Uri Levine is convinced that Google's acquisition of Israeli mobile navigation app developer Waze for $1.1 billion in 2013 inspired a wave of local startups to aim higher than ever before. Israel currently boasts around 50 unicorns, which is 10% of the world's companies that are valued at over $1 billion, and Levine believes that Waze has a lot to do with that.
"Perhaps I was the one who raised the banner that everyone else looked to," Levine told Calcalist. "What was special about Waze was that for the first time there was an Israeli application for consumers with a brand name that everyone knew. When Chromatis was sold in 2000 (acquired by Lucent for $4.8 billion) no one knew who they were and when Mercury was bought by HP in 2006 (acquired for $4.5 billion), HP's people replaced their name signs that same day because the brand was unfamiliar. The fact that Waze remains a known brand brings pride to Israel. Google led the way with the perspective that if you are buying a successful brand you shouldn't be ruining it.