Quantum Hub
Deal Flow Report
April 2023
Dear Partners,
We are happy to share the April 2023 deal flow report
You will find 5 sections in the report - Ecosystem News, Quantum News, Quantum Hub PoC use-case, Spotlights, and Full Dealflow report.
As always, we would appreciate any feedback and questions on the focus areas and reviewed companies.
Ecosystem News gives a glimpse of interesting events/ announcements/ investments information related to the Israeli tech ecosystem.
Quantum Hub News shares interesting news related to Quantum activities.
Our Spotlight section highlights and provides more information on companies we found most interesting in the past month.
Finally, we provide the full deal flow of the month, including relevant companies from our focal sectors.
Ecosystem News
Qualcomm acquiring auto-chip maker Autotalks in $350-400 million deal
Autotalks is a fabless semiconductor company developing vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications that are designed to reduce collisions and improve mobility.
Chip designer Qualcomm announced that it would buy Israel's Autotalks, which makes chips used in technology aimed at preventing vehicle crashes.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed, but Qualcomm, which has a market cap of over $120 billion, is estimated to have paid $350-400 million for the Israeli company.
"We have been investing in V2X research, development, and deployment since 2017 and believe that as the automotive market matures, a standalone V2X safety architecture will be needed for enhanced road user safety, as well as smart transportation systems," Nakul Duggal, Senior Vice-President - Automotive at Qualcomm Technologies, said in a statement.
Porsche and Mobileye to collaborate on ADAS solutions
Sports car manufacturer Porsche and Israeli company Mobileye have entered into a strategic collaboration for the series production of premium ADAS solutions. Porsche plans to offer in future models automated assistance and navigate-on-pilot functions based on the Mobileye SuperVision technology platform.
Porsche plans to customize Mobileye’s system, which enables drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel on various road types while visually monitoring their surroundings, depending on local laws and traffic situations.
Quantum Hub News
This April, the first Quantum Hub startups delegation visited VDL companies in the Netherlands!
With a list of startups with potential PoCs with VDL, including SkillReal, Polymertal, City Transformer, Coreteel, Daika Wood, Commcrete, and Magnus Metal, we aim to strengthen the relationship between the startups and VDL and achieve significant progress on joint projects.
Along with the executive board and management from VDL involved in the delegation, we visited the VDL Groep headquarters and their various companies' facilities and manufacturing lines, including VDL ETG Projects, VDL ETG Eindhoven, VDL Nedcar, VDL Castings, VDL Kunststoffen, VDL Bus & Coach, and VDL Enabling Transport Solutions.
As a result of this delegation, we are working on seven possible collaborations in various use cases.
Partners collaboration CHALLENGE
Kia eLCV and UPS have teamed up to tackle some of the main pain points in the delivery journey, with the goal of offering startups the opportunity to explore a PoC with these industry experts.
The challenge aims to identify startups that can contribute to the development of diverse solutions and services based on Kia PBV, HMG tech, and UPS Israel.
This relationship provides an ideal chance for entrepreneurs to collaborate with large players in the automotive and logistics industries, gaining vital expertise and exposure.
Spotlight of the month
Autonomous Inspection System for the Manufacturing Industry
Lean Al develops quality control solutions to enable ideal quality in complex manufacturing processes through unsupervised self-learning Al technology, providing accurate detection and predictive process control.
This is done utilizing unsupervised learning processes that are similar to the human brain.
This technology is robust to process variation due to its elasticity and online learning capabilities, which will adapt the model to any process or environmental change in real-time.
The company's proprietary architecture requires far less computing power than traditional deep learning systems, can run on low-processing platforms, and does not require a massive hardware installation.
Distinctiveness
> Lean AI is a joint venture of Cortica Group and Johnson Electric.
Company ID
Founded: 2021
Funding: Seed
Industries: Industry 4.0
Product: R&D
Lean AI Solution
Computer Vision-powered GHG Emissions Detections
Momentick is an advanced computer vision company that delivers autonomous and actionable capabilities to detect and verify materials such as methane and other GHG emissions on a planetary scale.
Momentick utilizes autonomous tech for methane leak detection in Oil & Gas, tracks landfill methane emissions for capture opportunities in Waste Management, and enhances Coal Mine Methane monitoring for emission reduction and management in the Coal Mine sector.
Distinctiveness
> Selected for Microsoft’s fourth AI for Good acceleration program.
Company ID
Founded: 2020
Funding: Round A
Industries: Energy
Product: R&D
Global Emissions Monitoring
Operation System for electric vehicles
Port Power's platform provides energy and charging management solutions. Their energy management offering is designed to be grid-independent right out of the box, making it ideal for off-grid applications. It's also pre-integrated for quick and easy installation, and scalable through the ability to daisy chain additional units.
Their charging management solution is digitally connected and seamlessly integrated into fleet operations through an API, allowing for efficient and optimized charging of electric vehicles. With Port's platform, businesses can enjoy efficient and effective energy and charging management solutions that work for both grid-connected and off-grid scenarios.
Distinctiveness
> Paid pilots with Hertz - CarPort with employee fleets and rental hubs
Company ID
Founded: 2022
Funding: Seed
Industries: Energy
Product: R&D
Port Power MVP: introducing CarPort - Fleet charging solution in a box
Jet-based heavy lifter utility drone
Heavy Lifter Utility Drone for Energy, Logistics. whose purpose is to fill the existing payload gap between limited drones' capabilities and helicopters.
McFly's drone technology reduces GHG CO2 emissions by up to 1 million metric tons per drone per year. The drone helps to prevent the spread of wildfires by identifying hotspots and extinguishing them quickly, thereby reducing the amount of CO2 emissions resulting from these fires. This method is much faster than traditional approaches, making it possible to reduce the damage caused by wildfires more effectively.
In addition, the technology is being used to replace helicopters in many scenarios, which typically fly back and forth, generating high levels of CO2 emissions.
Distinctiveness
> Pre-Seed investment Raised on 640k$
> Co-development agreement Signed with Israel’s Ministry of Defense (IDF) R&D and have invoiced them already over $300K
> Secured a paid pilot with Israel Electric Corporation (IEC)
> Signed with Israel’s Fire & Rescue Authority
Company ID
Founded: 2019
Funding: Pre-seed
Industries: Logistics
Product: MVP
McFly's product concept
