OurCrowd signs Uruguay incubator deal + One Zero valued at $380M

A weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform

Startup of the Week:

Helios Project: Green steel with zero emissions

For every ton of steel produced, approximately two tons of CO2 are emitted, making the industry responsible for 7-9% of the total global carbon footprint. Helios has developed proprietary technology to produce steel with zero carbon emissions, using 50% less energy and with 20% reduced operating costs. The Helios process uses sodium as the critical reducing agent to convert iron ore to iron instead of conventional coke, which emits high levels of CO2 from traditional blast furnaces. The Helios process emits only oxygen as a by-product. If a renewable energy source is used, the entire process is 100% carbon emissions-free. The global green steel market is forecast to reach $400B by 2031. The company is in talks with major steel producers regarding demonstration models within their production chains that will use existing energy infrastructure. The company is currently raising on the OurCrowd platform.

Learn More

One Zero Bank: $380M valuation, 50,000 customers 

Israel's One Zero Digital Bank, an OurCrowd portfolio company that began operations last summer, ended 2022 with a company valuation of NIS 1.39B ($380M), Roi Weinberger reports in Globes. By year’s end it had over 50,000 customers and NIS 1.2B in deposit and current accounts. 30% of its customers say that their main bank account is at One Zero, with more than NIS 5,000 deposited each month. “Our business model allows us to operate at a third of the cost per account of a normal bank, so that we can be very profitable at half the income from an account,” says One Zero CEO Gal Bar Dea.

Sign NDA to Learn More

OurCrowd signs incubator MOU with Uruguay

Omar Paganini, Uruguay’s Industry, Energy and Mining Minister, and a delegation of government officials and entrepreneurs were the guests of OurCrowd in Jerusalem headquarters last week. They signed an MOU to collaborate in the potential establishment of a high-tech incubator in Uruguay within the framework of the Uruguay Innovation HUB Program, as The Times of Israel reports. “I believe that Latin America is going to be booming, and now that the Uruguayan government has this push, Israeli startups could address potential markets in the region,” said OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved. OurCrowd is Israel’s most active operator of high-tech incubators with industry partners, with five in Israel and one in New Zealand. 

Near Intelligence starts trading on Nasdaq

OurCrowd portfolio company Near Intelligence, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIR), a global leader in privacy-led data intelligence on people, places and products, began trading on Nasdaq after closing its previously announced business combination on March 23 with KludeIn I Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.

Israeli electric flying vehicle prepares for takeoff

The day when you will be able to enter your garage, hop into a personal aircraft and cruise above the congested traffic on the streets below is coming closer. Air EV, based in Pardes Hanna, has already taken 300 advance orders for AIR ONE, its two-seater, battery-operated electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. “We intend to deliver the first units at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025,” Rani Plaut, Air EV’s CEO and Co-founder, tells The Times of Israel. Air EV is now funding on the OurCrowd platform.

Learn More

Ravin AI to check new vehicles arriving at Haifa Port

More than 40,000 new vehicles enter Haifa Port, Israel’s main shipping terminal, every year. Inspect, Autoscan, and Eye, AI-powered platforms developed by OurCrowd portfolio company Ravin AI, will be used to inspect each vehicle. “Every year millions of dollars in vehicle damage occurs during maritime transport, and until they are delivered to the end customers, there can be a very costly and time-consuming journey to determine the responsible parties in the supply chain,” Eliron Ekstein, Co-founder and CEO of Ravin AI, tells James Spiro at CTech. “By partnering with one of the largest ports in the Middle East, Ravin’s technology will eliminate much of this problem in the region by significantly speeding up the inspection process and increasing the accuracy of spotting damages by an order of magnitude. In the near future, we anticipate more global ports will adopt our proven technology.”

French fries and bananas fly as Flytrex drone deliveries grow 80%

OurCrowd’s drone delivery company Flytrex marked a sevenfold increase in orders to 21,350 in 2022, with french fries the most popular menu item, followed by turkey sandwiches, burrito bowls, Italian sandwiches and pizza, Michael Wolf reports in The Spoon. Bananas were the most popular grocery delivery, Flytrex reports in its 2022 survey. The surge was driven by FAA authorization for automated Flytrex deliveries in Texas and North Carolina that increased the company’s range to 140,000 households. “We look forward to expanding our service and eventually providing the same level of quality practicality across suburban America,” CEO Yariv Bash tells Bruce Crumley at DroneDJ.

