TEL AVIV--Israeli venture-capital firm OurCrowd is investing tens of millions of dollars to start an artificial-intelligence business in the United Arab Emirates, in the latest sign of deepening commercial ties between the two neighbors after they established diplomatic relations two years ago. OurCrowd said it is partnering with Abu Dhabi Investment Office, a government entity responsible for facilitating investment in the U.A.E. The two entities will invest $60 million in total for the expansion, the bulk of which would be used to set up the new AI business, named Integrated Data Intelligence Ltd., according to Jon Medved, founder and chief executive of OurCrowd. The new company will serve as a technical hub for businesses seeking AI as a service. The story of the Abraham Accords isn't one-way investment, Mr. Medved said, but of "how we build stuff together."

JERUSALEM, March 21 (Reuters) - OurCrowd, one of Israel's largest venture firms, plans to open an artificial intelligence-based research and development centre in Abu Dhabi by early June that will help with investment decision making, a company official said. The Global AI Innovation Centre will employ about 50 engineers and OurCrowd will be the first client, although the service will be open to anyone, said Sabah al-Binali, a partner at OurCrowd, in an interview with Reuters on his first ever visit to Israel. He said OurCrowd was investing a "massive" amount in the project, which aims to analyse huge amounts of data, without giving figures. "Trying to build AI internally is very expensive but we believe we can almost modularise and make it almost like a utility where you can just use it as a service," said al-Binali, head of OurCrowd Arabia and comparing the plan to Amazon's Web Service. OurCrowd in November received a licence to operate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which followed a normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE in 2020.

From autonomous drones to driver-assist cars and shopping carts that can check you out of a supermarket without standing in line for a cashier, artificial intelligence is set to change our lives. But it doesn't just happen. In order to function, artificial intelligence needs to recognize millions of traffic hazards, or airborne objects, or items in a supermarket by comparing them with labeled images stored in its memory. Dataloop is the first company to figure out how to combine and automate much of the process behind the "computer vision" that allows these applications to work – saving time and resources. The four-year-old Israeli startup estimates its software is already used by most of the labeling providers.

The global pandemic has resulted in the rapid acceleration of the digital transformation of many aspects of our lives--how we work, where we buy, and what new services and products are offered to us. But it and also exposed the inadequacy, inefficiency, and the sheer primitive aspects of the many processes, practices and policies governing the way we live now. Which technologies promise at least some progress in the near future? In an online broadcast to a global audience, leading VC firm OurCrowd released today a list of what it considers the top tech trends in mid-2021, when global venture capital funding reached an all-time high with more than $288 billion invested worldwide in the first half of this year. "There is no better time to analyze what the tech trends are for the smart investor, and where the technology market is moving," said Jon Medved, OurCrowd's founder and CEO, opening the broadcast.

Top 10 Tech Trends for 2020, and Beyond

China is beating the US in AI and Europe's AI experts are challenging both US and China, but a new contender for AI leadership is rapidly emerging. The startup nation of Israel is targeting today's hottest tech sector by deploying its expertise in cutting-edge data analysis, software and hardware engineering talent, and proven entrepreneurial skills. According to analyst Daniel Singer, Israeli AI startups (using technologies such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, robotics, and speech recognition) have raised close to $2 billion in 2017, an increase of 70% over 2016, and have already raised $1.5 billion this year. An average of 140 startups have been created annually over the last 5 years and there are now over 950 active Israeli startups utilizing or developing AI technologies. It's good to be a member of this exclusive club.

This article was written by Kwon Sok Oh, a Financial Analyst at I Know First. Israel currently has over 7000 thousand startups, living up to its reputation as the "startup nation." Israel is considered the most venture capital intense country, with the highest investment funds per capita in the world. Israel's unique combination of innovative and entrepreneurial mentality, technology-oriented ecosystem, government support, and international investment has driven the proliferation of the startup environment. Over 350 multinational companies, including technology giants, such as Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung, and global financial institutions, such as JP Morgan, Citibank, and Barclays, have established R&D Centers in Israel to take advantage of the advent of novel startups and innovative technologies that solve existing problems.

Newswire) OurCrowd, the leading global equity crowdfunding platform, today announced the launch of Cognitiv, a specialized $100 million global fund focused on early-stage companies that leverage AI, deep-learning, IoT, robotics and digital manufacturing to become tomorrow's category leaders. Cognitiv is the 12th fund to launch for funding on OurCrowd's platform and will give investors access to approximately 20 companies, with initial investments in EquityX, KolGene and FreshKeep. Cognitiv is a direct result of the success of OurCrowd First, the first fund entry by OurCrowd, raising approximately $12 million, closing in May 2016. Cognitiv is led by three storied entrepreneurs, collectively responsible for creating value in the billions of dollars. Cognitiv's newest General Partner, Avi Reichental is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of 3D Systems, (NYSE:DDD) and brings decades of executive leadership in late stage global corporations.

Leading investment crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has registered its 6th successful exit as portfolio company Crosswise has been purchased by Oracle. The transaction was revealed in Israeli media on April 15th revealing that Oracle paid 50 million for the "machine learning based cross-device data" company. The transaction closed on April 14th. OurCrowd, and its registered investors, participated in a Series A funding round that provided 670,392 to the young company. Co-investors on the funding round included Giza Venture Capital, Horizons Ventures and a "high profile angel group."