The first-ever MassChallenge Israel Awards brought together more than 500 leaders and supporters from the Israel innovation community to celebrate the MassChallenge entrepreneurs co-hosted with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The night also featured an augmented reality showcase of the 48-startup cohort, on-stage pitches from the top 10 companies, and speeches from Mayor Nir Barkat, Minister Zeev Elkin and IBM Watson Health General Manager Deborah DiSanzo, who gave the keynote address.
“This year’s winning startups are proof that when you bring together an amazing group of resources, mentors, partners, and more, amazing things can happen, said MassChallenge Israel Director Israel Ganot, “I’m excited to continue to work with these startups and key players across the ecosystem in order to create a tremendous impact in Jerusalem and beyond.”
MassChallenge Israel also recognized Shay Rishoni, CEO of Prize4Life as the first recipient of the MassChallenge Impact Award, which recognizes and celebrates outstanding contributions to innovation within the Israeli ecosystem.
This year MassChallenge passed a milestone of accelerating over 1,000 alumni, bringing the total to 1,211. In total, these 1,211 startups have raised over $1.8 billion in funding, generated over $700 million in revenue, and created 60,000 direct and indirect jobs. Notable alumni include Gingko Bioworks (Boston, 2010), Handy (Boston, 2012), Localytics (Boston, 2010), Cambridge Bioaugmentation Systems (UK, 2015), and Turo (Boston, 2010).
We have come a long way since 2010 when we ran our first accelerator in Boston, said John Harthorne, Founder and CEO of MassChallenge. We now have accelerators in five countries and growing, and have helped accelerate over 1,200 startups. They are truly making an impact on the world addressing some of the worlds biggest problems through innovation and creating jobs of the future. This is only the beginning and Im excited to watch what our alumni continue to accomplish in the years to come.
300K NIS Diamond Award Winners
eggXYt
General
Male or female? a novel approach for sexing chicken embryos on day one before incubation (and saving them from being hatched and disposed).
http://www.eggxyt.com/
Social Impact
Imagine today’s girls growing up to be tomorrow’s key players in science! Our unique toys inspire and encourage girls to play with science!
http://www.stellarnova.co
Healthcare / Life Sciences
EyeControl is an affordable, mobile and easy to use communication device, that will unlock ALS and other “locked in” patients worldwide
www.eyecontrol.co.il
Plasmatica Ltd.
Healthcare / Life Sciences
Using a very unique technology we help save patients lives and maintain the surgeon peace of mind.
https://masschallenge.org/startups/2016/profile/plasmatica-
Versatile Natures
High Tech
Versatile Natures makes construction sites smarter! With a multi-sensor IoT, plug & play hook that transforms any crane to a smart crane
www.vnatures.net
Silver Award Winners
Healthcare / Life Sciences
Access for Life JEM devices are implanted subcutaneously to an AV fistula, vein, for chronic disease patients on repetitive vascular access.
www.accessforlife.biz
General
bitemojo offers self-guided culinary tours at destinations in a way was never done before for FIT’s, couples and small groups
www.bitemojo.com
High Tech
Shipping Container IoT as a Standard Solution to the Logistics Industry.
www.loginno.com
High Tech
Snapp is an app that allows entrepreneurs in developing countries to build, manage and publish their own app, from their smartphones.
www.snapp.cc
We help people fly for free by maximizing the return on their frequent flyer miles. Enabling them to book free flights easily & quickly.
www.vol-travel.com
MassChallenge is the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. No equity and not-for-profit, we are obsessed with helping entrepreneurs across any industry. We also reward the highest-impact startups through a competition to win a portion of several million dollars in equity-free cash awards. Through our global network of accelerators in Boston, the UK, Israel, Switzerland, and Mexico, and unrivaled access to our corporate partners, we can have a massive impact – driving growth and creating value the world over. To date, 1,211 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $1.8 billion in funding, generated over $700 million in revenue, and created over 60,000 direct and indirect jobs. For more information, please visit masschallenge.org.