Israeli Trailblazers Show

Israeli Tech Roundup: Self-Charging Roads, AI Surgeons & Drought-Proof Seeds | Gerson Panitch

• Jennifer Weissmann • Season 5 • Episode 66

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 15:17

Gerson Panitch, host of "What's Next in Israel Tech," walks through the most jaw-dropping Israeli innovations coming next: highways that charge your car as you drive, robot surgeons with AI precision, saliva-based pregnancy tests, and drought-proof seeds that could help end world hunger. The untold story of what the startup nation is building. 


_______________________________________________

Your life is better because of Israelis you've never met. 

⭐A 5-star review please -- it is how new listeners find us. 

🎧 All episodes + every platform: https://pod.link/1585604285

📺 YouTube: @israelitrailblazers | 📧 Substack: findinginspiration.substack.com 




Overview

Guest, Gerson Panitch

So you can drive along a highway, and the highway has embedded in it the charging mechanism that will charge your vehicle so you don't have to stop. They've got a dispenser that's like a coffee machine in your house and it makes you a customized vitamin drink every morning based on all the feedback it gets from you from your smartwatch.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Did you know that your phone, your car, and even your computer are probably

Introduction

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

powered by some component of an Israeli technology? The media forgets to mention this. So that is the purpose of our Israeli cheerleader and our guests today. I am Jennifer Weisman and welcome to the Israeli Trailblazers Show, where we introduce you to the fearless innovators who are quietly making your life better. Today we're going to talk to Gerson Panitch a nice Jewish lawyer from the middle of America who decided to leave Washington and move to Israel. And he made Alia a few years ago talk about a dramatic timing. After October 7th, when the headlines about Israel turned dark and misleading, Gerson and his team at the Finnegan IP law firm flipped the script and they launched what is called What's Next in Israel Tech, a Hollywood-style

What is WHAT'S NEXT IN ISRAEL TECH Show?

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

92nd weekly spotlight on unbelievable startups based in Israel. Slick, smart, creative, and it's a massive hit. So welcome, Gerson. How are you?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Great. It's great to be with you. Thanks for having me on.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

All right, let's just get right into it. The Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th totally shook Israel, and it really hurt the startup community in Israel and investments slowed. Why did you see that as the right moment to launch what's next in Israel tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Well, there were two things

Why start this show in 2023?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

that were happening simultaneously. One was that, you know, I'm an IP lawyer. I do patenting for a lot of Israeli startups. And I was seeing that my startup clients were having difficulty with their funding. Simultaneously, we're seeing these horrific news reports from the United States and from around the world that are completely distorting what's going on. And I found myself very much interested in helping Israel's narrative in the world so that it would be accurate.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Strange to understand the reality that Israeli tech is really invisible

Why Israeli tech is Invisible to Most People in the World

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

to most people in the world. I mean, they don't yet that inside of this iPhone, there's an Israeli component or in their car or in their medicine.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

There is just a never-ending stream of really cool Israeli technology, like smart, smart technology that's changing the world from small things like a surfboard that goes up in the air and sort of flies above the water,

Surf Board that Moves Above the Water

Guest, Gerson Panitch

to software companies like Monday.com that are shaping workflows in the workplace, medical devices and

Monday.Com Helps Workflow in Companies Worldwide

Guest, Gerson Panitch

automobiles. It's amazing the technology we have coming out of Israel. I mean, most cars in Israel, most cars around the world, are using mobile eye technology

Mobileye Tech Navigates the World

Guest, Gerson Panitch

for navigation. The driver assist systems around the world, 70%, I believe, are mobile I and Inavis, is you're doing LIDAR, and there's just so much really interesting technology in every sector that's really exciting, and the world needs to see what Israel contributes.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Give me three really cool Israeli tech companies that have come across your desk in the last, say, 30, 60, 90 days. Cool stuff that's gonna really help the world.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

This week we did Electrion. What does

Electreon | Electrify the Road so No Chargers Needed

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Electrion do? Just like your cell phone, when you can put it down on a smart surface and it will charge the phone, they're doing that with vehicles. So you can drive along a highway, and the highway has embedded in it the charging mechanism that will charge your vehicle so you don't have to stop. So they're starting right now with fleet vehicles like buses, municipal vehicles, and the buses have a regular route and they come and they stop at the same stops over and over again. And every time they stop, they're getting a charge. And so it used to be that if you had an electric bus in your fleet, you can only use it half the day because it would have to sit and charge for the other half. Now you can use the bus all day long and never have to take it out of service. That's one.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

That is crazy, crazy tech. What's next in Israel? Just throw it out there.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Here's a drone company, I think it's called

