During its meeting on December 11, 2013, held in Israel, the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, approved $9 million in funding for eleven new projects between Israeli and American companies. In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of all projects to approximately $23 million.

The BIRD Foundation promotes collaboration between Israeli and American companies in various technological fields for the purpose of joint product development. In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.

Projects submitted to the BIRD Foundation are thoroughly reviewed by evaluators appointed by the National Institute of Standard and Technologies (NIST) and by evaluators appointed by the Chief Scientist’s Office in the Israeli Ministry of Economy.

The eleven projects approved by the Board of Governors are in addition to the 878 projects which the BIRD Foundation has approved for funding during its 36 year history. To date, BIRD’s total investment in these projects has been over $308 million, helping to generate direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.

The approved projects are as follows:

• Bonus BioGroup Ltd. (Haifa, Israel) and Cellora LLC (Boston, MA) will develop personalized regenerative medicine technologies.
• CliniWorks (Israel) Ltd. (Ramat HaSharon, Israel) and Pfizer, Inc. (New York, NY) will develop a healthcare quality analytics and patient engagement portal.
• Eyesight Mobile Technologies Ltd. (Herzliya, Israel) and TriLumina, Inc. (Albuquerque, NM) will develop combined smart light sources for touchless gesture and sensing applications.
• Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Petach Tikva, Israel) and Kymeta (Redmond, WA) will develop a
  portable satellite terminal
• Lingacom Ltd. (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Rapiscan Laboratories Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) will develop a secondary detection system based on muon technology.
• MeMed Diagnostics Ltd. (Tirat Carmel, Israel) and Diagnostic Consulting Network (Carlsbad, CA) will develop a point-of-care device to diagnose bacterial vs. viral infections.
• New NI Medical 2011 Ltd. (Kfar Mallal, Israel) and Athena GTX (Des Moines, IA) will develop a telemedicine system for use in the emerging home health care monitoring market.
• PetPace Ltd. (Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel) and BluePearl Management LLC (Tampa, FL) will develop an integrated in-hospital and outpatient pet remote monitoring system.
• RADiFlow Ltd. (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Patriot Technologies, Inc. (Frederick, MD) will develop a secure smart-grid solution.
• Rescuedose Ltd. (Haifa, Israel) and ec2 Software Solutions (Las Vegas, NV) will develop a robotic dispensing device integrated with a nuclear pharmacy management system.
• WeldObot Ltd. (Kadima, Israel) and Heller Industries Inc. (Florham Park, NJ) will develop an innovative new welding device.

Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, said: “The projects approved by the Board of Governors include innovative, relatively high risk, technology developments. BIRD’s support reduces the risk and increases the chances of commercialization in the global market. The Foundation will continue to promote U.S. – Israel partnerships in diverse topics, such as cyber security and
homeland security, neurotechnology, advanced manufacturing and more.”

Mr. Phillip Singerman, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and co-Chairman of BIRD Board of Governors said: “The BIRD Foundation has achieved worldwide recognition, particularly for the rigor of its investment due diligence and the quality of its project management. It is also demonstrating best in class effectiveness for
efficient international operations and financial accountability, ensuring a high return on investment for
public expenditures. ”

Mr. Avi Hasson, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and co-Chairman of the Board said: “The BIRD Foundation continues to be the main tool to facilitate the strategic cooperation between Israel and United States in R&D and technology. The projects approved in the last board meeting reflect the significant diversity and potential of the collaborations. These projects contribute to the economy of
both Israel and the United States and encourage growth and job creation.”

The deadline for submission of Executive Summaries for the next BIRD cycle is on March 10, 2014.

Approval of projects will take place in June 2014.

About the BIRD Foundation

The BIRD (Binational Industrial Research and Development) Foundation works to encourage cooperation between Israeli and American companies in the various areas of technology, and provides free assistance in locating strategic partners from both countries for developing joint products. The BIRD Foundation supports projects without receiving any rights in the participating companies or in the project itself. The financial assistance is repaid as royalties from sales. The Foundation provides support of up to 50% of a project’s budget, beginning with R&D and ending with the initial stages of sales and marketing. The Foundation shares the risk and does not demand that the investment be repaid if the project fails to reach the sales stage.