Record-breaking “exits,” SmartHomes, new Arab high tech and more – this week from the Startup Nation

Amazon's new Israeli purchase

After the announcement that cloud storage giant Dropbox acquired Israel-based startup CloudOn, another Israeli company may be bought out by a big name oversees. According to Calcalist, Amazon is in negotiations with the Israeli chip-maker Annapurna Labs, based in Yokneam – the lower Galilee locale that has come to be known as “startup village”. Annapurna Labs was founded by Israeli Avigdor Willenz in 2011 and is now reportedly in the midst of talks with Amazon to be sold for between 350 and 370 million dollars.

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US Supreme Court sides with Teva on a drug dispute

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Israel's largest pharmaceutical company, in the company's high-profile patent dispute with rival firms over the top-selling multiple sclerosis drug. The justices ruled 7-2 that a federal appeals court wrongly overturned five of Teva's patents for the drug Copaxone. The high court's decision gives the Israel-based company another chance to keep its exclusive rights to the drug until September 2015.

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Control your home with a wave of a hand

The Israeli company eyeSight Technologies, a leader in the field of computer- and machine-vision solutions since 2005, has just launched a new product that might make the clutter of multiple household remote controls a thing of the past. Onecue is a small, unobtrusive, standalone device that interfaces with TV sets, satellite and cable boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players, stereos, Xboxes and other remotely controlled electronic equipment or electrical appliances. Currently compatible with Apple TV, Nest Learning Thermostat, Philips Hue and a number of others, the new gadget — launched at the end of November and listed by CNN as one of 36 “coolest gadgets of 2014” — is a simple tool for today’s “smart” home.

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Here come Tel-Aviv startups

Give a big round of applause to the Startup Nation! The Economist, a leading source analysis on international business, recently created an infographic  highlighting Israel’s startup ecosystem. The weekly magazine headlined it: “Move over, Silicon Valley. Here comes Tel Aviv.”
The graphic shows the world’s Top 20 startup ecosystems. Tel Aviv is second on the list. Silicon Valley ranks first; Los Angeles third; London seventh; Sydney 12th; and Santiago 20th.

“>here. 

The Startup Nation's double-edge sword

Israeli entrepreneur Avi Brenmiller says he was coaxed by investors into selling Solel, his solar-thermal power firm, to Germany's Siemens for $418 million in 2009. Today, little is left of it after Siemens pulled out of the business. From a thriving company that employed over 500 people, Solel has been reduced to a factory with 50 workers. Brenmiller's experience is one of a growing number of cases illustrating the double-edged nature of Israel's high-tech boom.

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Economy Ministry launches an Arab high-tech program

The Ministry of Economy, headed by Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett, announced the winners of a tender for the training and integration of Arab, Druze and Circassian academics into the hi-tech sector, with 10 million shekels (over $2.5 million) to be transferred to the organizations over the next three years.
The winners, Tsofen and ITworks, are to receive the state funds so as to examine the manpower needs of hi-tech employers in northern and central Israel where much of the Israeli Arab community is located, and to guide, train and place Arab students in hi-tech companies.

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