman, Chief
Information Officer of Constellation Energy, at
6:00pm, Wednesday, June 27th. The gathering will
be an opportunity for members of the newly formed
committee, and those interested in promoting trade
and investment between the technology business
communities of Maryland and Israel, to meet,
network and discuss committee activities. Space is
limited. For more information, contact Barry
Bogage or Eta Kushner at bbogage@MarylandIsrael.org
and ekushner@MarylandIsrael.org,
respectively.
OTHER
EVENTS
-
Mid-Atlantic
Venture Association's "Capital Connection,"
annual investment conference, May 29-30, 2007,
www.mava.org -
Early Stage East
Venture Capital Conference, June 13-14, 2007,
DuPont Country Club & Brantwyn Estate,
Wilmington, DE, cosponsored by the Maryland
Department of Business and Economic
Development, www.earlystageeast.org
"The Future of
Technology Cooperation: A U.S.-Israel
Perspective," June 19, 2007, 8:30-2:00, The
National Academy of Sciences, 2100 C. St., NW,
Washington, DC 20148, celebrating the 30th
anniversay of The Israel-U.S. Binational
Industrial R&D (BIRD) Foundation. For
more information and to register go to www.birdf.com
Prime Minister's
Conference for Export & International
Cooperation, November 1st, 2007, Pre–Conference
Exhibition, October 30–31, Tel-Aviv,
www.pmc.co.il
| | | |
 |
| |
Copyright ©2006
Maryland/Israel Development Center
217 East Redwood Street Suite
1200
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 USA |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
