CTech’s Daily Israeli Tech News Roundup

Blockchain loses magic hold on Tel Aviv investors. After two weeks of on blockchain-related hype on the Tel Aviv Stock exchange, investor excitement seems to be wearing off. Read more

Activists out to change Israel's arm exports policies. Israeli activists are protesting exports of Israeli-made arms to Honduras, citing human rights violations by Honduran security forces. Honduras has seen weeks of violent protests following a disputed election on November 26. Read more

The world’s first commercial-scale wave power plant. Israel-based Yam Pro Energy said it had secured the backing of Indian conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group to build a $180-million, 150-megawatt electric station powered by waves along a stretch of coast in Ghana. Read more

Injectable bone grafts demonstrated for the first time. Israel-based biotechnology Bonus Biogroup announced Wednesday it has injected, for the first time, a lab-grown bone graft into the leg of a patient suffering from critical bone loss. Following the announcement, Bonus' stock was up 18.7%. Read more

A cash infusion to help Qoros. Chinese conglomerate Baoneng Group has agreed to invest almost $1 billion for a controlling stake in Qoros Automotive, a car manufacturer founded in 2007 as a joint venture between Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer’s Kenon Holdings and China-based Wuhu Chery. As part of the agreement, Kenon and Chery have committed to reinvesting “substantially all of the proceeds” from Baoneng back into the struggling automaker. Read more  

Layoffs at ECI Telecom. CEO Darryl Edwards sent out an email announcing 6% of the workforce, or about 100 employees, would be cut in the near future as part of company’s efforts to become leaner. Mr. Edwards also cited a decline in governmental support and the shekel’s appreciation against the dollar in his explanation. Read more

Verint acquires Next IT. Customer service and surveillance products company Verint paid $30 million for Next IT, which develops natural processing language technology for customer engagement. Read more

Opinion: Automating video is the future of online storytelling. Here's how companies can use new tools to increase efficiency and audience engagement, writes Zohar Dayan, a co-founder of Wibbitz. Read more