Erasing Social Media Mistakes, Back to the Future, and More –This Week from the Startup Nation

China  – A  Fertile Land for Israeli High Tech

In spite of numerous events in China during the last year – an economic downturn, economic reform and a national campaign against corruption – the country retains one of the fastest GNP growth rates in the world. The middle class in China has significant spending power, which continues to grow and draw attention from Israel.

Recent statistics do indeed suggest around an eight percent decrease in Israeli exports to China in comparison to the same period last year. But when the mineral and chemical sectors are removed from the equation – two industries that have suffered sharp declines due to fluctuations in energy prices and strikes in Israel Chemicals plants – an entirely different picture emerges. Now, instead, we see a 10 percent increase in exports to China, along with sweeping growth in most major export industries.

“>Read more here. 

Back to the Future? It’s Here, if You Ask this Israeli Futurist

We may not have the flying cars or the cool hoverboards, but according to Arie Melamed, futurist and CMO of FST Biometrics, the future – as in the film Back to the Future II – is now.

“It’s true that some of the more out-there gadgets haven’t been invented yet,” Melamed said on the anniversary of “Back to the Future Day,” – October 21, 2015, the day Marty McFly transports to in order to save his children from becoming “nerds” in the second film in the Back to the Future series. “But many other things, like the technology for smart homes, access and identification, and especially communications, are far ahead than even what the movie envisioned.”

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Using Aviation Tech, Israeli App Uses Visual Search to Bring Up Instant Info about Buildings and Landmarks

Google and Wikipedia are definitely the places to look for information. But what happens if you need facts about a place in real time? What if you’re in a foreign country where you don’t understand the language and want to know about a cool building you’ve found or whether a café (whose sign you can’t read) is a good place for lunch?

That’s where the nine-member team at Fringefy, the Israeli startup responsible for the AliceWho app, comes in. What Shazam does for music and television, the AliceWho app does for buildings.

“>Read more here. 

Meet G-RO, The ‘Smart’ Carry-On That Charges Your Phone, Laptop On The Go

That’s why G-RO’s model has already captured the attention of the crowds: Its carry-on features large wheels that enable users to easily wheel the luggage over rugged surfaces and terrain, such as gravel, street curbs, cobblestone, snow and icy sidewalks. By placing the rotation axis of the wheel closer to the center of gravity of the bag, G-RO feels significantly lighter than a bag of similar weight with small wheels. Its dual compartment system maximizes the luggage space, keeping clothes wrinkle-free and enabling easy access to packed items.

During the course of just five days, G-RO successfully raised $660,000 on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter – more than five times what the G-RO team had initially hoped to raise.

“>Read more here. 

'Microsoft Set to Buy Israeli Cyber Security Company for $150 Million'

Microsoft is set to buy Israeli cyber security company Secure Islands for $100-150 million, sources inform “Globes.”  The acquisition will be Microsoft's fifth Israeli acquisition this past year and its third acquisition of an Israeli cyber security company over that period. Only three months ago, Microsoft bought Israeli company Adallom for $320 million.

“>Read more here.