APEX Ventures launches €50 million fund for early-stage Digital Health startups
Today APEX Ventures has announced launching its second fund, focusing on digital health startups. The fund will back seed stage deep-tech companies with defendable IP. APEX Ventures invests in exceptional talented teams who are committed to improving patient outcomes and lives, and firmly believes that diversity and inclusion are key to building a strong community of entrepreneurs.
Israeli start-up enables farmers to grow crops in salty water
An Israeli start-up has developed a technology that allows farmers to grow crops in spite of the salinity of the water or soil that they have at their disposal, offering a hope to overcome challenges related to droughts and scarcity of fresh water. “The materials are completely safe and give the crops a form of ‘immunity’ from salt and also drought conditions,” Borenstein said. In 2018, the technology started to be employed by farmers both in Israel and India. Over time, it has been used on a variety of crops, including rice, corn, wheat, millet, tomatoes, spinach and coriander.
A Japanese robotics startup has invented a smart mask that translates into eight languages
When the Covid-19 pandemic made face masks an everyday essential, Japanese startup Donut Robotics spotted an opportunity. They created a smart mask — a high-tech upgrade to standard face coverings, designed to make communication and social distancing easier. In conjunction with an app, the C-Face Smart mask can transcribe dictation, amplify the wearer's voice, and translate speech into eight different languages. The cutouts on the front are vital for breathability, so the smart mask doesn't offer protection against the coronavirus.
SAP.iO Accelerator Program, E.ON, and IEC partner to find startups in the Utilities space
SAP.iO has announced a collaboration with E.ON Innovation and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for its upcoming startup acceleration program in Tel Aviv. E.ON Innovation is the strategic innovation entity of E.ON, one of Europe’s largest energy companies, and both collaborators are clients of SAP. The 12-week program provides startups with curated support from within and outside SAP, access to its technologies, and opportunities to work with SAP customers from around the world. The next program is designed to specifically focus on solutions for the utilities sector.
