American-Israel Chamber of Commerce

• Tel Aviv-based Avgol will add two more production lines for non-woven fabrics at a cost of $80 million that will enable the company to boost production by up to 30,000 tons of finished products a year. One of the two lines will be installed at its factory in Mocksville, North Carolina, and the additional production is expected to begin in the first half of 2012.
• Google is partnering with the Israel Antiquities Authority to create an online version of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The project will upload all of the digitized scrolls images together with additional data that will enable users to perform meaningful searches across a broad range of data in several languages and formats.
• Herzliya-based Jacada has signed an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to provide customer service agent productivity software. The Jacada Fusion system is designed to increase the agent productivity and improved customer experience without requiring any modifications to existing business applications. Jacada’s corporate headquarters is in Atlanta.
• GE Healthcare is acquiring Yavne-based Orbotech Medical Systems for $9 million in cash and up to an additional $5 million depending on meeting milestones. The deal is due to close during the first quarter of 2011. The company develops and manufactures solid state gamma radiation detector modules for nuclear imaging applications.
• Yokneam-based Given Imaging presented new research that pointed to the clinical value of its Pillcam SB capsule endoscopy in disease management at the American College of Gastroenterology annual scientific meeting and post graduate course in San Antonio last month. The data was presented by Dr. Hans Herfarth of the University of North Carolina. Given Imaging’s North American headquarters is in Atlanta.
• HBO has acquired a second Israeli format three years after buying In Treatment, the first Israeli show to go international. The Naked Truth, created by Uri and Benny Barbash for Channel 10, will begin development and production for a pilot in the fall 2011 season.
• Israel-based SodaStream raised $109 million of the company value of $367 million after money on its Nasdaq IPO. The company is world’s largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of home carbonation systems, and their brands are sold in more than 30 countries worldwide including the United States.
• Petach Tikva-based Gilat Satellite Networks is acquiring California-based Wavestream for $130 million with the deal expected to close within three months. This transaction is their second in Israel since their acquisition last March of RaySat Antenna Systems for $25 million. Wavestream develops high powered solid state amplifiers and block upconverters to send from mobile and fixed satellite communication systems worldwide.
• Haifa-based Elbit Systems has won a $68 million five year contract to supply components for pilot helmet head-up displays to the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The contract is a follow on to a $75 million contract from September 2005, and Elbit has already received initial orders for components worth $23 million under the new contract.
• Tel Aviv-based Radvision has teamed up with Microsoft to deliver advanced integration for their unified communications solutions. The technology will enable customers and prospects to see new visual communications solutions such as telepresence and mobile video.
• Seven Israeli companies have made the “Global Cleantech 100″ list by Guardian. They include BrightSource, Tigo Energy, Aqwise, Better Place, CellEra, Emefcy, and GreenRoad.
• Organizers of the first Israel Homeland Security International Conference in Tel Aviv last month believe that contracts formulated during the conference will exceed $400 million. At least 800 business meetings were held during the last two days of the conference which was organized by the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute. AICC promoted Southeast participation to the conference that was attended by the organization’s vice president Guy Tessler.
• 2.87 million tourists visited Israel in the period January-October 2010, more than the total number of tourists who visited Israel in all of 2009, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. The numbers represent a 27% increase over the same period in 2009 and 12% more than 2008, Israel’s record year to date. The CBS also reported that there were 16.2 million overnight stays in Israel between January and September 2010, up 10% over the corresponding period of 2009.
• 96 Israeli high tech companies raised $341 million from venture capital funds both local and foreign in the third quarter of 2010 according to IVC. The amount raised was similar to the $343 million raised by 104 companies in the previous quarter and 13% above the $303 million raised by 108 companies in the third quarter of 2009. During the first three quarters of 2010, Israeli high tech companies raised a total of $918 million, 8% more than the corresponding period of 2009. •Israel’s high tech exports dropped 12% in seasonally adjusted figures from $3.6 million in July to $3.18 billion in October. The high tech sectors accounted for most of the drop, falling 15%.

Presents
Israel Innovation Impact (I3) Series
“The Future of Payments”
Financial Technology Innovations from Israel

The payment industry is experiencing rapid major transformation.  Many key elements of the payments value chain are being disrupted by old and new players alike.  The transformation is creating many new collaboration and co-opetition opportunities, but also many competitive and disintermediation threats.  This event will showcase innovative Israeli companies that are inventing key parts of the Future of Payments.  The event will particularly focus on the following three areas:

• Alternative Payments
• Mobile Payments
• Payments Security

Thursday, December 9th
5:30 – 8:30 pm

Hosted by

201 17th Street (Atlantic Station), 18th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30363

Featuring

Sponsors to Date

Agenda

5:30-6:30              Heavy hors d’oeuvres and networking; Israeli company demos
6:30-6:45              Welcome and opening remarks
6:45-7:30              Panel discussion – Moderator: Andrew Morris, Morris Advisors, Inc.
7:30-8:00              Israeli company presentations
8:00-8:20              Q&A
8:20-8:30              Closing comments and wrap-up

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

Contact Evan Remer – evan@aiccse.org,  (404) 843-9426