Author: Techtime

What Innoviz Reveals About Next-Generation Counter-UAS

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By Yohai Schwiger

Innoviz this week announced another partnership in the counter-unmanned aerial systems (Counter-UAS) market, this time with Israeli company AeroNous, developer of an open command-and-control (C2) platform designed to protect critical infrastructure, strategic facilities and sensitive sites. Under the agreement, Innoviz’s LiDAR technology will be integrated into AeroNous’ C2 platform to enhance real-time localization by providing highly accurate 3D positioning of aerial targets.

At first glance, this appears to be just another integration announcement. Viewed alongside the company’s recent string of partnerships, however, it points to a much broader shift in how modern Counter-UAS systems are being designed.

The AeroNous announcement follows several similar collaborations unveiled in recent weeks. Regulus is integrating Innoviz LiDAR to improve drone tracking in complex environments; Givon Defense is using it to enhance precision localization; Cogniteam has incorporated it into a new AI-powered aerial target classification module; and AeroNous is now embedding it within an open C2 platform. While these are different companies addressing different applications, the announcements repeatedly emphasize the same concepts: Localization, Perception, 3D Spatial Awareness, Classification and Situational Awareness.

Taken together, these partnerships suggest something more significant than Innoviz’s expansion into defense. They highlight the emergence of a new generation of Counter-UAS architectures.

From Single Sensors to Multi-Sensor Perception

Until only a few years ago, most counter-drone systems were built around a single primary sensor. In some cases it was radar for initial detection; in others, electro-optical cameras or RF sensors capable of identifying communication links between a drone and its operator. Once the target was detected, the system activated an appropriate jammer or interceptor.

Today’s battlefield has changed dramatically.

Small FPV drones, autonomous drones operating without RF links, drone swarms and low-altitude flight through dense urban environments have exposed the limitations of that approach. The challenge is no longer simply detecting that an object exists in the air. Modern systems must rapidly determine what the object is, precisely where it is located, where it is heading and how its trajectory is likely to evolve over the next few seconds.

As a result, Counter-UAS platforms are increasingly adopting an architecture that closely resembles autonomous driving perception systems.

Rather than relying on a single sensor, they build a sensor fusion layer that combines multiple information sources. Radar provides long-range detection and tracking; RF sensors identify communication signals when available; EO/IR cameras contribute visual identification and classification; AI algorithms correlate the incoming data; and the command-and-control system produces a unified operational picture from which engagement decisions are made.

Within this architecture, LiDAR plays a distinctly different role from the other sensors.

Across nearly every Innoviz announcement, the technology is described not primarily as a detection sensor but as a localization and perception sensor. In other words, its purpose is not simply to indicate that an aerial threat exists, but to provide the system’s spatial perception layer.

LiDAR contributes information unavailable from the other sensors: a detailed 3D point cloud of the environment, precise spatial coordinates, distance, altitude, shape and motion. This enables highly accurate localization, continuous target tracking and real-time positional updates for the C2 platform.

In Cogniteam’s implementation, for example, the point cloud also serves as the foundation for an AI module capable of distinguishing drones from birds and other airborne objects, significantly reducing false alarms.

In this sense, LiDAR is becoming the perception layer of modern Counter-UAS systems. It does not replace radar, cameras or RF sensors. Instead, it complements them by providing the spatial information upon which sensor fusion and tracking algorithms depend.

It is also noteworthy that most of Innoviz’s recent partners are not building interceptors. AeroNous, Cogniteam and Regulus focus on software layers, perception engines and command-and-control platforms. This reflects a broader shift in the industry, where competitive advantage is increasingly moving away from the interceptor itself and toward the software architecture that fuses multiple sensors into a single operational model of the airspace.

Why LiDAR? Lessons from Autonomous Driving

The comparison with autonomous vehicles is difficult to ignore.

The automotive industry reached a similar conclusion years ago: no single sensor can safely perceive the surrounding environment. Radar excels at measuring range and velocity but provides limited shape information. Cameras deliver rich visual context but depend heavily on lighting conditions. LiDAR adds precise three-dimensional mapping. Sensor fusion combines all of these inputs into a unified representation of the world, enabling autonomous driving decisions.

