The Israel-US Binational Industrial R&D Foundation (BIRD) has approved $8 million in funding for nine innovative projects between US and Israeli companies in various technological sectors.
The total investment in these projects, including private-sector funding, amounts to $23 million. The approved projects cover areas such as Agrotech, Biotech, Electronics, Foodtech, Medical Devices, and Quantum Technology.
The companies and their respective collaborations are as follows:
- Agado Live and Adventist HealthCare: Developing an end-to-end remote rehabilitation platform for neurologic diseases.
- Agromentum (Fieldin) and Manulife Investment Management Agriculture Services Inc.: Creating a hardware and software platform to transform tractors into autonomous vehicles for orchard operations.
- AlvaLinks and Cobalt Digital: Developing a video network intelligence and observability platform for broadcasting and media companies.
- ContainerEyes and NTELX: Revolutionizing food safety during transportation with a real-time tracking and risk analysis service.
- GeneYX and Ocean Genomics: Pioneering a software method to improve disease diagnosis and identify drug targets.
- NeuroTrigger and Rand Eye Institute: Developing a clinically validated “eyelid pacemaker" for individuals with facial paralysis.
- Oshi and The Better Meat Co.: Creating allergen-free mycelium-based whole-cut salmon analogs for the alternative protein industry.
- Quantum Machines and QuEra Computing Inc.: Enhancing quantum computing devices with a Photonic Control Unit and Photonic Integrated Circuit.
- Treetoscope and The Toro Company: Revolutionizing irrigation management with cost-effective precision based on direct plant sensing technology.
These nine projects are additional milestones in BIRD's extensive history of promoting collaboration. Over its 46-year existence, the foundation has greenlit more than 1,000 projects, resulting in a total investment of over $390 million. These joint endeavors have contributed significantly to generating direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.
Diverse range of sectors
Jaron Lotan, the Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation’s newly-appointed Executive Director, Jaron Lotan, expressed pride in the record number of submissions received during this funding cycle.
“As the new Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, it was important for me to keep the fund's investments at the forefront of technological development,” he said. “I am proud of the diverse and high-quality companies collaborating to develop creative solutions for future technologies, and I wish them much success in their efforts to bring new and innovative products to market.”
Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and co-Chair of BIRD’s Board of Governors, praised the diverse range of sectors represented by the selected companies.
“From Agri-tech to food-tech, life sciences, logistics, video processing, and quantum computing, these projects showcase the immense potential for innovation and collaboration across multiple industries,” he said, highlighting that the sectors they represent are “aligned with technological domains… that are of strategic importance to both countries in meeting the challenges humanity faces both today and in the future.”