CTech's Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News

China appoints Xi Jinping’s right-hand man to head government initiative to bolster tech ties with Israel. Vice-President Wang Qishan will co-chair the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more

Scientists on a mission to save squashed Israeli watermelon. After a barrage of complaints from consumers and sharp decline in sales, agricultural researchers are trying to bring the flavor back to the Israeli watermelon. Read more

Ride-hailing company Gett generates around $1 billion in revenues a year. In its financial report, Vostok, which holds a 5.5% stake in Gett, attributed most of the taxi-hailing app developer’s revenues to its London and New York activity. Read more

Anti-tumor freeze blasting technology to be used in Israeli hospital. Tel Aviv-listed IceCure Medical develops a medical device that provides a minimally invasive alternative to surgery. Read more

This startup’s solution to attack drones? Sending in a bigger drone. RobotICan’s GoShawk drone can detect, intercept, and destroy hostile drones by colliding into them in midair. Read more

Cybersecurity startup Exabeam raises $50 million. Exabeam said it is on track to more than double its market size in 2018, having reported 250% market growth in 2017. Read more

Founders Fund invests in a 911 startup backed by Ehud Barak. Emergency response startup Carbyne announced a $15 million Series B round on Tuesday. Read more

Why Israel stopped all attempts by Chinese companies to buy local insurers. Israel’s former capital markets watchdog tells Calcalist she had no intention of letting any government-affiliated buyer, Chinese or not, take over Israeli insurers. Read more

Tel Aviv high-end real estate deals in free fall. With tightening local regulation and appreciating shekel, foreign investments have slowed down, while some Israelis are still priced out of the market. Read more