10 Trigo, an Israel-based computer vision company building the infrastructure for autonomous retail stores and retail analytics raised USD100 million in an equity financing round in October 2022, from investors including REWE Group. The investment was to scale deployment of autonomous urban supermarkets across Europe and the U.S., enter new geographies, and develop its comprehensive store and inventory management software application suite, StoreOS™. In August 2022, Groundwork BioAg, a leading producer of mycorrhizal inoculants with broad benefits for mainstream agriculture, has completed, with an investment by BASF Venture Capital GmbH among others, an USD18 million Series B raise. In April 2022, vHive, an Israeli developer of a cloudbased software that allow organizations to operate autonomous drone fleets, secured USD25 million in Series A funding round. The financing was led by PSG equity LLC. Octopus Ventures and Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP), Deutsche Telekom’s strategic investment fund, also participated in the round.” While the deals will continue to flow, the cultures are a harmonious blend. ERM’s Abelski adds: “As someone who was born and raised in Germany but has called Israel home for the past 26 years, I may be biased, yet I earnestly believe in the remarkable synergies shared by Israeli and German companies and entrepreneurs.” Abelski adds: “Quoting a long-standing friend and former CEO of the IsraeliGerman Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Grisha Alroi-Arloser: ‘Israelis can teach Germans how to fly, while Germans can teach Israelis how to land.’ This statement concisely encapsulates the harmonious blend of both cultures. Whilst Germans are renowned for their meticulous organization, long-term thinking, and conservative approach, Israelis exemplify agility, improvisation, and outside the box thinking, often without even acknowledging the existence of a box. These cultural and interpersonal disparities boost technology companies to the next level. The bond is also amplified by many German investments in Israel being strategic. As such, there is a confluence of interests. German strategic investors tend to be more engaged in the companies they invest in, as they have more relevant knowledge, and bring vital expertise to the table. The nature of the relationship “Israelis can teach Germans how to fly, while Germans can teach Israelis how to land.”
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