CTech's Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News

An associate of slain Saudi journalist Khashoggi sues spyware company NSO. The Saudi dissident alleges that spyware by the Israeli surveillance company had been used to track his communications with Khashoggi, and was instrumental in planning the latter’s killing. Read more

U.S. Vice President slams Airbnb’s settlements ban, misses mark with Jerusalem comment. In contradiction to a part of the statement given by the U.S. vice president, Airbnb explicitly said it would not be removing listings in Jerusalem. Read more

 

 

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu makes light of fraud allegations. On Sunday, Israeli police and the Israel Securities Authorities recommended charging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara with fraud and bribery. On Sunday night, Netanyahu spoke at his party’s annual Hanukkah celebration joking about the plethora of allegations pending against him. Read more

UNIFIL peacekeepers increase patrols along Israel-Lebanon border. On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched a military operation to expose and destroy tunnels dug by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon into Israeli territory. Read more

In Tel Aviv, thousands protested violence against women. In a culmination of what civil organizers called a national day of rage, thousands demonstrated in front of the Tel Aviv City Hall Tuesday night against the rising violence targeting women in Israel. Read more

Tel Aviv intelligence startup says it found a fake news network linked with Iran. According to a report by ClearSky, 98 fake news sites operating in 29 languages can be linked to Iranian operators. Read more

Yandex's Yango Taxi hits Israel's roads. The company, which uploaded its Hebrew-language app to Google and Apple's stores last week, wants to challenge local market leader Gett. Read more

Want to learn sign language? Take an Uber. After it was criticized and sued by disability advocates for failing to meet accessibility standards, rideshare company Uber is working to become more inclusive, according to Malcom Glenn, Uber’s head of global policy, accessibility and underserved communities. Read more

CEO of automated drones company Airobotics draws the line at airborne firearms. Israel-founded startup Airobotics aims to move beyond security details in factories, mines, and refineries, and secure the U.S.-Mexico border, says CEO. Read more

Israel’s humble doughnut glams up for the age of Instagramable food. country-wide baked goods chain Roladin now publishes annual doughnut catalogs with models styled and made up to resemble the year’s collection of doughnuts. Read more

M&A deals

PepsiCo completes SodaStream acquisition. Read more

 

Online gaming company Playtika acquires mobile game developer Wooga. Read more

China’s TAL education group buys Codemonkey for $20 million. Read more

China's Newater to acquire water purification company AMS for $13.5 million. Read more

Startup funding

Textile technology startup Twine Solutions raises $22 million. Read more

Alternative protein startup InnovoPro raises $4.25 million. Read more

Israel-based real estate startup raises $4 million. Read more

Mobile monetization startup Soomla raises $2.6 million. Read more

This Israel-based startup plans to build airports for autonomous drones. Read more