The 20 Hottest Startups in Israel

The Israeli startup scene needs little introduction. Tel Aviv is rapidly becoming one of the most innovative tech hubs on the planet, vying with London, New York and Berlin as Silicon Valley's second.
Big acquisitions, such as Waze to Google and Snaptu to Facebook, as well a upcoming IPO for Outbrain means Israeli startups are aspiring for big exits.

See also: 25 Top UK Startups

To find out more about the near 5,000 startups in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other emerging Israeli hubs, check out Mapped in Israel, a definitive, location-based guide. For now, here are our top 20 hottest Israeli startups.

1. GetTaxi

With the GetTaxi app, people can call taxis with one click. Make a payment, tip and even save a receipt via the app, which also tracks taxi proximity.
Launched in Tel Aviv, GetTaxi now operates in Moscow and London, and will launch later this year in New York. It also offers a VIP service, wherein frequent users can earn points for free rides and other contingent benefits.

2. Brow.si

Brow.si cares for a mobile site's engagement levels. For example, it makes sharing much easier with its a Toggle on/Toggle off button across the three major social networks: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Or send push notifications to mobile web readers — Brow.si scans the site's RSS feed and converts it to a push notifications that the user can read on the Brow.si reader, directly from his or her device.

3. Tracx

Tracx is a New York City-based company with a SaaS platform for brand marketers who want to manage and monitor their social media presences. The Tracx platform indexes the entire social web and delivers the most relevant conversations by capturing a 360-degree view of brand activity and sifting through streams of social media data to monitor performance.

4. Fiverr

With the Fiverr market, people list a variety of services they provide for $5 each. These services range from writing a CV to buying Facebook followers to building websites.
In 2012 the company received $15 million in Series B funding, and now millions of vendors from more than 200 countries offer more than 1.5 million different services on Fiverr, adding thousands of new ones each day.

5. Viber

Viber is a free texting, photo messaging and video messaging service founded in 2010 to compete with Skype. It now has more than 200 million users in more than 193 countries and has expanded from its iPhone presence to Android and other platforms. Its younger demographic and proprietary "stickers" service have proved very popular, differentiating it from Skype.

6. ClearSkyApps

Based in Tel Aviv and founded in 2010, Clear Sky Apps has developed more than 15 iPhone apps based on fitness and health programs. Its apps have been downloaded 15 million times. They include training runs for beginners, run pace training for advanced runners as well as exercise apps for situps and squats. You'll even find apps to help people sleep.

7. TireCheck

Neomatix is a developer of automotive sensors and fleet management solutions. It recently introduced TireCheck, a new app based on a patented computer vision technology, which allows drivers to check their vehicles' tire pressure. Users click on and focus the iPhone camera to take a picture of a tire; the app then measures tire pressure and recommends pumping, if necessary.

8. Swayy

A content discovery tool aimed at the small enterprise market, Swayy launched its public beta September 2013.
Every day it crawls and monitors 50,000 pieces of content and operates a freemium model where premium packages cost between $5 and $19 per month.

9. EatWith

EatWith is a travel site like Airbnb, only it revolves around dining clubs. Travelers can eat in strangers’ houses during their trips.
In its online directory, travelers pay a small fee to those offering meals in their homes. Initiated in Israeli homes, it now services every continent.

10. PrimeSense

With PrimeSense’s 3D sensing technology, digital devices can observe a scene in three dimensions. It translates these observations into synchronized image streams (depth and color). Then, it translates those synchronized images into information, identifying human gestures, classifying objects and locating walls and floors. This technology is made possible by "depth sensing," using sensors and middleware.

11.Tomodo

New web platform Tomodo allows developers, hackers, modders and designers to build new websites or services by modding, mixing or tweaking existing websites into new creations. Tomodo acts as a real-time proxy between the browser and original website.

12. LATTO

LATTO is a cloud-based multiscreen video store platform for streaming live/linear and on-demand video content. It provides personalized monetization options for broadcasters, cable and satellite operators, aggregators, telecommunication operators and more. The interactive media service provides personalized offers and ads as well as an media store for both content and commerce.
The company has recently announced it has closed a $4 million dollar funding round, bringing the total amount raised to $15 million dollars.

13. BillGuard

BillGuard is a personal finance security service powered by the "collective knowledge" of millions of people. Its investors include the founders and CEOs of Google, PayPal, Verisign and Sun Microsystems.
It monitors unsolicited transactions from credit card providers and refunds customers. A freemium model, the iPhone app covers up to two cards free, but is charging a one-time price of $9.99 to protect up to 10 cards, instead of $45.

14. Say Media

Founded in 2009, Say Media is an affiliated marketing company that works across mobile and online to create a network of mobile and gaming sites by bringing publishers and advertisers closer.
This approach has established a network of premium publishers, linked to exclusive offers that the company says converts up to 500% more than regular mobile offers.

15. Commerce Sciences

The company gives retailers the tools to put their customers at the center of any interactive experience, so that store's online presence will become intuitive and grow sales.
It applies behavioral science methodologies to hone its data. The result is an fine-tuned approach to shoppers’ targeting, so improving its impact and effectiveness.

16. Idomoo

Founded in 2009, Idomoo integrates customer data and targeted offers into cinematic, personalized videos. Its fast-rendering, cloud-based service works with more than 60 brands to deliver videos that engage and connect with brand audiences.

17. Correlor

Correlor delivers web personalization and customer intelligence by applying bioinformatics and machine learning to social data, based on consumer personality. It empowers websites with on-site personalization and customer insights, and encourages businesses to provide tailored services for every customer.

18. MyHeritage

MyHeritage was founded by Gilad Japhet in 2003 and now has more than 75 million registered users and over 1.5 billion profiles.
The company "uses the tools of tomorrow to research the family history of yesterday," and its family tree building and historical content search are constantly evolving to provide families with a map of their ancestors’ lifetimes.

19. Moolta

Moolta is a fundraising platform that lets users dare their friends to do crazy things. They can choose to carry out the dare or take up the challenge and post to Moolta.
The company also presents the Moolta community with its own challenges to win cash prizes.

20. eyeSight

EyeSight is bringing Natural User Interface, the technology behind major gaming consoles, to other digital devices, such as mobile phones, TVs, tablets and laptops/PCs.
The company is based in Israel with offices in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. Its management team has expertise in research, implementation and optimization for real-time algorithms and their embedded platforms.

Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Source : Mashable.com