Druze ed-tech startup wins NIS 300,000 investment from Sheba Medical Center initiative

A Druze education technology startup has received a NIS 300,000 investment as part of a new initiative between Sheba Medical Center and the Druze community, the medical center announced Monday.

The startup ABRID - founded by Bayan Farhat, Majd Thabit, and Seif Ibrahim - was one of five finalists to pitch their projects to a judging panel. Their company is developing an artificial intelligence platform to enhance remote and hybrid learning.

“Education, in my view, is the most critical matter in the world,” Farhat said. “Everything connects back to education, from preserving social norms and principles in everyday situations - like how to behave in public spaces, driving safely on roads - to bridging gaps between different people and cultures.”

The runner-up, Swift, is a father-daughter team that developed an energy-conserving water-heating solution. Other finalists included Preln, an AI-powered thermal scanning company with a focus on sports medicine; AgriEye, an AI solution for early detection and disease prediction in apple trees; and MultiKol, a company developing voice analytics for security and identification applications, according to a statement by Sheba.

Following a meeting between leadership representing Sheba and the Druze community in 2023, Amir Hassoun, the administration director at Sheba’s rehabilitation hospital, is leading the collaboration between the two. The initiative is in partnership with Sheba Impact, ARC Innovation, and Ofakim LaAtid, a non-profit organization founded by Lt.-Col. As’ad Subah that aims to support young Druze entrepreneurs.

Avner Halperin, the CEO of Sheba Impact, told The Jerusalem Post that the initiative is part of a bigger vision they are excited about.

“We see that health and health innovation is a driver for growth, a driver for inclusion, and kind of a bridge building between [the] periphery and center of Israel,” he said. “We also already see results—dozens and dozens of startups that are working with us together in Sderot, various entrepreneurs in East Jerusalem and Kafr Kassem, and now this Druze initiative is another very strong addition to this innovation map that we’re building.”

Five investors—who have worked with Sheba in the past - were recruited to provide funding, said Halperin. A total of NIS 1 million in prizes were awarded.

“The exciting thing here was that we really had a very quick and easy buy-in from anyone we approached,” Halperin said. “From one hand were the investors who were willing to put money in, and not just money but also mentoring and support for these entrepreneurs.”

“The opportunity to bring an underserved population into the world of innovation was very clear for us, so it’s been quite exciting,” he added. “We decided that the best way to start—after we had the investors - was to send out a request for proposals or for ideas or submissions. And we’re very impressed with the fact that quickly, with little publicity, we got more than 20 very strong innovation initiatives submitted.”

ABRID will have a few months for two developers to work on the platform, and will receive mentorship. There are many interactive and personalized learning applications, explained Farhat, but said when a student doesn’t continue or has a problem, there is a lack of human support.

“Our solution is self-learning, AI-guided learning,” he said. “At the end, when there’s support needed, a human will support the person - the teacher has all the data, where to support, and maybe what’s the reasons, and how to handle this. We want everyone to learn at the end, and enjoy the way he is learning.”

Farhat told the Post that the investment and event - which was attended by more than 100 young volunteers from Ofakim LaAtid - was amazing for him and his community.

“We need in our community such support to be part of the ecosystem of high technology in Israel and in the world,” he said.

Energy, strength, and innovation

The energy, strength, and innovation capabilities of the entrepreneurs were impressive, Halperin noted, and said it was tough to choose only five to submit and three to win.

Halperin explained the initiative is there to give an extra push, make it just slightly more likely for an entrepreneur to succeed, and to bring more people into innovation.

“When you’re part of a periphery, like the Druze society, it’s always more difficult to get access to capital,” he said. “It’s sometimes more difficult to get access to international connections and to mentors, and to be part of the network. It’s a team sport, so that’s what actually we believe we can come in and help.”