In a recent post, I described why how and why the Israeli economy is still advancing its strengths in human capital. The concept of the ‘start up nation’ is still very much in play. This week, we have seen three examples of that innovation come to the fore.

The big news is Oracle’s purchase of Ravello for a suggested US$500 million. Behind the numbers, what is important to recall is that the founders of Ravello, Rami Tamir and Benny Schneider, have five previous exits between them to their names. The total value of these deals is estimated at around at over US$600 million during the period 1999 to 2012.

What makes them special? They learnt at the Technion University in Haifa. They are known to be great team players. They are known to be open to critique. They do not claim to have all the answers but look to push the boundaries in the quest to discover more.

A secondary item has featured Nadav Tsafir, former head of the Israeli army’s legendary 8200 unit. His Team 8 Group has already raised US$18 million to sink into local cyber technology. They have just added a further US$23 million to their war chest. The backers include AT&T, Nokia, and finance houses from Japan and Singapore. Not bad for a company that has barely been around for 18 months.

And then there is the little known company called Lightricks from Jerusalem. Somewhat under the radar of press, they have developed two leading applications, Facetune and Enlight, among the most successful paid apps in the world. Three years on and they are looking to recruit a further 40 developers, even offering to pay US$25,000 if people will relocate to Jerusalem.

Whose next? Difficult to say. Last week, I met with one most creative lady in Jerusalem who came up with a brilliant, while skiing down a slope in Italy. Watch this space!