TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- During its meeting on December 13, 2021, held via video conference, the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation approved $8 million in funding for nine new projects between U.S. and Israeli companies. In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of all projects to $22 million.

The BIRD Foundation promotes collaborations between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological sectors for joint product development.  In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million (up to $1.5m for exceptional projects), the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.

Projects submitted to the BIRD Foundation are reviewed by evaluators appointed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Israel Innovation Authority.

The nine projects approved by the Board of Governors are in addition to the more than 1000 projects that the BIRD Foundation has approved for funding during its 44-year history. To date, BIRD's total investment in joint projects is over $370 million, helping to generate direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.

The projects approved include:

• Civan Lasers (Jerusalem, Israel) and AMET, Inc. (Rexburg, ID) to develop an Advanced Laser Welding System based on Dynamic Beam Laser.
• TempraMed Israel (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Concept Group Corporation (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) to develop thermal insulation to shield the EpiPen Auto-Injector from exposure to high temperatures that can degrade the drug performance. 
• Cordio Medical (Or Yehuda, Israel) and International Healthcare (Norwalk, CT) to develop and validate the HearO® system that remotely monitors Congestive Heart Failure patients.
• Mego Afek (Kibbutz Afek, Israel) and Edamame Health (Napa, CA) to develop a Lymphedema remote patient monitoring system.
• Kav-Medida (Herzliya, Israel) and Skycatch (San Francisco, CA) to develop a high precision indoor scanning and analytics system to monitor progress in real time throughout all phases of construction.
• Sixgill (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Basis Technology Corporation (Somerville, MA) to develop AI-based technologies, based on natural language processing, to identify emerging and imminent cyber threats.
• Agridrones (Kfar Saba, Israel) and ISCA Technologies (Riverside, CA) to develop an intelligent drone-fitted precision dispersion system for natural pesticides and pollination enhancement products.
• HIL Applied Medical Proton International (Jerusalem, Israel) and Proton International (Alpharetta, GA) to develop ultra-compact, affordable proton laser based beam therapy.
• SirT6 (Ness Ziona, Israel) and Regulus Therapeutics (San Diego, CA) to develop an innovative treatment for geriatric frailty based on increasing SIRT6 protein levels.

Ms. Mojdeh Bahar, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and co-Chair of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "The BIRD Foundation promotes cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies who possess strong technical capabilities and market insights. We are excited about the potential impact of this cycle's selected proposals on industries of strategic importance to both Israel and the United States. With technologies ranging from cybersecurity to smart medical devices and innovative therapeutics, from improvements to industrial manufacturing and fabrication applications to cost-savings in agriculture, the proposals outline plans for the development of unique products solving complex problems. I join my colleagues in congratulating this cycle's awardees. "

Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, and co-Chair of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "Our long-standing collaboration with the BIRD Foundation has yielded outstanding technological innovations following successful collaborations between Israeli and American companies. We are proud that, once again, the BIRD Board of Governors has selected projects reflecting a variety of sectors such as agriculture, medicine, cybersecurity, and construction technology. We are hopeful that projects supported by BIRD, if successful, will improve the health and quality of life for citizens of both countries and beyond. We wish the awarded companies much success and look forward to seeing them achieve successful outcomes."

Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, said: "The selected projects include breakthrough innovations that will benefit from both the U.S.-Israel partnerships and the risk-sharing funding mechanism provided by the BIRD Foundation. The awards can be a significant factor for companies seeking to raise funding, especially in an environment in which investments are often focused on less risky sectors." 

The deadline for submission of Executive Summaries for the next BIRD cycle is March 1, 2022. Approval of projects will take place in June 2022.

About the BIRD Foundation

The BIRD (Binational Industrial Research and Development) Foundation works to encourage and facilitate cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies in a wide range of technology sectors and offers funding to selected projects.

The Foundation supports projects without receiving any equity or intellectual property rights in the participating companies or the projects, themselves. BIRD funding is repaid as royalties from sales of products that were commercialized as a result of BIRD support. The Foundation provides funding 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 require repayment if the project fails to reach the sales stage.

Contact information:

Limor Nakar-Vincent
Deputy Executive Director of Business Development & BIRD Energy
BIRD Foundation
limorn@birdf.com 
Tel.: +972-3- 6988-315

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SOURCE The BIRD Foundation