The Israeli wheelchair to helps you stand tall

An Israel-based startup has been cleared in the United States to market its standing wheelchair.

UPnRIDE Robotics’s wheeled, robotic, hoverboard-like device enables users who are unable to stand on their own to travel independently in an upright position.

The product is the first smart and robotic mobility device to provide full functionality both in standing and sitting positions, with full, safe and functional mobility.

It is suitable for most wheelchair users, including the elderly and people suffering from various health conditions such as paralysis, multiple sclerosis and following a stroke.

The approval comes several weeks after the company announced it had raised over £800,000 from investors.

Wanted: new air routes to Israel. Cash given

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism is awarding grants to foreign airlines for opening new routes to and from Israel.

Airlines like Wizz Air get £220,000 for a route on the basis of a weekly flight, and the grant is valid for a year.

Since one of the conditions for the grant is opening a new route that did not previously exist, it encourages low-cost airlines to create routes from less popular destinations, which are cheaper to operate.

The ministry believes this policy has the potential to bring more tourists to Israel. Airlines receive the grants at the end of the first year of their operations.

Intel’s new Israel home is the smartest there is

Intel says its new office building in Petah Tikva is the smartest in the world.

The chipmaker not only uses environmentally friendly energy exclusively; its air conditioning and lighting systems are automatically managed according to the habits of the 2,700 people who work inside.

With the latest 3D tech, you can print meat

Redefine Meat, a company that uses industrial 3D printers to print animal-free, plant-based meat alternatives, has completed a £4.8 million round of financing.

It will use the funds to finish its new “meat” 3D printer, expected to be launched next year. The Israel-based company uses its technology to imitate the features of high-value meat products, such as texture, flavour and eating experience.

Chief executive Eshchar Ben-Shitrit says he wants to make “a huge impact on the meat market and the future of our planet.”

The company is collaborating with chefs and butchers demonstrate 3D-printed “meat” products that are extremely similar to animal meat.

Facebook buys another Israeli original

Facebook has added Tel Aviv-based Servicefriend to its list of recent acquisitions, although without naming its price for the Israeli company.

Its Artifical Intelligence technology will be used to underpin Facebook’s new digital currency Libra, allowing the social media giant to create a network of bots for customer service purposes.

IzBiz is compiled every fortnight for the JC by Jeremy Seeff, partner at ERM, a cross-border law firm based in Tel Aviv for corporate, finance and real estate matters. Read previous editions of IzBiz here.