Israeli firm SightBit named Etan Hadaya its CEO. The company uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to prevent drowning.
Etan, who moved to Israel in January after managing an international corporation in Hong Kong, has led technology, communications, and life sciences enterprises in Europe, Latin America, and the Far East.
His master’s degree in business administration and organizational psychology makes him an expert in company growth and worldwide expansion.
Adam Bismut (z”l), who died fighting in Gaza, founded and led SightBit. After witnessing a Dead Sea drowning, Ben-Gurion University entrepreneurship and innovation lecturer Bismut developed the company to avoid drownings.
SightBit’s clever technology monitors beaches in real time using computer vision, AI, and big data. Emergency personnel and beach managers can be notified of swimmers in distress or strong currents by the system.\
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Life-saving notifications from SightBit’s technology have been tested in Tel Aviv, Ashdod, California, Brazil, Dubai, Australia, and Canada. SightBit grows despite its painful loss. The company is in advanced talks with many beaches worldwide and will soon announce further system installations.
Etan Hadaya, the incoming CEO of SightBit, said: “I am excited to join SightBit and continue Adam’s legacy, who dedicated his life to preventing drownings. He was a true entrepreneur who created the opportunities we have today. We are well aware of the challenges ahead, but we have a determined team and believe in the enormous potential of our technology. I am committed to leading the company to growth while fulfilling the shared Israeli vision of creating technological innovation for the benefit of all, more specifically, making SightBit a world leader in water safety.
SightBit is well-positioned to achieve this ambition despite the obstacles. The third leading cause of accidental mortality globally is drowning, with over 400,000 deaths annually. Drowning kills dozens in Israel annually. For every fatal drowning, 8 non-fatal drownings occur, needing costly and lengthy medical treatment.
SightBit provides an innovative answer to the global lifeguard shortfall and the growing demand for water safety technology. The system is a complementary tool that greatly expands lifeguards’ range of activity, monitors wider coastal areas more accurately, identifies danger situations in real time, and streamlines beach management, saving more lives with better coverage. The technology allows local authorities to respond on non-guarded beaches or during lifeguard-free hours.
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By hiring top AI, ML, and CV professionals, Etan’s SightBit aims to pioneer water-saving solutions. To support its quick expansion, it will create improved risk identification and alerting capabilities, expand to other nations and continents, and seek strategic capital.
The InNegev incubator and strategic investors have invested $2 million in the startup. The InNegev incubator was founded in 2020 to boost Negev high-tech. Global investment firms and southern leaders like SodaStream and Netafim fund 13 climate-tech and deep-tech startups in the incubator. Ben-Gurion University, government R&D facilities, and other organizations work with InNegev to encourage Negev innovation and entrepreneurship. SightBit seeks investors and strategic partners to make the world safer.
Arnon Columbus, InNegev CEO: “In recent months, since Adam’s passing, we have been frantically searching for a CEO who can fill the big shoes he left behind and realize his vision of saving lives. Etan is the right person for the job. Etan’s diverse experience as an entrepreneur, senior manager, and consultant to companies in the critical stage of entering target markets around the world, combined with the Israeli spirit of innovation he brings with him, will turn the dream into a daily reality and the SightBit system into an integral part of beaches around the world.”