Drone Company Called Tree Top

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Tree Top, you know, to stop wildfires like in California that spread like crazy through the trees. They have a drone that has a laser on it and cuts the branches off, then it stops the fire from spreading. It's a breast pump.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Oh, I love that. I read about you with this. Did you see

Breast Pump that Increases Milk Flow for Mom's

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

that? Yes, it mimics the baby's phone. It mimics the tongue. That's a brilliant, brilliant product. Incredible. Okay, so we have breast pumps. We have drive under the highway and charge your vehicle. We have navigation.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

One of the problems when you're operating in the brain is that there can be subtle movements

New Brain Surgical AI Tool

Guest, Gerson Panitch

of the head. And an Israeli tech company that has figured out using AI how to model the brain so that in real time you can map how the head is moving and get the surgeon to the right place.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

That is incredible. Okay, so we have surgical devices.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

I'm filming one called Expand. They want to revolutionize the shopping experience. Like if you're in a city and you just want to go and grab something, you walk in, and

Revolutionize Shopping Experience

Guest, Gerson Panitch

there's these full-size screens that are like the size of a human being, and they just line the walls, and that's all there is in the store. And you can just swipe across them and just pick your products. When you're finished and you pay, they just come out pre-bag free robotically, can change our in-city shopping experience.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

There's so much incredible stuff coming out of this tiny little country called Israel. And the takeaway that the world sees is negative, dark, misleading. Not talking about the breast pump, not talking about the new FDA-approved drops where you no longer need to use reading glasses. This is Israeli tech that is affecting everyone in the globe. Give me a rapid fire of the cool, hot, interesting tech coming out of Israel in the what's next in Israel tech segments. Go.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Dreap AI,

Dreep AI | Customized Vitamins

Guest, Gerson Panitch

customized vitamins. It monitors your whole schedule of your life. It knows that you haven't slept. So it gives you certain vitamins that are going to help you there. It knows that you've worked out. So it's going to give you vitamins. They've got a dispenser that's like a coffee machine in your house and it makes you a customized vitamin drink every morning.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Based on what?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Based on all the feedback it gets from you from your smartwatch.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

This technology reads your smartphone, figures out what you're missing based on your data on your smartphone, and then customizes some kind of vitamin cocktail for you to drink in the morning. Yes. All right. That's one very cool company. Give me another one.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

QDSO,

QD-SOL| Generates Hydrogen

Guest, Gerson Panitch

crazy company. Just like you have a solar panel and it's a woman-run company. They have something that looks like a solar panel, but that produces hydrogen fuel without any energy. It just uses the sun and water, and it basically produces hydrogen. And with a number of panels, you'll be able to basically run your whole house for the year.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Unbelievable. Okay, so that's two. Give me another one.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Aleph Farms. I think they're the only company

Aleph Farms | Food Tech Company

Guest, Gerson Panitch

in the world now that's approved to make steaks that are grown in the lab. They take a cell from a cow and they make like millions of pounds of ground beef with it, lab grown meat. Or steaks. They can grow a steak. Okay. All right. That's three. Give me four. Pick Commerce, which is a robot that basically can pick up anything and it works in a warehouse. Right now, Amazon

Pickommerce AI Robotics in Warehouses

Guest, Gerson Panitch

fulfills orders. A lot of it is done manually. You got people picking things. And the problem is that robots haven't been good at dexterity and like how to pick up all different sized products. So they have a robot that can pick up different size products and pack packages.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Pre-Cure

Pre-Cure Transforming Cancer

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Medical. It's an Israeli biotech startup that uses a patient on a chip technology to personalize cancer treatments. It grows 3D tumor models on microfluidic chips. And then it tests how each patient's cancer responds to different therapies. And they can then deliver the therapy that's going to work for your cancer.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

So completely customized cancer therapy.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Exactly. Better juice. Better juice

Better Juice | Removes 80% of Sugar

Guest, Gerson Panitch

has found a way to cut the natural sugars out of juice by 80%. So you're intaking less sugar. They can run their juice through a bioreactor. It removes much of the sugars, but the flavor is still quite good and much healthier than just drinking regular juice.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Amazing. Amazing. Okay. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Salagnostics.

Salignostics | Saliva-based Pregnancy Testing

Guest, Gerson Panitch

This is a pregnancy test done with saliva. So you just put it in your mouth and you get your results on what looks like a traditional pregnancy test, but without the inconvenience. And it's already on sale in the market in Europe.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Finery

Finally Foods | AI and Molecular Farming to Make Potatoes

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Foods, bioengineers, potatoes to give your potato all of the nutrients that you would get from cow milk. What? It's crazy. It transforms dairy by growing real cow milk casein protein in genetically engineered potatoes. No cows are required.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Wow.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

So basically, you could grow a potato that gives you like the effect of drinking a glass of milk.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Amazing. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Atopia. Atopia,

Ottopia | Remote Control Driving

Guest, Gerson Panitch

you can drive vehicles remotely. I sat in an office in Tel Aviv and drove a Kia car that was 20 miles away on a road. There are obviously military applications, but there are also applications if you have to have drivers driving down highways, transporting goods across the country. You know, a driver can only drive for so many hours. You can swap out drivers with this technology.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Amazing. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

A fun one is level hydrofoils. They make

Level Hydrofoils | Marine Tech Self-Balancing e-Foil

Guest, Gerson Panitch

an electric hydrofoil. It looks like a surfboard, but it's got a fin that comes off the bottom. And when it powers up, the surfboard rises off the water and lets you glide effortlessly across the water.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Amazing. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Extreme simulations.

Extreme Simulations | Medical Simulations

Guest, Gerson Panitch

This is a crazy story. This guy needed to figure out how he was going to train medics in the army to deal with combat situations and injuries. And so he made these dummies that are realistic. The organs are realistic, the skin is realistic, so that you can train the medics before they have to face it in real life. And the irony of the situation is after October 7th, the founder of the company got called into Gaza and he was injured. And the medics who saved his life trained on the technology that he developed.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Wow. That's incredible. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Tree tube.

TreeTube | Agritech for Cities

Guest, Gerson Panitch

You know, the reason that there aren't a lot of trees in cities is because the roots of the trees break the power lines and the pipes. And so you've got a limitation of what you can do in terms of planting trees in cities. Tree tube builds this like ecosystem. It's like a big tube, a huge tube that goes along a sidewalk, and the trees get planted into openings in the tube. So the roots can't get beyond the tube. And now you can make your urban environments green.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Wow. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Okay, what's next in Israel tech that is like the coolest of the coolest, most amazing, shocking tech coming out of tiny little Israel?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Here's a really cool one. It's called mycelium. And they make a

Maecelium | Mushroom Based Tech for Industrial Waste

Guest, Gerson Panitch

biomaterial that's a substitute for plastic. It's actually made from mushrooms. And it can revolutionize our waste stream because no longer will plastics hang around forever, but they will naturally degenerate. And we save our planet.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

That's absolutely incredible. Have you done anything with ocean?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

There's a company called Nakai Robotics. They

NakAI Robotics | AI Marine Hull Cleaning

Guest, Gerson Panitch

make a robot that suctions itself to the hull of ships and cleans and it moves along the ship and cleans all the barnacles, everything that attaches to the hull of the ship. It cleans it off robotically. It saves time because this can work while the ship is in motion. You don't have to take the ship out of service to clean the hull. And it saves an enormous amount of fuel because all of those things that stick to the hull, they end up slowing down the ship and creating more drag and wasting millions and millions of dollars in fuel every year.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

That is really interesting. I love that. The out-of-the-box ones that we don't think about. What's next in Israel Tech?

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Battery that will go around the parking garages and swap

Car Battery Replacement | While Car is In Parking Garage

Guest, Gerson Panitch

out the batteries of the cars and put new batteries in. So instead of having to wait for your car to charge, you can just replace the batteries and it can find your car by the license plate number, go down, get the battery out, move on to the next car.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

That's amazing. All right, give me one more because I'm addicted to this. Sally crop.

Guest, Gerson Panitch

Sally crop is revolutionizing agriculture by pre-treating

SaliCrop | Non-GMO seed Technology

Guest, Gerson Panitch

seeds to withstand drought, heat, and soil and salinity. There's no GMOs, there's no chemicals that are involved, and no extra water is needed, but you can still boost your production by 10 to 32% across crops like tomatoes and onions and rice and alfalfa.

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

Incredible. You know, to have this kind of famine-resistant seed, that's unbelievable. Every week, a 90-second blitz on the most amazing tech for that week in what's

What's Next in Israel Tech | Clever Show Sharing Israeli Tech

Host, Jennifer Weissmann

next in Israel tech. And everyone listening here needs to tune in to Gerson's show. Israelis are helping your world every single day. Gerson reminded us that when the world gets noisy and forgets about how much Israelis contribute, Israel needs a cheerleader. And that cheerleader is What's Next in Israel Tac by Gerson? And I want to thank you for watching this episode of the Israeli Trailblazer Show, where we share the stories of the amazing Israelis that are making your life better every single day. If this episode inspired you, please share it with a friend and post it on all of your socials. Until next time, I'm Jennifer Weissman.

Head Shot

Jennifer Weissmann

Host