Counter-UAS systems are now following a remarkably similar path.

The difference is that, instead of detecting pedestrians and vehicles, they must identify small, fast and often autonomous drones navigating among trees, buildings and power lines. Here too, success depends on maintaining an accurate, continuously updated 3D representation of the environment.

This may also explain why Innoviz’s technology appears particularly well suited to these applications.

For more than a decade, the company developed its LiDAR platform for one of the world’s most demanding perception challenges: autonomous driving. Beyond the optical hardware itself, Innoviz built an extensive software stack that includes firmware, signal processing, point cloud processing, perception algorithms and object-level data generation.

Rather than outputting millions of raw laser points, the system can produce structured object data—including position, velocity and direction—ready for integration into higher-level command-and-control software.

The hardware itself offers additional advantages. Automotive-grade LiDAR must operate continuously under harsh environmental conditions while maintaining high reliability, low power consumption and resistance to vibration and temperature extremes—qualities equally valuable in military applications.

Ultimately, Innoviz’s recent partnerships reveal less about the LiDAR market than about the future direction of Counter-UAS technology.

The next generation of systems is no longer being built around a single sensor or a single interceptor. Instead, it relies on a multi-sensor perception architecture in which each component contributes a different layer of information to a unified operational picture.

If the previous objective was simply to detect a drone, the new objective is to construct an accurate, continuously updated three-dimensional model of the airspace—and LiDAR is rapidly becoming one of the key building blocks of that architecture.

CEVA Enters a New Market: Software Companies Designing Their Own AI Chips

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Photo above: CEVA CEO Amir Panush. Photo: Netti Levy.

Israeli semiconductor IP company CEVA has signed a strategic AI licensing agreement with a major U.S. software and AI platform company that is developing its own custom AI processor. Under the agreement, CEVA’s NeuPro-M neural processing technology will be integrated into a custom AI chip designed for intelligent computing devices.

CEVA described the deal as strategically significant because it expands the company’s addressable market beyond traditional semiconductor vendors and OEMs to include software platform companies.

The agreement reflects a broader industry trend in which software and AI platform providers—including Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic—are increasingly designing proprietary silicon to optimize AI performance, improve energy efficiency, and better integrate hardware with their software stacks.

“This is one of the world’s leading software and AI platform companies,” said CEVA CEO Amir Panush. “Its decision to build an AI processor based on NeuPro-M reflects the industry’s shift toward AI-centric computing architectures. As AI workloads become increasingly distributed between the cloud and edge devices, platform companies need to optimize the entire technology stack—from silicon and software to operating systems and user experience. This represents one of the most strategically important AI licensing agreements in CEVA’s history.”

CEVA’s NeuPro family of neural processing units (NPUs) is designed to accelerate AI inference across a wide range of applications, from ultra-low-power embedded systems to high-performance computing platforms. According to the company, the architecture can deliver up to 3,500 tokens per second per watt when running large language models such as Llama 2 and Llama 3.2 with more than one billion parameters.

The customer will use the NeuPro-M architecture to accelerate AI inference directly on edge devices. The jointly developed processor is intended to support generative AI, multimodal AI, and agentic AI applications, enabling advanced AI capabilities to run efficiently on custom silicon. As part of the collaboration, CEVA worked closely with the customer to optimize neural networks specifically for the company’s AI workloads.

The deal also highlights a structural shift taking place across the semiconductor industry. Increasingly, companies whose core business has traditionally been software are investing in custom chip development, seeking tighter integration between hardware and software while reducing dependence on off-the-shelf processors. For IP suppliers such as CEVA, this emerging customer base represents a new growth opportunity beyond the company’s traditional markets.

Innoviz Appoints Former Rafael CEO Yoav Har-Even to Its Board of Directors

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By Yohai Schwiger

Innoviz Technologies has appointed Yoav Har-Even to its Board of Directors. Har-Even replaces James Sheridan, who stepped down after Perception Capital Partners’ right to appoint a representative to the board expired.

According to the company, Har-Even’s extensive experience in defense, autonomous systems, and business development will help accelerate Innoviz’s expansion into the defense and homeland security markets. Chairman Amichai Steinberg described these sectors as one of the company’s key strategic growth engines for the coming years.

