50 Startups, 15 Judges, $1 Million, and 5 Winners at iHLS Startup...

50 Startups, 15 Judges, $1 Million, and 5 Winners at iHLS Startup Competition

startup compet

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Security, defense & HLS disruptive Startup Competition – startup nation at its best.

Yesterday’s Startup Competition for Security, Defense & HLS stood out as one of the best examples of Israel’s startup ecosystem strength and cutting-edge technologies. An unprecedented number of some 50 innovative startups showcased innovative developments reflecting an outstanding mixture between current needs, creative solutions and global trends in security and HLS.

Meet the winners who showcased the most ground-breaking technologies:

NowForce – An operating system for public safety and security

Nonetek – A technology that improves combat teams communications

RoboTiCan – Malicious UAV interception using UAV’s

Eyeron –  A small life-saving drone able to operate indoors

Infinidome – GPSdome develops GPS/GNSS cyber protection solutions which defend any GPS-based system against jamming and spoofing.

startup compet
Left: Guy Keren, iHLS, Adv. Omer Bekerman, APM, Liran Stein, 1st prize winner Nowforce, Tal Catran, iHLS
Left: Erik Bentov, Arieli Capital, Nonetek 2nd prize winner, Or Haviv, Arieli Capital, Tal Catran, iHLS

The prize – an investment of up to $1M by Arieli Capital, is divided among the startups in accordance with due diligence and the startup’s potential, and upon the confirmation of their investment committee.

In addition, the first three places are automatically accepted to the fifth cycle of iHLS Accelerator.

The first two startups also won the INFUSE advising and services kit by APM & Co.

The competition was moderated by Tal Catran, iHLS Accelerator Program Director, who kept the event on a high note and created a fabulous atmosphere, and productive networking.

Tal Catran, iHLS

The keynote address by Or Haviv, CEO of EilatHub, Arieli Capital, focused on the unique Israeli startup ecosystem, especially in the HLS field.

Leading experts in innovation and security were among the judges of the competition, with vast international experience in technology and innovation, the military, the police, the defense industries, VC, etc: Lior Pony, General Manager, DELL EMC Israel; Shaul Eliyahu, Chief Scientist, IAI; Tal Catran, Founder of TC Holdings and iHLS Accelerator Program Director; Gideon Hazzani, Senior Director of New Business Technologies, Verint; Brig. Gen. (res.) Giora Inbar, Advisory Board Chairman, iHLS; Lt. Col. (res.) Yair Ramati, CEO, ETY; Chief Superintendent Amit Lifschitz, R&D Division, Israel Police; Eric Bentov, Chairman, Arieli Capital; Evan Renov, Partner, Beechwood Ventures; Adv. Omer Bekerman, Partner, APM & Co.; Tal Shaked, General Partner, JAL Ventures Funds; Col. (res.) Arik Davidi, iHLS; Zviya Baron, Head, Hangar innovation lab, BEDEK/IAI; Ido Manor, General Partner, Krypton VC 4.0; and Shahar Larry, Concept Architect, Tinker – Manage Disruption.

The innovative technologies sported at the competition included big data, various UAV and counter-UAV technologies, robotics, IoT security, smart weapons, wearable technology, blockchain, solutions for smart city and public security, video analytics, counter incendiary-kites technologies, and more.

Congratulations to the winners, and cordial thanks to all the visitors, the judges, the competition moderator Tal Catran, and to all the startups for an impressive presentation of unique ideas.