IBM acquired its 13th Israeli company

IBM acquired its 13^th Israeli company
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom # 182, August 16, 2013
http://bit.ly/14CZmYb

1.  IBM acquired Trusteer for $700MN, its 13^th Israeli acquisition (Globes Business Daily, August 16, 2013).
2.  Warren Buffett defined Israel as "the leading, largest and most promising investment hub outside the United States.”   Bill Gates stated that "innovation going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business.”  Israeli firms comprise 16 percent of the high tech companies in Massachusetts, second only to firms from India.  About 200 Israeli startups are located in NY City (USA Today, June 17, 2013).  
3.  The Santa Clara-based Seagate led a $23MN round of private placement by Israel's eASIC (Globes, August 7).  The Boston-based Bessemer Partners led a $16MN round of private placement in Israel's Qwilt, joined by the Silicon-based Accel Partners and the Menlo Park-based Redpoint Ventures (Globes, July 31).  The Silicon Valley-based Battery Ventures led an$11MN round by Israel' Cyvera (Globes, August 15).  The Menlo Park-based Draper Fisher Jurvetson co-led a $10MN round by Israel's Superfish (Globes, July 31).  A Singapore-based venture capital fund invested $6.6MN in Israel's Trax.  GE invested a few million dollars in Israel's ThetaRay – GE first non-biotech Israeli investment (Globes, August 6). Toshiba invested $3MN in Israel's Zadara (Globes, August 2). 
4.  Major indicators of Israel's economy:  2012 GDP growth – 3.1%; 2012 public debt  – 73% of GDP, compared with 79% in 2009;  2012 unemployment – 6.8%; 2012 inflation – 1.6% (Prof. Nissim Ben David, Jezreel Valley College, Globes, July 8).
5.  Asia is becoming Israel's new frontier (Forbes, May 14, 2013,  Jonathan Adelman & Asaf Romirowsky):  "Scientifically, Israel has emerged as a high tech superpower, thereby very attractive to Asian high tech [powers in Bangalore, Xinchu Park and Beijing Silicon Valleys]…. Militarily, the Israeli military, a world leader in anti-missile technologies, UAVs and $5BN of military exports, is attractive to Asian countries developing their own militaries as they rise economically….  Israel has developed strong relations with China and India.  Both…have major Israeli embassies in their capitals, as well as consulates in their leading cities.  Militarily, Israel is the second biggest arms exporter to India today.... In 2014, India launched a 300 kilogram Israeli satellite in orbit, which dramatically increased Israeli intelligence gathering capabilities against the Iranian nuclear program with clear images in all kinds of weather….  Israeli intelligence works closely with Indian intelligence against radical Islamic threats…. While China also battles Islamic fundamentalism in Xinjiang Province…. Economically, Israel claims $5BN worth of trade with India and over $8BN with China…. Israel is working with India on the framework for a Free Trade Zone that within five years could triple annual exchange between producers in each country to $15BN…. Israel has developed diplomatic relations with a large range of Asian countries.  It has extensive trade with a number of these nations – ranging from $2BN with Japan and South Korea to several hundred million dollar worth of trade with Vietnam. It has growing economic and educational ties with Singapore. Israel has developed strong relations too with a series of newly independent states formerly part of the USSR, including Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. It seems as China and India have risen economically, so has Israel's global status.”