Har-Even is widely regarded as one of Israel’s leading defense industry executives. He served as President and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems from 2016 to 2024, overseeing the company’s international expansion and the development and commercialization of advanced defense systems, including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Trophy active protection system. Prior to Rafael, he served for decades in the Israel Defense Forces, retiring with the rank of Major General after holding several senior positions, including Head of the Operations Directorate.

Since leaving Rafael, Har-Even has expanded his business activities. He was appointed CEO of energy company PowerGen Energy, joined the advisory board of Ondas Autonomous Systems—a defense technology holding company that has recently completed several acquisitions in Israel—and, in early 2026, became Chairman of the Board of Sindiana Technologies. With his appointment to Innoviz, he adds another strategic board role to his portfolio.

The appointment comes as Innoviz is actively expanding beyond its traditional automotive business. For years, the company was identified almost exclusively with the automotive LiDAR market. Over the past year, however, it has been building a second growth engine focused on defense, perimeter security, and the protection of critical infrastructure.

A major milestone in that strategy was the launch of InnovizSMART, a version of the company’s LiDAR technology tailored for defense, perimeter security, and infrastructure protection applications. Innoviz has since announced its first commercial partnerships in the sector, including an agreement with Israeli defense technology company Kela, which develops AI-powered operational systems, as well as a collaboration with the Drive Group on the Barak LightGuard platform for border security and critical infrastructure protection. Under that agreement, Drive placed an initial purchase order and set a sales target of approximately $20 million by the end of 2027.

Against this backdrop, Har-Even’s appointment appears to be part of a broader strategic shift rather than an isolated governance change. Beyond his executive experience, he brings deep familiarity with defense procurement processes, government customers, and global defense markets. For Innoviz, his addition further strengthens the board in line with the company’s evolving strategic direction.

What Does the Appointment of a Director Actually Mean?

Announcements of board appointments are common, yet their significance is often overlooked. A director is not involved in a company’s day-to-day operations or routine management decisions. Instead, the board is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction, overseeing management, approving major corporate decisions, and contributing experience, industry expertise, and valuable business relationships. As a result, companies often recruit former CEOs, senior industry executives, investors, or recognized experts in areas they view as strategic priorities.

Board appointments can also signal where a company is heading. When a semiconductor company appoints a manufacturing expert—or when an autonomous vehicle technology company recruits the former CEO of one of the world’s leading defense contractors—the message may extend well beyond corporate governance. From the candidate’s perspective, joining a board is rarely a casual decision. While it is a non-executive role, it carries legal responsibilities and reputational risk, making such appointments a meaningful indication of confidence in the company’s long-term strategy.

Photo: Yoav Har-Even

Eco Wave Power Raises Capital at a Premium, but the Road from Pilot Projects to the Energy Industry Remains Long

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By Yohai Schwiger

Eco Wave Power, the Israeli company developing wave energy technology, this week announced a $4 million private placement with an institutional investor. In an unusual move, the offering was priced at $10 per ADS, representing a 10.7% premium to the Nasdaq closing price. The investor also received warrants exercisable at $12 per ADS, approximately 33% above the market price.

The timing is no coincidence. Eco Wave Power’s shares have gained roughly 54% since the beginning of the year, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $53 million. In effect, the company took advantage of the strong share performance to strengthen its balance sheet under relatively favorable terms, avoiding the discounts that typically accompany capital raises by small public companies.

According to the company, the proceeds will be used to expand commercial operations and advance a broader strategic vision: positioning wave energy as an “energy layer” for AI infrastructure and data centers. However, a closer look at the company’s 2025 annual report paints a more nuanced picture, illustrating how far it still has to go before translating technological promise into meaningful commercial business.

Eco Wave Power has developed a system that installs floating devices on existing breakwaters, piers, and coastal structures. The movement of ocean waves drives a hydraulic mechanism connected to a generator, producing electricity without the need for large offshore installations. According to the company, leveraging existing coastal infrastructure significantly reduces both construction and maintenance costs compared with conventional offshore wave-energy systems.

