humus_sapiens
12-02-2003, 01:05 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&ncid=528&e=13&u=/ap/20031128/ap_on_hi_te/israeli_tech_rebound
Israeli Tech Sector Begins to Rebound
Fri Nov 28, 2:25 PM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
TEL AVIV, Israel - During three years of political violence and a brutal global downturn, Israel's high-tech sector has been surprisingly resilient, churning out innovations such as Intel Corp.'s line of mobile-computing chips and systems that warn drivers they're falling asleep.
Now, after mass layoffs and recession, the industry is showing signs of returning to full health. Venture capital is returning to the country, companies are performing well and investor sentiment is improving.
"There's no shortage of interesting opportunities," said Glen Schwaber, a general partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, an Israeli investment firm. "The entrepreneurs coming to us are much more mature, much more seasoned, coming with well thought-out plans. They're asking for less cash to do more."
...
While activity slowed during the downturn, Israel's corporate research centers, obscure university labs, shadowy military tech units and scrappy startups continued to produce. Their high-tech work tends to focus in three areas: communications, software and life sciences.
Intel developed its new line of Centrino chips for wireless (news - web sites) gadgets in Israel. Sphericon Ltd., a startup founded by an aeronautics expert, is developing a system that can alert drowsy drivers before they fall asleep by analyzing steering patterns.
This month, scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology created a tiny self-assembling transistor using DNA. The project, touted as a crucial step in the development of nanoscale devices, could help build speedier computers.
A separate team of Technion students developed software that they claim can identify computer users by their typing habits with 97 percent certainty. The system can be used to halt unauthorized users that get hold of a password, said Ran El-Yaniv, the Technion professor who helped supervise the project.
The technology might be used one day to prevent car thefts or airplane hijackings by monitoring drivers' and pilots' "signatures of behavior," he said.
How can Israel, with just 6 million people living in constant turmoil, produce many innovations? Among the reasons often cited: many entrepreneurs come out of the military, which relies on a technological edge to outgun enemies.
Israel also has benefited from an influx of Russian scientists since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And Israel's tiny size forces companies to look beyond the local market.
GTek Technologies Ltd., whose software enables computers to fix themselves, uses its Israeli origins and the country's no-nonsense attitude as a selling point, said Arnon Catalan, vice president of business development.
"We have a different approach, much less focused on marketing and more focused on the product," he said. With companies like America Online and Hewlett-Packard Co. among its customers, GTek has boosted sales at 30 percent annual rate.
It can be risky to develop technology in Israel because the nation is "far away and subject to instability," Catalan said. "On the other hand, there is a lot of respect for Israeli technology."
Saudis prefer to boycott Israeli technology? Fine, let them rot without it.
Israeli Tech Sector Begins to Rebound
Fri Nov 28, 2:25 PM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
TEL AVIV, Israel - During three years of political violence and a brutal global downturn, Israel's high-tech sector has been surprisingly resilient, churning out innovations such as Intel Corp.'s line of mobile-computing chips and systems that warn drivers they're falling asleep.
Now, after mass layoffs and recession, the industry is showing signs of returning to full health. Venture capital is returning to the country, companies are performing well and investor sentiment is improving.
"There's no shortage of interesting opportunities," said Glen Schwaber, a general partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, an Israeli investment firm. "The entrepreneurs coming to us are much more mature, much more seasoned, coming with well thought-out plans. They're asking for less cash to do more."
...
While activity slowed during the downturn, Israel's corporate research centers, obscure university labs, shadowy military tech units and scrappy startups continued to produce. Their high-tech work tends to focus in three areas: communications, software and life sciences.
Intel developed its new line of Centrino chips for wireless (news - web sites) gadgets in Israel. Sphericon Ltd., a startup founded by an aeronautics expert, is developing a system that can alert drowsy drivers before they fall asleep by analyzing steering patterns.
This month, scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology created a tiny self-assembling transistor using DNA. The project, touted as a crucial step in the development of nanoscale devices, could help build speedier computers.
A separate team of Technion students developed software that they claim can identify computer users by their typing habits with 97 percent certainty. The system can be used to halt unauthorized users that get hold of a password, said Ran El-Yaniv, the Technion professor who helped supervise the project.
The technology might be used one day to prevent car thefts or airplane hijackings by monitoring drivers' and pilots' "signatures of behavior," he said.
How can Israel, with just 6 million people living in constant turmoil, produce many innovations? Among the reasons often cited: many entrepreneurs come out of the military, which relies on a technological edge to outgun enemies.
Israel also has benefited from an influx of Russian scientists since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And Israel's tiny size forces companies to look beyond the local market.
GTek Technologies Ltd., whose software enables computers to fix themselves, uses its Israeli origins and the country's no-nonsense attitude as a selling point, said Arnon Catalan, vice president of business development.
"We have a different approach, much less focused on marketing and more focused on the product," he said. With companies like America Online and Hewlett-Packard Co. among its customers, GTek has boosted sales at 30 percent annual rate.
It can be risky to develop technology in Israel because the nation is "far away and subject to instability," Catalan said. "On the other hand, there is a lot of respect for Israeli technology."
Saudis prefer to boycott Israeli technology? Fine, let them rot without it.