10 Israeli startups to watch in 2015

Ben Lang is cofounder of MapMe and the creator of Mapped In Israel. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

Of the thousands of Israeli startups vying to become global businesses, only a small percentage of them will make it to the big leagues. Everyone wants to bet big on the next Waze, Wix, or Outbrain.

So which ones are on the verge of greatness? Here are some up-and-coming Israeli startups that I believe you should watch closely in 2015.

StoreDot

Storedot is developing quantum dot-utilizing fast-charging smartphone battery technology, among other things. A few months ago they revealed a prototype device that fully charged the phone within 30 seconds. The startup recently raised a monster US$42 million series B funding round.

PlayBuzz

Playbuzz was the second-most shared website on Facebook in September. In under two years, the social quiz company has reached over 50 million unique visitors per month. It’s one of the fastest growing websites in the US according to Alexa.

Consumer Physics

Consumer Physics is behind the handheld molecular scanner: “SCiO.” The futuristic device lets you scan materials or physical objects and instantly provides you information on their chemical make-up. The company raised over US$2.7 million in a hugely popular Kickstarter campaign.

OrCam

OrCam is developing a device that consists of a smart camera mounted on the frames of eyeglasses, which can see text, recognize objects, and whisper in your ear. The artificial vision company is helping blind people understand the world in a new way. The company recently raised a whopping US$15 million from Intel Capital.

Air

Air provides an app that allows people to broadcast and watch live videos of their friends and themselves. Their platform is exploding in different countries around the world, as live self video broadcasting becomes more popular. In February they raised a US$3.7 million series A from Aleph and Entree Capital.

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