Commercially, however, the gap between vision and reality remains substantial. The company’s annual report shows 2025 revenue of just $38,000, down from $168,000 in the previous year. Net loss totaled approximately $3.7 million, while operating cash flow was negative by roughly $3 million. At year-end, Eco Wave Power held approximately $6 million in cash, meaning the latest financing adds another $4 million to its balance sheet—improving its financial position, but falling well short of funding large-scale commercial deployment.

The financial figures also raise an interesting question about the company’s pace of progress. On one hand, annual cash burn of roughly $3 million is relatively modest for an energy infrastructure company, suggesting a lean operating model focused on technology development and partnerships, while major capital investments are expected to come later or be financed by project partners. On the other hand, it may also indicate that the company has yet to reach the stage where significant investments are required to build commercial power facilities. After nearly two decades of development, this remains one of the key questions raised by the annual report: do the relatively low expenditures reflect operational efficiency, or simply the fact that commercialization is still advancing slowly?

A similar gap is evident in the company’s project pipeline. Eco Wave Power reports a portfolio totaling 404.7 megawatts, yet the annual report makes clear that most of these projects consist of preliminary agreements, memoranda of understanding, and development initiatives rather than binding customer orders or revenue-generating facilities.

In practice, the number of active projects is far smaller. The demonstration plant in Jaffa, connected to Israel’s power grid since 2023, continues to serve primarily as a testing and development platform. In the United States, the company launched a pilot project at the Port of Los Angeles in 2025 together with AltaSea and Shell Marine Renewable Energy, but this, too, remains a demonstration site intended to validate the technology rather than a commercial-scale power plant.

The company’s most significant milestone lies in Portugal, where its first commercial project is planned. Yet the timeline itself illustrates the challenges of moving from pilot projects to commercialization. The original concession agreement was signed in 2020, grid connection approval was received in 2021, and only in March 2024 did the company obtain the regulatory license allowing the project to move forward. Even today, the facility has yet to begin generating electricity, while the annual report notes that damage to the site’s breakwater could further delay progress.

Over the past year, Eco Wave Power has also sought to align itself with the artificial intelligence boom. The company introduced its WaveGPT initiative, partnered with researchers at U.S. universities, joined the NVIDIA Inception program, and was featured on NVIDIA’s official blog for its use of digital twins and AI tools to optimize energy facility management.

Here, too, however, it is important to distinguish between technological capability and marketing narrative. WaveGPT does not alter the company’s method of electricity generation. Instead, it is designed to improve plant operations through data analytics, predictive maintenance, simulation, and performance optimization. These capabilities could become valuable once dozens or hundreds of facilities are in operation, but they do not address the company’s primary challenge: deploying commercial-scale power plants.

Eco Wave Power has also positioned itself as a potential energy supplier for data centers—one of today’s fastest-growing infrastructure markets due to the rapid expansion of AI. Yet a fundamental question remains. The company’s existing installations operate at capacities ranging from several hundred kilowatts to only a few megawatts, while modern data centers typically require tens or even hundreds of megawatts. Even if the technology proves commercially viable, it is therefore likely to serve as a complementary energy source alongside the electrical grid, natural gas, solar, or wind power, rather than as a primary power solution for AI infrastructure.

Ultimately, Eco Wave Power’s annual report presents a company with an intriguing engineering concept, growing international recognition, and genuine technological potential—but one that is still searching for its commercial breakthrough. After more than a decade of development, the central question is no longer whether electricity can be generated from ocean waves, but whether it can be produced at commercial scale, at competitive cost, and at the speed required by a rapidly evolving global energy market. For now, the company’s financial results suggest that answer has yet to emerge.

XTEND Advances to Next Stage of Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Initiative

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By Yohai Schwiger

Israeli drone technology company XTEND has advanced to Gauntlet II of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Drone Dominance program after being selected as one of just 19 companies from an initial field of 49 participants. During the next phase, scheduled for August at Fort Carson, Colorado, the company will demonstrate its STRIKER drone system while proving its ability to manufacture and deliver operational systems at industrial scale—a critical milestone toward participating in one of the Pentagon’s most ambitious drone procurement efforts.

