Israeli Technology Founders Speak: Conversations with Successful Israeli Hitech and Biotech Entrepreneurs

Moti Margalit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SonicEdge, an Israeli startup reinventing the speaker for the first time in over a century. Instead of moving a large membrane to push air, their speakers generate ultrasound through structures the width of a human hair, delivering full-range, high-quality sound from a fraction of the size, with major applications in earphones, smart glasses, and eventually phones and cars.

Avraham sat down with Moti to discuss how the idea grew out of a conversation about hearing aids, why the company built its electronics team in Denmark, the patent strategy behind a genuinely new concept, his advice for founders just starting out and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/sonicedge. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Dedi Haziza is the CEO and Founder of NexTenna, an Israeli company building the antenna technology behind the next generation of satellite internet. As networks like Starlink, OneWeb, and Amazon's upcoming Leo constellation race to connect the whole planet, NexTenna has developed a terminal that uses a fraction of the power and cost of existing options, and unlike closed networks, works with any satellite system out there.

Avraham sat down with Dedi to discuss how he built the core technology from the ground up, why he moved the company back to Israel after years at Google, the tradeoffs of building deep tech here, what's next for NexTenna, the future of data centers in space, tips for startup founders and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ nextenna. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Gilad Luria is the CEO of Scenera sceneratech.com, an Israeli deep tech company solving a critical blind spot in advanced chip manufacturing. As chipmakers stack layers of silicon to pack in more power, billions of tiny connections link those layers together, and until now, there was no way to check that all of them actually work. Scenera's technology inspects every single one, catching defects that would otherwise make it all the way to a finished device.

Avraham sat down with Gilad to discuss how the idea and technology evolved to fit the right problem, the challenges of building a deep tech startup in Israel, the importance of IP strategy, his advice for founders just starting out and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ scenera. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Ofer Barshem is the Co-Founder and CEO of CellLipo, an Israeli medtech company developing a breakthrough technology that transforms a patient's own fat into a stem cell-rich therapy for regenerative medicine. The technology has the potential to make regenerative treatments more consistent, accessible, and ready for immediate use in both aesthetic and orthopedic medicine.

Avraham sat down with Ofer to discuss the future of regenerative medicine, how CellLipo's technology works, the journey from hospital innovation to startup, fundraising challenges, the Israeli biotech ecosystem, the company's roadmap to clinical trials and FDA approval, tips for founders, and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ cell-lipo. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Racheli Ofir is the CEO and CTO of Betalin Therapeutics, an Israeli company developing a biological micropancreas that could one day offer a one-time cure for insulin-dependent diabetes — replacing the missing pancreatic function with living cells that sense glucose and respond in real time.

Avraham sat down with Racheli to discuss how the technology works, what their animal trials showed, why IP is critical, the challenges of funding a biotech startup in wartime Israel, her advice for founders just getting started and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ betalin. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Chen Neeman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Enqode, an Israeli startup that protects company databases from quantum computing attacks—wrapping them in three layers of post-quantum encryption to achieve what they call "data immunity." Their system requires no downtime, no special expertise, and is built for any business that holds sensitive data.

Avraham sat down with Chen to discuss the quantum threat, why companies need to start protecting themselves today, how Enqode works, the team behind it, their funding and their ambition to become a unicorn protecting billions of businesses worldwide.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ enqode. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Sharon Barak is the President and Founder of Solutum, an Israeli clean tech startup that is solving the plastic pollution problem by making a biodegradable alternative to plastic.

Avraham sat down with Sharon to discuss how she came up with the idea, got funded, the advantages of running a startup in Israel, future goals, tips for startup founders, the challenges of being a woman in business and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ solutum. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Baruch Halpert is a serial entrepreneur, the CEO and Executive Chairman of Electriq, an Israeli startup that that turns hydrogen gas into a safe, storable powder, like instant coffee, but for clean energy. No pipelines, no pressurized tanks. Just add water and get power anywhere.

Avraham sat down with Baruch to discuss how he got involved with Electriq, his previous companies, how he dealt with a failed idea, tips for tech founders and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ baruch-halpert-electriq. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Dr. Hadas Ziso is the Co-Founder and CEO of EndoCure, an Israeli startup that uses AI to automate ultrasound imaging—turning any manual ultrasound machine into an automated tool with 10× higher density than MRI. Their innovation removes the need for a trained operator, making reliable imaging accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Avraham sat down with Hadas to discuss how she came up with the idea, got funded, why she stays in Israel, future goals, tips for tech founders and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ hadas-ziso-endocure. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.

Steve Grun is the Co-Founder and CEO of MNDL Bio, an Israeli startup that uses AI to design better DNA sequences for making proteins—helping companies produce up to 20 times more protein than traditional methods. Their tech takes the guesswork out of gene design for biotech and pharma companies developing new drugs, enzymes, and other biological products.

Avraham sat down with Steve to discuss why most biotech companies struggle to produce proteins at scale and how MNDL's AI platform fixes that, how he turned 15 years of academic research into a SaaS product, their $2 million pre-seed raise, tips for tech founders, where he sees the company in five years and much more.

Do you have a great innovation? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us by going to https://jmbdavis.com/startup/contact. Learn more at https://jmbdavis.com and https://jmbdavis.com/startup.

Also available at https://soundcloud.com/jmbdavis/ mndl-bio. Listen to all of the episodes at https://jmbdavis.com/podcast.