SeerGate joins AICC

SeerGate Ltd., a developer of secure and convenient systems for real-time online bank payments, has joined AICC in August 2009. SeerGate is the developer of the patent-pending Secured Lock™ System, a payment solution utility enabling financial institutions to offer customers the absolute safety and security of online transactions across current and emerging payments applications.  SeerGate recently announced its peer-to-peer (P2P) solution that can be integrated into any existing or emerging social networking environments, such as Facebook. Other applications supported by Secured Lock™ are checks, direct billers, e-commerce, expedited payments and, “with the many conversations we continue to have, we are finding more ways the banks, themselves, have needs that they identify that can be managed by the simple design we offer in addition to being supported by the flexible reporting and analytic tools designed to support the activity” says Eldad Aharoni, CEO and Founder.

SeerGate’s Secured Lock™ System enables buyers and sellers to securely and conveniently complete any payment transaction offered by the bank without the hassle of external pre-registration or the inconvenience of having to remember multiple and often complex sign-on procedures and passwords. The parties to a transaction, buyer and seller or payor and payee are always directly authenticated within his/her banking institution as a condition to completing the entire transaction. Specifically, using a social networks example, a seller generates a pre-formatted payment request, which is immediately verified by the seller’s bank and sent within the social network or e-mail to the buyer.  After reviewing and approving the payment request (invoice), the buyer is then authenticated by his/her bank and the payment transaction is completed in real-time directly between the bank accounts of the buyer and seller. The payment transaction is completed in an environment where each party’s personal and financial  information is kept directly within the security firewall of the bank and is never held or accessible by SeerGate itself or transmitted over the Internet or directly between parties.

“Banks have been struggling to reclaim customer interaction with new generations of transactors and some that have sat idly by fearing issues they have seen reported by news articles on breaches. Further, banks need to leverage the brand identity with these transaction that each has spent millions of dollars to achieve but continue to watch the visibility of a host of branded 3^rd party players and new ones emerging and getting stronger each day. SeerGate is not single-threaded in its deployment and will handle each application placed on top of it thus eliminating the need by the banks to review and engage multiple parties offering only single application solutions,” says Aharoni.  The SeerGate theme that is most applicable given the bank-directed solution is “Where are the banks?”  To support this, as a direct example, Mary Pilon has previously reported for the Wall St. Journal on PayPal’s new Student Account program – saying it is “stepping further into the world of mainstream banking.”

“In short, we believe the timing is right and that our Secured Lock™ solution will ensure that current and future e-Payment alternatives remain bank products.”

SeerGate’s SeerGate’s Secured Lock™ System operates on a simple, but secure model.

View conceptual demo

AquaPure, HCL CLeanTech, CES and Columbian Chemicals presented at AICC CleanTech July Meeting

AICC’s July CleanTech meeting was hosted by Jim Siegel at Columbian Chemicals, a Marietta, Georgia-based manufacturer of high-quality carbon black additives for rubber, plastic, and liquid products. Columbian has 11 plants worldwide, 11% of the carbon black market, and $1.2 billion sales in 2008. Eli Miller discussed the Center for Water Technologies, a not-for-profit organization who’s mission is to provide Israeli eco-tech companies a launching pad for the US market. The Center intends to work closely with AICC, and believes that the Southeast could be the US center for Israeli water technology companies. Roee Madai, Israel’s Economic Consul to the Southern United States who is based in Texas but has responsibility for the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor’s activities in the Chamber’s geographical area shared the Ministry’s view that Cleantech is one of the Israeli government’s top issues, and they have devoted considerable resources to promoting the Water sector since 2006 and added Energy and other environmental capabilities in 2008. The Israel Economic Mission will coordinate an Israeli company delegation to the WEFTEC conference in Orlando in October, and is willing to bring a group of them to Atlanta within the Chamber’s “business exchange” model. Twenty five members and staff attended the meeting chaired by Gene Rubel of Interlink Technologies.

Dvir Solnik, CEO, shared information on AquaPure a Dalton, Upper Galilee-based developer of innovative and proprietary Non-Thermal Plasma technology that is used to remove micro pollutants from contaminated drinking water. Their process uses 70% less electrical energy consumption in order to remove identical contaminants from identical flow rates compared with conventional AOT technologies. The company has already raised $3 million from its shareholders, and is now seeking to raise $4 million more to take the company to the productivity phase which is expected to be in full production by late-2009. Dvir indicated that the company intends to use the funding to penetrate the US market and establish a US headquarters, and they would consider a Southeast location if they were to get the funding from this area. They also believe that there are many industries in the Southeast that could be potential customers.

HCL Cleantech, a Tel Aviv-based start-up has developed proprietary technology that changes lignocelluslosic material (biomass) to fermentable sugars and ethanol, and makes it economically attractive by dramatically reducing the most costly part of the process. The concept allows for a large variety of feedstock, requires very little water, and is virtually self-sufficient energetically. The company was founded in late 2007 and recently received a $5.5 million first round investment from Burrill & Co. in Khosla Ventures. HCL is currently working with CH2M HILL’s Atlanta office as their engineering partner, and recently submitted a grant proposal to the DOE.  They plan to build a pilot in the United States, and the key is finding a facility that will receive very quick permitting.

Netanya-based Computerized Electricity Systems (CES) has developed a complete energy management system that provides consumers, developers, and energy solution providers with an opportunity to bring smart functionality and energy efficiency to all types of residential and commercial buildings. The smart distribution panel includes local and remote management capabilities, and can save consumers significant energy costs and reduce the need for additional power plants. CES was one of the first Israeli energy efficiency companies helped by the Cleantech Committee about two years ago.  In the short term, they are looking for contacts in Green construction that can generate income such as solar installers, developers, etc. and in long term, they are looking to develop relationships with electric utilities, especially those that are actively pursuing government stimulus funding.

AICC Member Emza selected as Finalist in American Security Challenge

Post Contributed by: Yuri Eliezer

Of the two hundred companies competing in the American Security Challenge, America’s first emerging security technology competition devoted to our nation’s long-term security, EmzaVisual Sense emerged with finalist recognition. “For a small company like us, it’s great,” said Mark Premo, U.S. manager of Emza Visual Sense in a recent interview to Security Systems News. “To be selected among 200 applications is fairly impressive, I think.”

Emza, an Israel-based company, makes outdoor-appropriate wireless cameras with on-board analytics that, according to company officials, compete well with the algorithms used by the top-selling analytics companies. Such contentions were verified, as Emza was a selected one of merely six finalist in the Challenge. “The algorithms that we run on the low-cost processor, that’s the secret sauce,” said Premo. “We can detect a car at 300-to-500 feet, a person at 300 feet… and with IR illumination, we can find someone at night at 150 feet.” Not only do these benchmarks outreach those of other competing products (commonly limited to 30-50ft day-time detections), but such benchmarks are attained with a fraction of the false-positives plaguing motion-detection-based solutions.

It’s a “purpose-built application for the smaller outdoor application,” said Mark Premo, Emza’s U.S. manager. “[We provide] one small unit, it’s easily replaceable,” and it’s designed for protecting outdoor assets and perimeters while filtering out false-positive detections.

“We’re very impressed by it and installing it on a regular basis,” said Dave Meurer, chief operating officer at Armed Response Team, an Albuquerque, N.M., integrator that also provides response services by former police officers. With a vested interest in verifying alarms to determine whether response is necessary, Meurer said the Emza solution “eliminates most of the false positives” right out of the box.

Premo said he’s looking for many more companies like ART. “We have to get to the channel,” he said, “because that’s the way to get to the small business market, get them to understand that it’s possible to prevent crime.”

Emza joined AICC in 2008 and was featured in the “Israel Security Delegation to ASIS” reception in Atlanta.

Picture: The American Security Challenge

ActiveBase, Cbeyond, and Celta Consult join AICC

Ramat Gan–based ActiveBase , established in 2002, has developed ‘on-motion’ database security and application performance software applications. Current customers and partners includeVerint (NJ), at&t (through Amdocs), National Bank of Hungary, General Electric (Hungary), Teva Pharmaceuticals, Phoenix Insurance, Cellcom, First International Bank, Orange, Ness (Israel), and others.

ActiveBase products are based on patent pending Database Network Router (DNR) technology, transparently installed between applications and databases, with database traffic routed through it (inline proxy). Unique underline DNR technology enables ActiveBase to deliver many capabilities including “Knowledge Policy Packs” for speeding packaged business applications, “Gentle Block” and “on-the-fly Data Scrambling” for controlling and securing applications without any changes required to application code or databases configuration. Application is beneficial for security, privacy, quality assurance, and troubleshooting. The product is sold through software resellers and integrators specializing in Oracle database.

The company is represented in the Southeast by Roswell- based Silos-Connect. Alon Rosenthal, ActiveBase VP of Marketing and Tony Cannizzo of Silos-Connect joined AICC Software Committee.

Using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and a 100% Cisco network, Cbeyond delivers to small business customers (an entrepreneurial class of customer with 4-200 employees – generally using 4-48 phone lines) an integrated package of high quality local and long distance telephony services, high-speed, T-1 Internet access and Internet-based applications for about the same price that small businesses typically pay for local and long distance phone service alone.

Steve Zimba, VP Marketing and Product Development joined the AICC Telecommunications Committee.

Celta Consult is focused on international Telecom, IT, Media and Entertainment (TIME) markets, and help successful niche technology enterprises seeking multi-national market expansion with global operators and service providers across Europe, Latin America and the United States, focused on shortening a client’s sales cycle, validating market entry opportunities and product placement strategies, positioning through a global executive network.

Ronaldo Venci, Partner Operations,  joined the Software, Telecommunications, CleanTech and Professional Committees.

Checklight Presents at AICC Security Committee June Meeting

AICC’s June Security Committee meeting was hosted by Lt. David Roskind of the City of Sandy Springs Police Department who presented the goals of the SSPD within 2 years to increase situation alertness from voice and video feeds, and external information and predictive analytics by integrating them at a central location and the desire is to implement “bleeding edge” technologies and create state of the art technology infrastructure that can serve as a model to other law enforcement entities in the Metro area. A plan to reach out to Southeast Security Integrators was discussed and addopted. The group congratulated Israel/Atlanta based Vumii‘s award recognition by the Wall Street Journal naming Vumii Winner of Technology Innovations Award and Red Herring naming the company as winner in the North America 100. Twelve Members and staff attended the meeting chaired by David Schwartzenfeld of Marsh.

Bob Thomas presented Checklight, a Kiryat Tivon-based company that has developed novel, fast, inexpensive, and highly sensitive quality control bioassays to monitor different parameters of water quality, hygiene, and proteolytic activity. CheckLight’s proprietary technology utilizes non-pathogenic luminous marine bacteria as sensitive sensors. Although the use of bacterial luminescence for quality testing has been widely used in the water industry, CheckLight’s scientific team has succeeded in simplifying the bioassay by delivering user-friendly products that can be easily used in either the field or laboratory setting.

The ease of use of the Checklight kit for safety and security in detecting accidental and malicious contaminations (organics and metals) in water makes it an excellent tool for first responders. It can be operated by a trained technician to provide fast results indicating if contamination exists. Israeli water security company Whitewater has seen the potential in this product, and now owns 26% of Checklight. The company has been selling in Europe and Asia, and is now trying to enter the US market. The cost of a single kit is approximately $6,000.

Checklight has recently joined AICC and is looking for distributors for their kits and introductions to water utilities, environmental monitoring authorities, fire departments, and homeland security agencies.

Additional companies introduced are Yavne-based E.D.I.G. Construction Management Ltd. established in 1971 that has developed a decompression chamber to simulate aircraft flight and detonate explosives on the ground rather than in the air using pressure, time, RF and other detonation approaches. The simulation (decompression) chamber is used to subject air cargo to a simulation of the flight pressure variation pattern, such that explosive charges with barometric triggers would not explode in mid-flight. The system is approved by the El-Al security authorities, and is installed by E.D.I.G. at El-Al’s cargo stations worldwide. E.D.I.G. has also supplied simulation chambers to other clients abroad such as Rome’s Airports Authority and other airports in Italy.  EDIG provides full service and technical support for the chambers worldwide. The company is looking for introduction to airlines and airport authorities.  TimeNeto is a Haifa-based spin out of biometric identity services company IQS, that developed biometric web-based time & attendance, and real time monitoring products for multi-branches chains and small and medium businesses around the globe to add efficiency, save costs and prevent fraud.

Pharma Focus Israel Presents at AICC Medical Committee June Meeting

AICC’s June Medical Committee meeting was hosted by Mark Braunstein of Georgia Tech at the ATDC in Atlanta who gave a compelling presentation on why Healthcare IT is necessary to slow the growth of healthcare costs and why Atlanta and Israeli companies should be at the center of the Healthcare IT growth being accelerated by the current Stimulus package. Atlanta has 100+ companies involved in Healthcare IT including 3 of the top 5 companies, original sources of technology (e.g. Georgia Tech), and providers and provider training (e.g. Emory). Israeli companies have technology and talent to bring to the critical needs: more intelligent clinical knowledge systems and user interfaces that allow doctors to operate systems in patient care, not just at their desks (e.g. voice recognition).

Ran Frankel of Pharma Focus Israel discussed the benefits of doing clinical trials in Israel. As an AICC member, Pharma Focus would like the Chamber’s help in opening doors to biotech companies in the Southeast to enable Pharma Focus to market their services. Two approaches that have worked to date for Pharma Focus: Identifying disease states with higher concentrations in Israel (e.g. Crohn’s Disease) and targeting US companies working on those diseases; and having a relationship with an Israeli key opinion leader who will work on a study for a US-based company.

Other companies introduced to the committee include Ardia Medical a Haifa-based company that develops state-of-the-art medical systems which assist pathologists in daily cancer diagnosis, Healarium a Tel Aviv-based company, that has developed a web-based consumer healthcare software solution that integrates with existing healthcare solutions (such as PHR or EMR, and those available from content providers), so that it adds outreach value to existing services, and MND Diagnostics a Ness Ziona-based company that has developed a groundbreaking approach to molecular diagnostics by employing specific enzymes as biomarkers for detecting disease activity when quick, timely decisions concerning the treatment of choice are critical for maximum impact.

The committee recapped the very successfull reception for the Israel BIO delegation, and talked about the August 27th Professional Seminar that will feature Israeli medical device company Spirocor. Twenty six members and staff participated in the meeting chaired by Nancy Sousa at her first meeting as Committee chair.

ActiveBase Presents at AICC Software Committee June Meeting

AICC’s June Software Committee meeting was hosted by Phil Rubin of  rDialogue at the Webber School in Sandy Springs. ActiveBase presented their technology.  The committee accepted the concept of a series of educational events focused on Israeli innovation developed by a sub-committee and asked the team to continue their work towards a launch event and Bill Dale of GreenRoad Technologies updated the committee on the recend financing round closed and the progress the company has been making recently. Nineteen AICC members and staff attended the meeting chaired by Lorin Coles.

Tony Cannizzo introduced Ramat Gan–based ActiveBase , represented in the region by Roswell- based Silos-Connect. Established in 2002, ActiveBase has developed ‘on-motion’ database security and application performance software applications. Current customers and partners includeVerint (NJ), at&t (through Amdocs), National Bank of Hungary, General Electric (Hungary), Teva Pharmaceuticals, Phoenix Insurance, Cellcom, First International Bank, Orange, Ness (Israel), and others.