The announcement, however, represents more than another achievement for XTEND. Drone Dominance provides a window into how the U.S. military is reshaping its approach to drone acquisition. Drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Pentagon is rebuilding America’s drone industrial base around a new principle: battlefield advantage depends not only on superior technology, but also on the ability to produce it rapidly and in large quantities.

Not Another Development Program—A Manufacturing Revolution

For years, the United States relied on sophisticated and expensive unmanned systems developed over lengthy, multi-year programs costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Recent conflicts have demonstrated that this model no longer matches the pace of modern warfare.

Small, inexpensive drones have become among the most influential weapons on today’s battlefield. They are affordable, easy to operate, rapidly upgradeable, and can be manufactured in volumes far beyond those of traditional weapon systems.

Against this backdrop, the Department of Defense launched Drone Dominance, an initiative designed to rapidly identify promising companies, evaluate their technologies, and transition them into military suppliers within months rather than years. The program is estimated to be worth roughly $1 billion and is expected to lead to procurement of tens of thousands of drones over the coming years.

Unlike traditional defense competitions, the Pentagon is no longer selecting only the best-performing drone. Participants must also demonstrate rapid manufacturing capability, resilient supply chains, scalable serial production, and the ability to evolve from innovative startups into reliable industrial suppliers.

A Test of Industry, Not Just Technology

The program’s first phase took place at Camp Grayling, Michigan, where the U.S. Army evaluated drone performance across a range of operational scenarios during both day and night.

The 19 companies advancing to Gauntlet II now face a fundamentally different challenge. Rather than showcasing prototypes, they must prove that their systems are ready for mass production, can be delivered quickly and at scale, and meet the demanding standards of the U.S. defense supply chain.

In effect, this is a test of industrial capability as much as technological innovation.

The Finalists Tell the Story

The shortlist combines established defense contractors with a new generation of drone companies. Alongside well-known names such as AeroVironment, Kratos, and Teal Drones are younger firms including Neros, Ascent AeroSystems, Ukraine’s General Cherry, and Israel’s XTEND.

The composition of the finalists reflects a broader shift in Pentagon thinking. Rather than relying primarily on traditional defense primes, the Department of Defense is increasingly looking to companies specializing in tactical drones, autonomy, and technologies developed at the pace demanded by rapidly evolving battlefields.

It is also notable that although the initiative aims to strengthen America’s domestic manufacturing base, several of the selected technologies originate abroad. XTEND is the only Israeli company to reach Gauntlet II, joined by firms with Ukrainian and European roots. The message is clear: the Pentagon wants manufacturing to take place in the United States but is willing to source innovation from anywhere in the world.

Lessons From Recent Battlefields

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine served as the primary catalyst for the Pentagon’s strategic shift. The conflict demonstrated how inexpensive FPV drones, produced in the thousands, could reshape the battlefield and inflict significant damage even on forces equipped with advanced and costly weapons.

More recently, the confrontation with Iran highlighted another critical challenge. Large-scale drone and missile attacks forced the United States and its allies to employ interceptors costing hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars apiece. Beyond their high cost, these conflicts exposed how quickly interceptor inventories can be depleted while replacement production remains comparatively slow.

As a result, the Pentagon is seeking not only more capable drones but also platforms that can be manufactured rapidly, at scale, and at relatively low cost. The emphasis is shifting toward serial production, autonomy, resilience against electronic warfare, and the ability to replenish depleted inventories quickly.

For XTEND, advancing to Gauntlet II represents more than another technological milestone. The company already supplies systems to U.S. defense organizations, but Drone Dominance could position it within a much broader effort to build the next generation of drone suppliers for the U.S. military.

More broadly, the program illustrates a profound shift in American defense strategy: in the age of drones, military superiority is measured not only by the performance of individual systems, but also by the industrial capacity to manufacture thousands of them rapidly, affordably, and at the pace demanded by modern attritional warfare.

Phinergy Prepares for Mass Production of Aluminum-Air Backup Generators

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By Yohai Schwiger

Shares of Phinergy rose about 8% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today (as of 1:00 p.m.) after the company announced the signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding with a U.S.-based global manufacturing and assembly company, paving the way for mass production of its aluminum-air backup power systems for data centers.

