By Nathaniel Warshay, Published in The Detroit Jewish News
The current conflict in Israel isn’t stopping Michigan’s efforts, through the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator (MIBA), to build partnerships with Israel.
In June, the MIBA, in collaboration with the state of Michigan, supported the EcoMotion Assembly 2024: Mobility Innovation in Times of Disruption (EMA24) in Israel.
Through a combination of in-person and virtual meetings through the online “Portal to Michigan,” the MIBA brought together a high-powered lineup of partners to the conference.
Michigan’s presence included industry, government, investors, and other partners who were able to connect with local technology legacy companies and startups that flocked to learn about the Michigan mobility startup support MIBA CEO Scott Hiipakka ecosystem over video conferences and meetings fueled by fresh Frappuccino, AKA slushy, freezing-cold, blended coffee beverages.
EMA24’s focus flipped the typical script by bringing together its mobility tech ecosystem with more than 750 startups and 16,000 community members to connect with one another and with interested partners overseas through one-on-one video conference and multi-site webinars. On site were more than 1,300 attendees, 61 speakers, 35 partners and 50 exhibitors, including MIBA, led by CEO Scott Hiipakka and, based in Israel, Naomi Miller, Liza Yedwab and Esther Loewy.
EcoMotion advances the smart mobility sector through technology and innovation by supporting startups to grow and addressing the challenges of the global mobility ecosystem. It comprises a dynamic and growing community in the Smart Mobility field.
“I’m here on my 12th trip to Israel to build partnerships between Michigan and Israel that will create job and economic growth in both places,” said Hiipakka, who came to MIBA’s top job five years ago.
Hiipakka, a Michigan State University alumnus, U.S. Army veteran, and with more than 25 years in the Army, most recently as the Commanding General of the 46th Military Police Command, embraces innovation in technology, human relations and strengthening his state of Michigan, along with Israel.
“My job is to reach out and build those partnerships that strengthen both Michigan and Israel. And my coming to Israel demonstrates Michigan’s and MIBA’s commitment to Israeli innovation,” said Hiipakka, also a Michigan National Guard Brigadier General.
“We’re about teamwork, transparency and trust, the building blocks of partnerships,” he said, describing the purpose of his visit, which is “to educate the Israeli community on opportunities in Michigan and how they can be successful in Michigan.”
ISRAEL’S MOBILITY COMMUNITY
Founded in 2012, EcoMotion is a joint venture of the Israel Innovation Institute, together with Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety and the Ministry of Economy and Industry. The dynamic and growing institutional mobility community acts as a platform for startups to connect with global industry, investors, academy, public sector, service providers and more in the field of smart mobility, to collaborate, network and explore synergies.
This year, 2024, is about mobilizing the ecosystem and forging ahead in new ways. As the scope of mobility interfaces with many parallel sectors, the EcoMotion community continues to grow.
The MIBA, in collaboration with several of Michigan’s international companies already in Israel, such as General Motors and Ford Motor Company, attends with the goal of connecting, collaborating and creating synergies.
“EcoMotion creates a platform for startups to connect with other community members such as global industry, entrepreneurs, academic leaders, government leaders, investors and more in the field of smart mobility, to collaborate, network and explore synergies,” according to Jennifer Schwarz, the executive director.
“EcoMotion encourages innovation through a variety of events such as meetups, challenge competitions, adaptations, the annual Main Event and more,” she said.
STARTUP NATION CENTRAL
According to Tel Aviv-based Startup Nation Central, which helps Israeli startups to connect, build and grow, there are 7,047 startups in Israel today that have raised $12.9 billion in 328 deals in 2024, on track to match the $19.5 billion (828 deals) raised in 2023. In 2022, $27 billion (1,163 deals) was raised.
Founded in 2013, Startup Nation Central is a nonprofit (referred to overseas as a nongovernmental organization or NGO) that builds bridges and strengthens business ties 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 MIBA’s Portal to Michigan 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.”
