CTech's Monday Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Israel’s kibbutzim poured nearly $30 million into local startups. in 2018 The once-socialist rural communes have undergone vast privatization processes over the past few decades. Read more 

Citizen Lab researchers were targeted by undercover operatives, a report says. The Associated Press reported members of the human rights research group were questioned by two operatives about their investigation into the affairs of Israeli cyber surveillance company NSO. Read more

Israeli government approves cannabis export reform. The reform will allow Israel’s dozens of cannabis-related startups and hundreds of licensed farmers to export the plant and its products for medical uses in other countries. Read more

Israeli government expenditure on R&D second lowest among OECD countries. The country's spending on national R&D as a percentage of GDP was 4.4% in 2016, highest of all OECD countries, but almost all of the capital comes from the business sector. Read more

IBM contests $300 million lawsuit by Israel Chemicals. In a lawsuit filed in December to Tel Aviv district court, ICL alleged a project it commissioned from IBM caused it $300 million in damages. Read more

Mobileye snags former Israeli regulator as an advisor. Avi Licht, Israel’s deputy attorney general until May 2018, is now employed by Mobileye as an advisor, the company confirmed to Calcalist on Saturday. Read more 

Intel-backed chipmaker Habana Labs opening R&D center in Poland. Habana Labs develops processors optimized for artificial intelligence applications. Read more

Israel’s ministry of defense set to pose sanctions on Aeronautics CEO. The Israeli drone maker and several of its executives have been under investigation for violations of the Israeli defense export controls law and for insider trading since 2017. Read more

CVS picks migraine drugs by Teva, Eli Lilly, snubs Amgen, Reuters reports. In October, American prescription benefits management company Express Scripts added Amgen and Eli Lilly’s drugs to its coverage but excluded Teva. Read more 

Insurance company Lemonade tops $57 million in revenue in 2018. Lemonade is a for-profit corporation, but the company donates a portion of its unclaimed money to charities selected by its clients. Read more

Cybersecurity startup ReSec raises $2 million. Founded in 2012, ReSec develops cyber protection against malware penetration of networks and data centers. Read more