CTech's Weekly Roundup of Israeli Tech News

Israeli fintech startups take on Israel’s central bank. Several players in Israel’s fintech ecosystem allege that the Bank of Israel is preventing access to data, hindering competition. Read more

The gap between Nvidia and Intel’s Mellanox bid? $148 million. A Monday SEC filing by Mellanox revealed additional details about the negotiations that led to Nvidia’s $6.9 billion acquisition deal. Read more

Connected car company Smartcar accuses car data broker Otonomo of theft. In a phone conversation with Calcalist Tuesday, Otonomo CEO Ben Volkow said Otonomo was caught by surprise by the accusations and is looking into the matter. Read more

Israel tests an incentive-based program to fight traffic jams. Participants could make up to $555 by avoiding entering urban areas during rush hours. Read more

The crypto crash is an opportunity to build a better industry, says blockchain entrepreneur. Having lived through the dot.com crash with his first company, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog has much to say about the downturn in the crypto industry. Read more

The Technion is suing senior professor for 50% of his company stake. Computer Science Professor Eli Ben-Sasson founded a blockchain company with his PhD candidate. Now, the Technion is claiming the company’s intellectual property as its own. Read more

Opinion | More than three years in China, and ordering a coke is still a challenge. Mandarin is considered one of the most important languages to acquire, studied by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump’s grandchildren. There’s only one problem—non-native speakers find it nearly impossible to master. Read more

Israeli Supermodel Bar Refaeli to pay evaded taxes for earnings of $4.5 million. The Israeli model has been under investigation by the Israeli tax authority since 2015, suspected of falsely reporting she was living outside of Israel to evade taxes. Read more

Fundings

Dell Technology Capital, Avigdor Willenz back IoT security startup VDOO. Read more

Medical device company Rapid Medical raises $20 million. Read more

Hyundai, Dentsu back audio search engine AudioBurst with $10 million investment. Read more

Medtech startup Theator raises $3 million. Read more

Drone vision startup Sightec raises $2 million. Read more