It’s the time of year, when Red Herring announces its picks for the new up-and-coming tech giants. Yet again, the number of Israeli firms are disproportionate to other countries.

Examples abound. In the North America category, the winner is Contendo, which provides internet acceleration software. Barely in existence for two years and with its HQ in sunny California, the founders and development are very much centered in the Holy Land.

In the European category, 8 of the top 100 firms selected are Israeli. I was particularly impressed by TaKaDu, when I saw it demonstrated last year. The software offers local authorities a simple and effective method to monitor water loss, thus saving millions in costs and wastage of a valuable resource. 

Red Herring is not the only media watching Israeli companies. This weekend, I was reading the latest edition of Fast Company, which ran a special focus on WeCU. Based in Caesarea, this small outfit has developed a software-hardware-behaviour science combine, which detects intent. Applicable when handling airport security or workplace sensitivities, this proven approach does not require any physical or spoken contact with the “target”.

I know that the tech was evaluated by one of the arms of the American military, which unofficially indicated that WeCU are ahead of their competitors in the field. The company is currently completing another round of field trials.

CNBC has recently focused on creative companies. Three of the 25 named are from Israel. Of these, a biz dev colleague told me that he was exceptionally impressed by the skills of BriefCam, and he has taken them in to the UK market.

I have covered here homeland security, cleantech, internet, video surveillance, and more. On Friday, I had a long conversation with a Danish lecturer on renewal and change. He asked what Israeli culture possesses that allows for so much innovation. The answer is not straight forward. Whatever the analysis, the international community will continue to focus on Israel, when discussing new technologies.