The three-day Techcrunch 50 Conference opened in San Francisco yesterday. 50 Internet companies selected by Techcrunch will present their wares to consumers, large companies, and potential investors. Six of the companies are Israeli. The winning start-up picked by the panel of judges will win a $50,000 prize.
In addition to these 50 companies, other companies, which failed to make the final cut will have an opportunity to demonstrate their products or services. One of these companies is iamnews, founded by Nir Ofir, the former editor-in-chief of Tapuz People Ltd. (TASE:TPUZ) and a founder of BlogTV. iamnews will launch its website at the conference. The company enables anyone to create news tasks, invite correspondents from all over the world to participate in the task by sending pictures, video clips, investigations, and articles in real-time. The task creator is able to collate the information and write an article as if he has a personal global news desk.
Ofir said, "The amount of information makes it difficult for news groups to filter and use the information, and there is no quick or effective way to verify the accuracy and reputation of the correspondents." He created the news platform "to enable anyone to be a part of the creation of media and to interact with the media with the aim of creating a global newsroom."
Ofir says that he does not compete against the media groups, but invites them to listen to and connect directly with it, thereby becoming an active part of the news chain.
Based in Tel Aviv, iamnews has three employees. Yossi Vardi provided initial financing, and the company is now holding a new financing round. Users must register to use the site, whose service is provided for free.
The six Israeli start-ups at Techcrunch 50 are Alfabetic Ltd., Bojam Ltd., Devunity Ltd., Mytopia, Playce, and Tweegee Holdings Ltd.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 9, 2008
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