Itamar ibn Humo did not have to fight in the war. The 49-year-old Israeli technology entrepreneur went well beyond his compulsory military service. But after last year Attack on October 7 With Hamas’s approval, Benhemo signed up as a reservist, believing his experience as a paratrooper in Lebanon in 2006 made him valuable to the country.
In January, during what was supposed to be a quick mission into Gaza to rescue a wounded soldier, Ben Hemo said he remembers hearing a gunshot and feeling a searing pain. He was hit by a bullet that evaded his protective vest. Multiple organs were damaged.
Ben Hemo was rushed to hospital. He recalls thinking: He might not make it.
While Ben Hemo is recovering, the technology industry is in the midst of a rapid generational upgrade brought about by artificial intelligence. Businesses of all types and sizes are constantly looking for ways to integrate technology into customer service, marketing, and sales.
Rivery, which Ben Hemo helped found in 2019, fits directly into this theme and specializes in software integration through artificial intelligence. While Ben Hemo was hospitalized, undergoing surgery and recovering, Riveri kept operating and serving customers with the assurances of other company executives.
Last week, some 11 months after Ben Hemo was hospitalized, his startup purchase It was developed by a Pennsylvania cloud software company called Boomi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Boomi CEO Steve Lucas told CNBC the deal was “about $100 million.”
Lucas describes Boonmee as “Google “Business Translation,” which integrates the many different types of software a company uses, regardless of programming language, into a single functional system. What makes Rivery so attractive, he says, is that it helps advance software integration using manual labor. Wisdom analyzes different types of data sets instantly in the cloud.
During his three-month recovery, Ben Hermo held company meetings and spoke to investors from his hospital bed.
Palestinians inspect damage to houses attacked by Israel in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, October 29, 2023, amid ongoing clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Muhammad Salem | Reuters
“To me, anyone with that kind of perseverance has the ability to make software work,” Lucas said.
Rivery has approximately 100 employees and 450 customers from around the world. Ben Hemo said he had been approached by several other suitors, but it wasn’t until Boomi sent an email to investors that he began pursuing a deal. Major early backers include Entrée Capital, State of Mind and Tiger Global Management.
Lucas said artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly that risks exist if companies are slow to properly adopt the technology.
“If you’re a CEO and don’t think about how your company has an AI-powered enterprise department, you could be the next Blockbuster,” Lucas said. perish The once dominant video rental service.
Lucas said adding Rivery to Boomi will allow the combined company to keep its artificial intelligence on track, and when it goes off track, it will be able to recognize that and bring in people to quickly resolve any customer service issues that arise. .
“There is no artificial intelligence without data, incomplete or fragmented,” Ben Hemo said. “We found a way to solve this problem where when information comes in, we interpret and organize it for the client.”
Boomi CEO Steve Lucas
Bumi
However, Lucas said he was aware of the risks of making major investments in Israel.
The war that began more than 14 months ago with the Hamas invasion is not yet over. Israel remains the target of rockets from Gaza and ballistic missiles from as far away as Yemen. More than 100 hostages taken from Israel remain in custody and it is unclear how many are still alive.
In Gaza, the casualties and economic losses are incalculable, but Hamas claims that more than 40,000 people have been killed. Images from the area indicate that few buildings remain intact due to the ongoing war.
“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t consider the risks of doing business in Israel, but some of the best technology in the world comes from Israel,” Lucas said.
Shortly after Ben Hemo was shot, another Rivery employee, Itay Galea, was killed while on duty in northern Israel, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Galea, a 38-year-old reservist officer, received an equity stake in Rivery so his surviving family will benefit from the Boomi deal.
According to the Israel Innovation Authority, an arm of the Israeli government, about 15% of tech workers quit their jobs and joined the military because of the war. Foreign investors have delayed acquisitions and investments.
But there are signs of a rebound.
A recent report from PwC Israel shows that the total number of Israeli startup exits has exceeded 2023, and the average deal size has now exceeded 2022. Rotem Eldar of Israeli venture capital firm 10D said: “Fundraising figures for 2024 are now beginning to be consistent with pre-war figures.” A report from 10D showed that cybersecurity companies are the area of greatest concern to investors.
Stocks have soared since the attacks on Israel in October 2023.
The Israeli stock market has also seen a recovery, tel aviv stock exchange It has more than doubled since the October 2023 lows.
For Ben Hemo, the sale to Boomi marks his second successful exit as CEO and founder. He said he has now fully recovered from his injuries.
“I have the energy to do it,” he said. “I’m excited and we all understand the gift of this opportunity.”
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