Tel Aviv ranks second worldwide for Tech Startups

The Startup Genome released the first half of its massive 160-page report on the world’s top startup ecosystems. The ambitious, collaborative R&D project was created by three young entrepreneurs, Bjoern Herrmann, Max Marmer and Ertan Dogrultan, who set out to take a comprehensive, data-driven dive into what makes startups successful.

The comparative analysis, produced in collaboration with affiliates from UC Berkeley, Stanford and Telefónica Digital, covers a host of topics, including how the landscape of startup ecosystems has begun to extend beyond Silicon Valley to become somewhat of a global phenomenon. The report compiled a global ranking of startup ecosystems based on a 50-variable, 8-component index, which includes Startup Output, Funding, Company Performance, Talent, Support Infrastructure, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Trendsetting Tendencies and Ecosystem Differentiation.

17 Arlozorov wants to set new sales record

Tel Aviv's luxury real estate market has been booming for quite some time, with the past 3 years seeing records broken each quarter for each new project being built up into the sky. A new record is now attempted with the 850 square meter penthouse in the new Arlozorov 17 tower hitting the market for 200 million NIS ($53m), i.e at a price of just about $60,000 per square meter. Time will tell however if Dan Group, the developer, can get this price.

Arlozorov 17, which will be located on Arlozorov Street in the Old North neighborhood of Tel Aviv between Ben Yehuda and Dizengoff Streets, is one of a number of luxury high-rise projects currently under construction. Dan Group said that the new luxury residential tower built on top of the former Dan Garages is now expected to be completed by 2015. The tower will include a spa and an olympic-length swimming pool.

Master Plan 38 finally goes ahead

After years of foot-dragging by the Tel Aviv municipality, the local planning and building committee has hammered out a program to add two and a half stories to apartment buildings throughout the city. The move comes after years of delays in implementing National Master Plan 38 for reinforcing apartment buildings against earthquakes. The plan will breathe new life into property development and investment in the city. The plan encourages apartment owners and developers to renovate and reinforce older buildings, with rights to build new apartments above the roofline or in empty space on the ground floor. This would be an incentive to builders in lieu of cash. The program allows for an extra two and a half floors in buildings in Jaffa and the city's east and south. But the plan allows up to seven and a half new floors in buildings on Ibn Gabirol Street, as well as the demolition of buildings in the White City district not earmarked for preservation. High-rises would be built in their stead. The plan wasn't exactly met with enthusiasm at City Hall, and officials led by Mayor Ron Huldai had misgivings.

Space-age rapid transit to debut in Tel Aviv

If all goes as planned, within two years Israelis will be the first people to try out a futuristic rapid transport system designed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The skyTran uses two-person modules that drive along a guide rail suspended from existing power lines. Magnets in the vehicle create a magnetic field around the metal coil inside the rail, causing the vehicle to lift up and glide 60 miles per hour on a cushion of air. The system uses very little energy and potentially could be powered entirely by solar panels. The first route, on which construction could begin next spring, would run from the high-tech center in Atidim through the Tel Aviv University train station to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Port. Another installation might be placed on Netanya’s congested east side and a third would take people into and around Ariel Sharon Park, a huge public “green belt” in central Israel.

Global Dynamism Index: Israel tops the tech list

When it comes to Science and Technology, Israel is considered the most dynamic country in the world according to the latest Grant Thornton 2012 Global Dynamism Index survey. As a matter of fact, Israel ranks in 4th position overall, above the US that sits in the 10th position and the UK which is 32nd in the list.

The Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI) 2012, the second annual GDI survey, ranks 50 of the world's largest economies across 22 indicators of economic dynamism, examining five key areas: business operating environment; economics and growth; science and technology; labor and human capital; and the financing environment. This year’s survey looks at the progress each economy has made over the past 12 months, and indicates of the strength of each economy as a place for dynamic businesses to flourish. Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Israel and Austria occupy the top five spots for most dynamic economies in the world. The United States ranks 10th (of 50), and China ranks 20th (of 50).

According to the report, Israel offers the most dynamic science and technology environment by some distance, due principally to the large proportion of GDP which is spent on R&D (4.3%) – the aspect of science and technology business leaders identified as the most important. In the 1990s, Israel welcomed more than a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the country, many of them highly qualified scientists and engineers. The government capitalised on this influx of highly-skilled labour by creating a number of tax incentives for venture capital funds and business incubator programmes, to develop its hi-tech industry.