Nigeria’s Zone signs up ThetaRay to monitor payments

Zone, a blockchain-powered Nigerian fintech, is the latest financial institution to integrate ThetaRay’s SONAR AI-powered technology to monitor and screen transactions in Nigeria for illicit activities and sanctions violations. Lagos-based Zone serves large commercial banks, payment FinTechs and digital banks with real-time, low-cost settlement of both fiat and digital currencies for domestic and cross-border payments. ThetaRay will help Zone to detect and prevent the earliest signs of sophisticated attempts to launder money or circumvent financial sanctions and watchlists. “By integrating with ThetaRay, we have enhanced our security measures and improved our regulatory compliance whilst providing faster transaction processing for our users within our decentralized payment network,” says Elendu Uche, Zone’s Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer.

Gorilla, Hailo and Lanner build next-gen edge AI for video

Gorilla Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GRRR), a global provider of AI-based edge video analytics, IoT technologies, and cybersecurity, announced the development of the E-300 Edge AI Appliance with Lanner and OurCrowd portfolio company Hailo. The E-300 is capable of processing up to 24 channels of real-time, multiple video analytics streams using an entry-level CPU, which ordinarily can only handle 4 channels at the edge, providing an industry-leading price to performance ratio for robust video analytics. “We believe this comprehensive solution will expedite the adoption of video analytics and streamline Edge AI deployments at scale. We feel privileged to collaborate with Lanner and Hailo,” says Dr. Rajesh Natarajan, Gorilla’s Chief Innovation Officer. 

Social Carbon Foundation grants first carbon offset approval to BlueGreen

The London-based Social Carbon Foundation selected BlueGreen Water Technologies’ Net Blue carbon removal system as the foundation’s first approved carbon offset methodology to scientifically quantify greenhouse gas emission removals. Net Blue eliminates harmful algal blooms and sequesters CO2 in freshwater bodies. The approval is the first of its kind in the world and addresses the growing global threat posed by toxic algae using proprietary technology developed by the OurCrowd portfolio company. “Climate change and the nutrient-induced increase in phytoplankton productivity caused by current agricultural and wastewater treatment practices pose a significant risk to water bodies globally. This methodology opens a new opportunity to treat harmful algae blooms that threaten communities and freshwater species,” says Mike Davies, CEO of the Social Carbon Foundation.

Alice & Bob picks Quantum Machines for advanced quantum computer

Alice & Bob, a cutting-edge quantum computer vendor with a mission to develop universal, error-free quantum computers, selected OPX+, the advanced quantum control platform developed by OurCrowd portfolio company Quantum Machines, to power an advanced quantum computer. Alice & Bob plan to use OPX+ to develop a scalable universal quantum computer, with potentially hundreds of times fewer qubits. “Quantum Machines’ OPX stands out with its exceptional real-time performance, seamless scalability, and user-friendly interface. These capabilities are crucial for us as we strive to realize our vision of developing fault-tolerant quantum computers,” says Théau Peronnin, Co-founder and CEO of Alice & Bob.

Check out all funding opportunities on the OurCrowd platform

More than 3,400 high-tech jobs worldwide

Looking for a job? Find your next adventure with an OurCrowd portfolio company on our Portfolio Jobs page. We have more than 3,400 vacancies at portfolio companies around the world, seeking skilled staff at all levels from coders to bookkeepers, data scientists to dealmakers. Click on the link and start looking for the next step in your high-tech journey.

About this Newsletter

Startup Beat is a weekly selection of news and investment opportunities from OurCrowd, the global venture investing platform.

Subscribe now to receive Startup Beat every week.

OurCrowd is a global venture investing platform. To date we have more than $2.1 billion in commitments, 220,000 registered investors, 380 portfolio companies, 42 venture funds and 61 exits.

Are you interested in investing in pre-IPO startups? Join our worldwide community of accredited investors. Register for the OurCrowd platform HERE.

Follow OurCrowd on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Nothing contained in and accompanying this communication shall be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation to purchase any security by OurCrowd, its portfolio companies or any third party. Information regarding OurCrowd’s limited partnerships and/or portfolio companies and the investment opportunities on OurCrowd’s website is intended and available for accredited investors only (criteria at our website). OurCrowd urges potential investors to consult with licensed legal professionals and investment advisors for any legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice.