Participated · Seed · Mar 2022

Visionary.ai develops AI for real-time video enhancement, enabling cameras to achieve high-level image quality. Its core technology includes a de-noiser and a software-based Image Signal Processor (ISP) that leverage AI on the Edge. The solutions target a range of industries including consumer electronics, drones, robotics, mobility, and medical imaging. The company is led by CEO Oren Debbi and is based in Jerusalem, Israel. Visionary.ai received an investment from National Grid Partners and plans to use the funds to accelerate adoption of its vision enhancement solutions. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Visionary.ai is a Jerusalem-based computer vision startup founded in 2021 by Oren Debbi and Yoav Taieb. It develops AI-powered software that enhances image quality in laptops, tablets, phones, webcams and other cameras by operating inside the Image Signal Processor (ISP). The software optimizes light, sharpness, and clarity in real time with no additional hardware. Visionary.ai's ISP is customizable, enabling updates to be deployed so cameras can stay at the forefront of image technology. The company raised $2.5M in a funding round led by Ibex Investors, with participation from Spring Ventures and Capital Point. The round brought its total capital raised to $7M, and proceeds will be used for R&D and business development. Visionary.ai builds AI-based image signal processing algorithms that significantly improve digital image and video quality in low light, fog, WDR, and other low-visibility conditions. Their software can be applied to images and videos from all cameras to deliver improvements the company says were not possible before. The company closed a $4.5 million Seed round and reports it has entered into major contracts and maintains a robust pipeline with major players in Israel and the US. Co-founders Oren Debbi (CEO) and Yoav Taieb (CTO) bring deep domain expertise in computer vision and AI; Taieb spent almost two decades pioneering algorithm development at Mobileye (Intel). Over the next year Visionary.ai intends to invest heavily in its product and algorithms and expand its R&D team. Ibex Investors’ Nicole Priel says the company’s ISP will have wide implications for AI on the edge; the edge computing market CAGR is expected to reach 37% between now and 2027.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2020

Intuition Robotics develops ElliQ, a desktop home robot designed to act as a conversational companion for older adults. The company targets institutional partners and government agencies for go-to-market, pursuing large contracts in markets like Japan and the U.S. Current clients include the New York State Office for the Aging, the Area Agency on Aging of Broward County, the Olympic Area Agency on Aging and California’s Agency on Aging in Area 4. Intuition has been integrating large language models to deepen ElliQ’s conversational abilities and uses tools like DALLE2 to enable creative experiences, with guardrails and algorithmic controls. The company previously teamed with Toyota Research Institute on tech for the LQ concept vehicle, and Toyota-related funds have been active investors. Intuition says the new funding will be used to fulfill existing partnerships and strengthen its market approach. The product officially launched in March of last year. Intuition Robotics is best known for ElliQ, a proactive digital companion designed to create emotional bonds with older adults; the company also adapts the same Q platform for automotive applications. The team collected more than 10,000 days of in-home data from users aged roughly 78–97, finding average engagement of eight interactions per day lasting about six minutes and roughly 50% acceptance of proactive suggestions. The company is working with the Toyota Research Institute to bring its assistant (called “Yui” in Toyota’s LQ concept) to cars and says it is partnering with at least one other automaker. Intuition Robotics plans to use the new funding to expand research, improve design tools, and boost the runtime engine and agent performance. The company doubled its team over the past year to about 85 employees, most of whom are engineers, and maintains offices in Israel and San Francisco. Leadership says it will continue gathering data to demonstrate improvements in users’ quality of life while building out automotive integrations. Intuition Robotics builds ElliQ, a non-humanoid “funky lamp” companion robot that converses with and expresses emotion to older adults using position, sound, light, and voice. ElliQ is designed as proactive social companion technology that adapts over time to its owner’s needs. The company has conducted rigorous tests with older adults and is launching a U.S. beta program deploying ElliQ into homes across California and Florida to study longer-term integration with seniors and their families. Intuition Robotics was founded in 2015 and is based in Israel. The company expects a full commercial launch of ElliQ sometime in 2018. Financially, it had raised around $16 million prior to the latest tranche and disclosed a new $6 million raise. Intuition Robotics builds ElliQ, an “active aging companion” consisting of an interactive robot attached to a tablet. ElliQ is designed to help older adults age in place by enabling family video chat, suggesting activities, and reminding users to take medication. The company has entered initial testing with users in the Bay Area and opened a San Francisco office as it hires staff to ramp up testing and development. Hardware development challenges prompted the company to seek additional funding and expertise. Toyota Research Institute invested $14 million and provided technical help, including replacing some motors in the ElliQ prototype. Earlier financing included a recent $6 million from investors such as iRobot, Terra Venture Partners, Bloomberg Beta and Maniv Mobility, and the company has also raised funds via crowdfunding platform OurCrowd. Intuition Robotics develops ElliQ, what the company calls an "autonomous active aging companion": an interactive robot attached to a tablet designed to help older adults age in place. ElliQ facilitates family contact via video chat, suggests activities, and reminds users to take medicine while using cognitive computing to proactively monitor wellness rather than relying solely on voice commands. The device was industrially designed by Yves Behar to be highly interactive and emotive, with gestures that can show happiness or signal confusion. Intuition Robotics is Jerusalem-based and plans to open a Bay Area office and begin testing ElliQ with senior citizens in San Francisco. To grow its team and advance user testing, the company has raised a total of $6 million in funding. Investors include iRobot, Terra Venture Partners, Bloomberg Beta, Maniv Mobility and equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.

Participated · Series B · Nov 2017

RDD Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on fast-track development and commercialization of therapeutics for anorectal diseases and lower-gastrointestinal tract disorders. The company has two clinical-stage products: RDD-1219 for chronic anal fissure, currently enrolling patients in a multicenter European Phase 3 study with 300 patients already enrolled, and RDD-0315 for fecal incontinence, an indication with no approved prescription products. Two pre-clinical assets target pruritus ani and radiation colitis/proctitis. Led by CEO Jason Laufer, the company is based in New York and Tel Aviv. RDD Pharma intends to use the funds to advance its programs globally in anal fissure, fecal incontinence, radiation colitis/proctitis and pruritus ani. The company recently completed a Series B financing to support these plans.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2016

DiA Imaging Analysis, based in Beer Sheva, Israel, provides FDA-cleared and CE-marked AI-based ultrasound solutions that help clinicians capture the right images and automatically identify clinical abnormalities. Its vendor-neutral, cross-platform LVivo Toolbox is deployed on ultrasound devices and healthcare IT systems and currently serves thousands of end-users in more than 20 countries. The company announced an additional $14M in funding and plans to use the proceeds to expand its portfolio of solutions and grow its global presence in Asia, Europe and the U.S. It intends to pursue new and expanded partnerships with ultrasound vendors, PACS/Healthcare IT companies, resellers, and distributors. DiA has established channel and commercial partnerships with major healthcare technology providers and distributors including IBM Watson, Philips, GE Healthcare, and Konica Minolta. The company also added Dr. Diku Mandavia to its Board of Directors as an industry board member. DiA Imaging Analysis develops FDA- and CE-cleared cognitive image-processing software that provides fully automated ultrasound analysis, with its first product line focused on echocardiography. Its tools use advanced pattern recognition and machine-learning algorithms to automatically detect borders and motion and produce quantitative data for clinicians. The company integrates its software within ultrasound devices, healthcare IT systems and cloud platforms through partnerships with vendors including GE Healthcare, Neusoft Medical System and Google Cloud. DiA has reference sites at leading U.S. medical centers including Yale, Mount Sinai, RUSH, USF and UCSD, and its scientific advisory board is supported by cardiology and primary care ultrasound specialists. Founded by Hila Goldman Aslan (CEO), Michal Yaacobi (VP R&D) and Arnon Toussia-Cohen (VP BD), the Be'er Sheva–based company plans to expand its portfolio and build support teams in the United States, Europe and Asia. DiA closed a $5M funding round to support market penetration of its automated tools and further product development. DiACardio, founded in 2010 and based in Beer Sheva’s Hi-Tech Park, develops FDA- and CE-approved software that automatically evaluates heart function from ultrasound images. The company leverages new image-processing methods and proprietary algorithms to provide automated cardiac evaluation. DiACardio has 10 employees and has already obtained initial sales. It raised $1.95M in a post-seed financing to support growth. The company plans to use the funds to expand its automated toolbox to other areas of the heart and to grow its business in the US, Europe and emerging markets. The founding team includes Arnon Toussia-Cohen, Hila Goldman-Aslan, Michal Yaacobi, Dr. Noah Liel-Cohen and Prof. Hugo Guterman.