While Phinergy did not disclose the identity of its manufacturing partner, it said the company generates billions of dollars in annual revenue and ranks among the world’s leading providers of advanced manufacturing and supply chain services. Under the agreement, Phinergy plans to begin production at a capacity of approximately 300 megawatts per year—equivalent, according to the company, to roughly $300 million in annual sales—before expanding to multiple gigawatts annually.

Phinergy develops aluminum-air generators designed to replace diesel generators as backup power systems for data centers and other critical infrastructure. The technology generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between aluminum plates and oxygen from the air, eliminating on-site combustion and emissions. According to the company, the systems can provide backup power for several days, with operating time extended simply by replacing the aluminum plates.

Under the agreement, Phinergy will continue manufacturing its proprietary core components, which contain the company’s key intellectual property, while the U.S. partner will be responsible for final system assembly during high-volume production. The model mirrors the manufacturing strategy adopted by many hardware companies, enabling rapid production scaling without the need to build large, capital-intensive manufacturing facilities.

Although the company has not identified its partner, its description suggests it could be one of the world’s major contract manufacturers, such as Jabil, Flex, or Sanmina, all of which specialize in producing complex systems for the data center, energy, and electronics industries.

The announcement aligns with Phinergy’s broader strategic shift toward the rapidly growing data center market, fueled by the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence. Last year, the company’s aluminum-air technology was selected to participate in a validation project led by the Net Zero Innovation Hub consortium, whose members include Google and Microsoft, to evaluate next-generation backup power solutions for data centers.

Should the validation program lead to commercial deployments, manufacturing capacity is expected to become a decisive competitive advantage. The new memorandum of understanding is intended to address precisely that challenge—not only proving that the technology works, but demonstrating that it can be manufactured at the scale of hundreds of megawatts, and eventually multiple gigawatts per year, as required by the world’s largest data center operators.

D-Fend Adds Complementary Drone Technology to Motorola’s Portfolio

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Motorola Solutions’ acquisition of D-Fend Solutions, headquartered in Ra’anana, Israel, is part of a broader strategy to build a comprehensive portfolio of communications and counter-drone technologies for military, public safety and enterprise applications. Last August, Motorola acquired U.S.-based Silvus Technologies for approximately $4.4 billion. Silvus develops broadband wireless networking technology and is a leading supplier of tactical communication networks used to operate unmanned aerial systems.

Once the D-Fend acquisition is completed, Motorola will Motorola will combine two highly complementary technologies for the drone market. Silvus provides resilient, secure wireless networking for the operation of military drones, while D-Fend offers technology for the safe detection, identification and controlled takeover of unauthorized drones. In Motorola’s investor presentation, the company identifies the primary market for Silvus as military applications, while positioning D-Fend mainly in the enterprise and public safety sectors. However, given the rapid evolution of drone warfare, that distinction may ultimately become less clear.

Taking Control Through Cyber Technology

Founded in 2017 by CEO Zohar Halachmi, CTO Asaf Munster, and Chief Product Officer Yaniv Benbenishti, D-Fend operates in the Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) market. The company developed a counter-drone solution that relies on cyber technology instead of the traditional RF jamming or GPS spoofing.

Its approach is based on passive monitoring of RF signals and signal analysis techniques derived from the cybersecurity domain. Once the system detects the RF link, it decodes the drone’s communication protocol and telemetry data. From this information, it extracts critical details such as the drone’s identity, classification, precise location, and even the location of its operator.

D-Fend’s EnforceAir system can also operate actively by taking control of an unauthorized drone and neutralizing it through cyber (protocol-level) control, without the need for kinetic measures or physical interception.

In 2024, the company’s technology received a significant validation when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially approved that its counter-drone system is safe for use at civilian airports. The technology has since been deployed operationally and is now used by government agencies, public safety organizations, and commercial customers.

According to the company, its systems have been deployed in several thousand installations across more than 30 countries. Over the past three years, D-Fend has achieved annual revenue growth of approximately 50%, and is expected to generate approximately $185 million in revenue in 2026. The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026.