by Globes’ correspondent
IT services company Ness Technologies Ltd. has won a $12.2 million deal to deliver a dispatching system for Czech electricity utility CEZ Distribution a.s. Ness will consolidate five systems into a single distribution network management system, which will enable Smart Grid projects and other services. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000577854&fid=1725
By Noa Parag
Israeli Internet start-up Kenshoo Ltd. has closed another financing round, led by Sequoia Capital, which focuses on late-stage companies. Kenshoo did not disclose the size of the round, but ”Globes” estimates that it was about $10 million. This was Kenshoo’s fourth financing round. Investors include Sequoia and Art Alliance. Kenshoo has also not disclosed how much it has raised in previous rounds, but an estimated $20 million has been invested in the company to date, including the current round. Kenshoo develops search engine marketing (SEM) solutions. The company’s technology can find relevant keywords in search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and even Facebook, and automatically match them to advertising campaigns. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000577950&fid=1725
by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
Quadriplegics who have difficulty even pressing buttons or moving a joystick will be able to navigate their wheelchairs and communicate with others more easily by inhaling or exhaling through the nose at a sniffing device invented at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Prof. Noam Sobel, electronics engineers Dr. Anton Plotkin and Aharon Weissbrod, and research student Lee Sela developed the technology in the Rehovot institute’s neurobiology department. The unique device could replace the more tedious technology of blinking one’s eyelids to choose letters and piece together words, use a computer or steer an electric wheelchair. Sniffing technology, said the developers, might even be used in the future to create a sort of “third hand,” to assist healthy surgeons or pilots. The new system identifies changes in air pressure inside the nostrils and translates these into electrical signals. After the device was tested on both healthy volunteers and quadriplegics, the results showed that the method is easily mastered. http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/InternetAndTechnology/Article.aspx?id=182843
by Shmulik Shelah
WiFi semiconductor developer Celano Communications Inc. will provide Chinese telecommunications provider FiberHome Telecommunication Technologies Co. Ltd. Wi-Fi system-on-a-chip for optical network gateways for IPTV streaming. The two companies are collaborating on China Telecom’s expansion of its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network. China Telecom unit Shanghai Telecom selected FiberHome’s optical gateway for FTTH deployments, providing fast broadband access capability and triple-play (data, voice and HD IPTV) services. Financially, the deal is important for Celeno. President and CEO Gilad Rozen said, “This deal will generate tens of millions in revenue in the coming years.” Market sources estimate the revenue at $50 million over four years. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000577669&fid=1725
