CTech's Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News

McDonald's buys Dynamic Yield to revamp drive-thru marketing. On Tuesday, 200 McDonald's burgers, along with fries, chicken nuggets, and soft serve ice cream, were to be delivered to the Tel Aviv offices of digital personalization company Dynamic Yield. Soon, news broke out: McDonald's signed a deal to acquire Dynamic Yield and use its technology to personalize drive-thru marketing.

Nvidia CEO on cryptocurrency, Mellanox acquisition, Mobileye rivalry. After agreeing to shell out $6.9 billion for Israeli interconnect chips company Mellanox, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Israel this week, taking the chance to speak to the local crowd. The acquisition, Nvidia's largest to date, is set to take a big bite out of the company's available cash. "I'm broke," Huang commented, jokingly, while speaking at a Calcalist conference in Tel Aviv, adding that he has no plans now for further acquisitions. Huang also took the time to comment on a blog post blasting Nvidia for imitating Mobileye, published earlier this week by Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua, and discuss Nvidia's relation to the cryptocurrency market. “Cryptocurrency is something that found us, and it is in our past,” he said.

LiDAR maker Innoviz raises $132 million. Earlier this month, Calcalist reported that the company is raising a new funding round. Read more

Extension of Panasonic deal boosts Tower Semiconductor on Nasdaq. The Israel-based company saw its stock depreciate by over 50% since the beginning of 2018, and its net profit cut by around 55% between 2017 and 2018 despite a boost in revenues. Read more

Initiative Q now has an app. And downloading it will score users extra Qs if the digital coin makes it to the market. Read more

Israeli rescue UAV adapted for pesticide spraying. Pesticide manufacturer Adama has partnered with Israeli UAV developer Tactical Robotics to repurpose its vertical take-off UAV to agricultural use. Read more

Months after shifting to no-cash policy on busses, Israel launches tourist travel card. Called “Israel Pass” the chargeable card is currently being sold exclusively at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, the country’s main entrance portal. Read more

M&A and funding

Alibaba acquires AR software company InfinityAR. Israel-based InfinityAR develops augmented reality software. Read more

Social trading company eToro acquires Danish blockchain company Firmo. Read more

App building startup Applicaster raises $20 million. Read more

London-based luxury vacation rentals marketplace The Plum Guide raises $18.4 million. Read more

Qualcomm Ventures backs CyberX in $18 million round. Read more

Store analytics startup CB4 raises $16 million. Read more

Fintech startup Rewire raises $12 million. Read more

Web intelligence startup Cobwebs raises $10 million. Read more

Sayata emerges from stealth with $6.5 million. Read more

Gamified photo-sharing startup GuruShots raises $5 million. Read more

Secured network startup Perimeter 81 raises $5 million. Read more

Email app startup Spike raises $5 million. Read more

Fish farming startup BioFishency raises $2.4 million. Read more

Speech recognition startup Voiceitt receives $500,000 initial investment from Connecticut. Read more