ActiveBase products are based on patent pending Database Network Router (DNR) technology, transparently installed between applications and databases, with database traffic routed through it (inline proxy). Unique underline DNR technology enables ActiveBase to deliver many capabilities including “Knowledge Policy Packs” for speeding packaged business applications, “Gentle Block” and “on-the-fly Data Scrambling” for controlling and securing applications without any changes required to application code or databases configuration. Application is beneficial for security, privacy, quality assurance, and troubleshooting. The product is sold through software resellers and integrators specializing in Oracle database.

The company is asking the committees assistance in introduction to potential end clients (large corporations), technical consultants, and resellers.

AICC Member YCD Multimedia Raises $12 Million For In-Store Digital Media Solutions

Source: Techcrunch

YCD Multimedia, an international provider of in-store digital media solutions has closed its Series E investment round, a new financing package totaling $12 million. This packages includes conversion of a bridge loan facility and new equity investment led by Pitango Venture Capital and Arts Alliance Digital Ventures.

YCD Multimedia software integrates with existing retail and communications applications, and delivers a range of digital media – music playlists, visuals, etc. – to on-site digital signage. This allows traditional retailers, banks, hotels etc. to run digital promotion and advertising campaigns on screens and video walls throughout physical locations.

Founded back in 1999, YCD Multimedia boasts offices in the US, UK and Israel and an international reseller network. The company is headed by CEO Barry Salzman, former President of DoubleClick’s global media business. YCD joined AICC in 2009.

Olista presents at June AICC Telecommunications Committee Meetting

AICC’s June Telecommunications Committee meeting was hosted by Andy McGuire and Ian Klein of GSMA at their Atlanta offices. Following a presentation by Olista, the committee reviewed and refined its methodology of working with Israeli and US companies. As part of the 2009-2010 program of work, the plan for the US-Israel Mobile Business exchanged was discussed and Ori Lavie of the Israel Mobile Association (IMA) updated on the Atlanta leg of the IMA US tour scheduled for the begining of July. Twenty four AICC members, guests and staff attended the meeting chaired by Maggie Bellville.

Avihai Segal, Vice President of Business Development introduced Olista, a Netanya based company that provides cutting edge customer experience analytics solutions that enable mobile and broadband operators to increase the success of their services offerings. Olista’s comprehensive software solutions provide a deep understanding of your customers’ behavior patterns and the tools to act upon it to optimize your users’ experience of every service.

Olista was established in 2004. Since 2006, the products have been installed in multiple sites, and current production implementations include leading Tier1 operators in Europe. The Company is led by an experienced team of telecom professionals in mobile communications infrastructure products and mobile VAS, and is backed by leading venture capital firms including Gemini and Evergreen.

AICC member GreenRoad Technologies Raises $15M from a new investor

Source: Globes Online 5/31/09

GreenRoad Technologies Inc. has raised $15 million in a financing round led by DAG Ventures, a new investor.

GreenRoad CTO Ofer Raz and chief of safety Hod Fleishman founded the company, which is based in California, has sales offices in the US and UK, and an R&D center at Or Yehuda, in Israel. The company develops solutions for improving driver safe and fuel-efficient driving habits. The company’s system has sensors that analyze up to 120 separate driving events in real-time, and transmits the data to a red-yellow-green LED light display, which provides the driver with immediate feedback. The device also transmits the safety data via cellular modem to the GreenRoad servers to evaluate overall driving risk and skills.

Green Road technology improves driver safety, and significantly reduces crashes and fuel consumption by instantly identifying risky drivers and empowering them to change their behavior behind the wheel. GreenRoad’s flagship service offering is GreenRoad Safety Center. This service combines in-vehicle technology with integrated web applications that continuously rates driving skills and behavior, trains drivers in real time by providing feedback as they drive, and sustains behavior improvements through continuous reinforcement. By improving driver safety, GreenRoad Safety Center significantly reduces crashes and fuel consumption.

Bill Dale, GreenRoads’ Atlanta based sales manager for the Southeast presented earlier this year at AICC’s Software Committee meeting, and the company joined AICC shortly therafter. In addition to Dag Ventures, GreenRoad is funded by leading private equity investors including Benchmark Capital, Balderton Capital and Virgin Green Fund.

Full Globes Article