Waze
Israeli crowd-sourced navigation app co-founded by Uri Levine, who began as an IDF software developer; bought by Google for about $1.1bn in 2013
| Waze
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Subsidiary of Google |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder(s) | Uri Levine, Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar |
| Headquarters | Ra'anana, Israel |
| Industry | Navigation software |
| Parent | Google (from 2013) |
Waze is a navigation application, developed in Israel, whose users share information on traffic, accidents and police in real time. Ynet reported in June 2013 that Google had bought the Ra'anana-based company for $1.1 billion, "the most expensive application acquisition in history", and named its founders as Uri Levine, Ehud Shabtai and Amir Shinar, with Noam Bardin as chief executive.[1] TechCrunch reported the same figure from a source, saying $1.03 billion would go to the company and its shareholders and a further $100 million to employees.[2]
Founders and the IDF
The Israel Defense Forces' own website features Uri Levine in a series on "Startup Soldiers". It says he "started as a developer in the IDF" and "chose to go beyond his required length of service, serving for five years instead of three", and that "After his release from the military, he applied the ingenuity he developed in the IDF to become an entrepreneur."[3] The source does not name his unit, and the military service of the other founders is not covered here.
See also
- Mirabilis
- Israel Defense Forces
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ Reuters, It's official: Google buys Waze for $1.1B, Ynetnews, 11 June 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Ingrid Lunden, Google Bought Waze For $1.1B, Giving A Social Data Boost To Its Mapping Business, TechCrunch, 11 June 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ IDF Editorial Team, Startup Soldiers: From the IDF to High-Tech Success, Israel Defense Forces, 25 June 2013, accessed 21 October 2026.