AUGUST 8 • 2024 | 31
across the globe, including
in the United States and
Michigan, promoting the
open exchange of knowledge,
resources, and best practices
between Israel’s bold and
determined problem solvers
and the industry leaders,
multinational corporations
and international bodies
seeking innovative solutions
to their complex challenges.
By comparison, Michigan,
which has a similar
population to that of Israel,
showed $1.2 billion invested
in 164 deals in 2022, the
last year for which data is
available from the Michigan
Venture Capital Association.
Four Israeli startups now
embedded in Michigan have
led to success.
MICHIGAN SUCCESS
STORIES
MIBA’s success stories include
Upstream, an automotive
cybersecurity and data
management company with
seven employees in Ann
Arbor.
The more well-known
Fullpath, which has one
of three American hubs
in Detroit, is known as a
customer data and marketing
automation platform, which
works with car dealerships
around the U.S. The
company hit the local news
in December 2023 when
its AI chatbox program for
car dealers “didn’t make the
company famous until this
weekend [Dec 16, 2023],”
according to CEO Aharon
Horwitz, after its service for
Chevrolet of Watsonville,
California, created buzz
after offering high praise of
the Ford F-150, instead of
the home brand Chevrolet
Silverado.
“We were the first
technology company in
automotive to introduce a
GPT chatbot (in April 2023),”
he told the Detroit Free Press.
UVeye hired a Michigan-
based team to manage
a key relationship with
Penske Automotive to pilot
the civilian version of its
technology, originally created
to detect bombs and other
explosive threats for the U.S.
Department of Homeland
Security. Its automatic vehicle
inspection system is in place
at Feldman Chevrolet to scan
passenger cars for mechanical
problems, dinks and dents.
“If there’s any imperfections
with the body of the vehicle
and or the tires or wheels,
it’s going to pick all that
up,” said John Butkovich,
the operations manager at
Feldman Auto Group.
It’s also detected tracking
devices and vice grips
under vehicles, said Kristie
Risner, UVeye OEM account
manager. It’s a way to see
problems for yourself before
spending money for car
repairs.
“It’s like an MRI for
the vehicle,” said Kristen
Strakalanaitis of Automotive
News, adding that “the
disruptive technology also
has been installed in the GM
Service Building at its global
tech center [in Warren].”
James Anerson, General
Motors’ senior VP of sales,
told her, “It improves dealer
service workflow.”
The technology is also used
during the manufacturing
process on auto assembly
lines and in parts plants, and
UVeye now has a partnership
with Amazon to scan their
delivery vehicles.
Electreon has electrified
the first mile of road in
America in Corktown, which
is beta-testing the nation’s
first EV-charging roadway in
a “real-world environment”
in Detroit. Fourteenth
Street between Dalzelle and
Marantette now is equipped
with inductive-charging coils
for charging electric vehicles
on the road equipped with
Electreon receivers.
“We’re excited to spearhead
the development and
deployment of America’s first
wireless charging road,” said
Stefan Tongur, Electreon’s
vice president of business
development. “Alongside
Michigan’s automotive
expertise, we’ll demonstrate
how wireless charging unlocks
widespread EV adoption,
addressing limited range, grid
limitations, and battery size
and costs.”
Facilitated by MIBA’s
efforts, “This milestone
stands as a testament to our
collaborative efforts with
the State of Michigan and
M-DOT, City of Detroit,
Michigan Central, Ford, DTE
and others,” Tongur said.
“Israeli companies come in
and help us solve problems,
but also help us realize
that the horizon for future
technology being integrated
into the real world isn’t as far
off as we think,” Trevor Pawl,
the state of Michigan’s former
chief mobility officer, told the
Jewish News. “Once we saw
other Electreon deployments
in Sweden and in Israel, we
knew that Electreon was a
company that we wanted to
work with in Michigan.”
These projects have led
to $7.2 million in economic
activity in Michigan, joining
another $5 million Israeli
companies have contributed
to local economic activity via
MIBA since 2021.
“Michigan continues
to attract innovative
companies from Israel,” said
Hiipakka. “Our economic
climate represents strong
opportunities for Israeli
innovation, despite the
ongoing conflict in Israel.
“Businesses there have
adopted the motto of ‘Israeli
Tech, No Matter What’ and
they continue to innovate and
remain interested in what
Michigan has to offer.”
MIBA’s Portal
to Michigan
continued from page 29