Israeli Tech Sector Rebounds
Charles Johnson
Sat Nov 29, 2003 at 5:31 pm PST • Views: 254
Despite being surrounded by millions of sworn enemies doing their best, both openly and secretly, to destroy the relatively tiny Jewish state, Israel’s high-tech sector is becoming a powerhouse of innovation. (Hat tip: E. Nough.)
On Tuesday, Eastman Kodak Co. said it was buying Israeli-based Scitex Corp.’s digital printing division for $250 million. The deal came days after Kodak picked up Algotech Systems Ltd., an Israeli developer of medical-imaging archiving systems, for $42.5 million.In another sign of recovery, venture investment in Israeli high-tech companies has risen for three straight quarters, reaching $283 million in the most recent quarter, according to the IVC Research Center. However, that remains a far cry from the $1.1 billion raised in the same quarter three years earlier.
While activity slowed during the downturn, Israel’s corporate research centers, obscure university labs, shadowy military tech units and scrappy startups continued to produce. Their high-tech work tends to focus in three areas: communications, software and life sciences.
Intel developed its new line of Centrino chips for wireless gadgets in Israel. Sphericon Ltd., a startup founded by an aeronautics expert, is developing a system that can alert drowsy drivers before they fall asleep by analyzing steering patterns.
This month, scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology created a tiny self-assembling transistor using DNA. The project, touted as a crucial step in the development of nanoscale devices, could help build speedier computers.
Frank says: