Elron was founded in 1962 by Uzia Galil, with the support of Dan Tolkowsky of the Discount Investment Corporation. Uzia Galil graduated from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1947, and in 1948 joined the Israel Navy as an officer responsible for maintaining its Radio systems. In 1952 Uzia was sent to study for a master's degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University in the United States. During his studies in the United States, he worked at Motorola's research lab and was part of a team that developed of one of the world's first colour televisions. But in 1954 he had to return to Israel to complete another 4 years of service in Navy, which financed his studies.[2]
Founding Elron
Uzia Galil short experience working for Motorola in the United States exposed him to the technology industry and he decided to establish Israel's first high techStartup company. He started the company, while still serving in Navy, in a friend's (Benjamin Sandller) flat in Haifa, later joined by another friend (Gideon Kirshner), who was a teacher at the Haifa Technical High-School, and worked with them in his spare time. The company's first products were measurement instruments for medical and electronic applications. In 1958 Uzia left the Navy, however the company did not generate enough revenues and he got a job at the Physics laboratory of the Technion; while there Moshe Arens, who was Professor of Aeronautics at the time, introduced him to Dan Tolkowsky. Dan, who was fascinated by Uzia's ideas, managed to convince the board of Discount Investment Corporation to provide the capital required to properly fund the company. Elron was officially formed in 1962 with an initial capital of $US 160,000, and within 3 years generated annual revenues of $1 millions.[2]
First joint venture – Elbit Computers Ltd.
In 1966, Shimon Peres, who at the time was the deputy defence minister, visited Elron and Uzia convinced him to establish a new company that will develop minicomputers for defence applications. The new company, initially called Elbit Computers, was a joint venture with the Israel's Ministry of Defence and Elron (each holding 50% of the company). The company launched its first product in 1967 the Elbit-100 minicomputer.[3][4] The company evolved through the years to become the multinational defence electronics company – Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ELBT).[2]
Founding Elscint
In 1969, Uzia convinced a talented engineer, Avraham Suhami, who just completed his PhD at the Technion, to join him and start a new company that will focus on the development of medical and scientific solutions[buzzword], a new company – Elscint, a contraction of the words "electronic" and "scientific", was established again with the support of Dan Tolkowsky. The company developed medical imaging equipment, such as MRI and CT scanners. In 1972 Elscint was the first Israeli company to have an initial public offering on NASDAQ. By 1996, Elscint's revenues reached $311 million.[5]
Growth during the 1980s and 1990s
In 1981 Elron was involved in the establishment of a company that will later become Orbotech (Nasdaq: ORBK) a manufacturer of equipment for the Printed Circuit Board (PCB), TFT& LCD Display assembly industries.[6]
Elbit – which focused on communications activities and in 1999 led the consortium that founded Partner Communications Company Ltd., Israel's first GSM operator Nasdaq: PTNR. In 2002 Elbit was merged into Elron. Elron sold its shares in Partner during 2003–2006 for approximately $160 million.
During the 2000s, Elron started operating less as holding company and moved to act more as a venture capital fund, jointly investing in numerous start-up companies and realizing the investment by selling the companies or conducting an initial public offering. Notable investments and investment exits include:
Elron Software – a provider of spam, email and web filtering solutions[buzzword], sold to Zix Corp.[9]
SELA Semiconductor Engineering Laboratories – a provider of automated sample preparation tools for semiconductor manufacturers, sold to Camtek Intelligent Imaging.[11]
Medingo – developer of a micro pump insulin delivery system consists of two parts: a semi-disposable insulin dispensing patch and a remote control, which allows for discreet personalised insulin delivery. The company was sold to Hoffmann-La Roche's subsidiary Roche Diagnostics for $160 million, as well as up to $40 million in milestone payments.[13]
Safend – a leading provider of endpoint data protection solutions[buzzword] was sold to Wave Systems.[14]
Wavion – a provider of outdoor Wi-Fi applications for metro and rural areas, acquired by Alvarion.[15]
Current holdings
In 2012, Elron celebrated its 50th anniversary and announced that it is refocusing solely on Medical Devices investment. As of 2013, it has holding in 7 companies in this market, including:
Given Imaging – a developer of a video capsule for medical diagnostics
Brainsgate – a medical device company developing a novel treatment modality, electrical SPG stimulation
Pocared – a developer of a real-time, fully automated laboratory system for the microbiology market
^"Israel produces commercial computer". Canada Commerce. Vol. 128. Further text: search book for "aimed at that section". 1967. p. 32.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
FOREIGN COMPUTER CAPABILITIES | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov). p. 6. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2019-03-21. Israel's only commercial computer company, Elbit computers in Haifa, has produced a few models of specialized computers and a small general purpose model called the Elbit-100. Fifty or so of the Elbit-100 computers have been sold, mostly in Europe.
^Shelah, Shmulik (2009-06-22). "Microsoft confirms 3DV acquisition". Globes. Tel Aviv: Globes Publisher Itonut. Archived from the original on 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-06-23. [Microsoft corporate vice president of Israel Research & Development Moshe Lichtman] said, for the first time officially, that "the R&D center helped Microsoft in buying the intellectual property of 3DV Systems, and in the wake of that dozens of the company's employees were recruited to work at the development center."Alt URLArchived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
