Japanese Buyer Acquires Assets of Defunct Israeli Tech Pioneer CoreTigo for $350K
Israeli high-tech firm CoreTigo has sold its assets to a Japanese buyer for $350,000 following insolvency. The deal encompasses 34 patents and software code, securing resolution for the defunct wireless technology pioneer.
CoreTigo, a pioneering Israeli high-tech firm backed by investors including Amazon, Qualcomm, and Lenovo, has reached an agreement to sell its assets to a Japanese buyer for $350,000 following a protracted insolvency process. The liquidation highlights the acute challenges of realizing value from defunct technology companies lacking an active development team.
Founded in 2017 in Netanya by Eran Zigman and Ofer Blonsky, CoreTigo developed advanced wireless communication technology for industrial machinery based on the IO-Link Wireless standard, raising approximately $45 million over its lifetime. However, the company struggled to scale its sales and reduced its workforce from 60 to 24 employees. The crisis escalated when German sensor giant SICK AG, responsible for roughly half of CoreTigo's revenues, repeatedly delayed orders throughout 2025 amid a slump in the German automotive sector. Despite a $1 million bridge loan from Bank Hapoalim, SICK ultimately announced in December 2025 that it could not fulfill its commitments, prompting CoreTigo to freeze operations.
In January 2026, the company filed for insolvency through attorneys Pini Yaniv and Barak Ben-Aria from the Meitar law firm. On February 4, Judge Hanna Kitsis, Vice President of the Lod District Court, ordered the liquidation and appointed Adv. Gil Efrati as trustee. Efrati faced the formidable task of monetizing intellectual property, 34 patents, and software code without an active engineering team. After public tenders yielded only nominal offers for office equipment and initial negotiations with a German entity collapsed, Efrati pivoted to securing control over digital assets with the aid of infrastructure provider ELPC.
Following renewed negotiations, Tokyo-based Aeterlink Corp submitted a preliminary offer of $250,000 for CoreTigo's assets. Efrati rejected the bid, successfully negotiating a 40% increase to $350,000. On October 20, the Japanese buyer signed the purchase agreement encompassing the technology, 34 patents and patent applications, software code, inventory, and the CoreTigo brand reputation, purchased on an as-is basis without ongoing technical support. Judge Hanna Kitsis and the Israel Innovation Authority swiftly approved the transaction on October 22, enabling proceeds to be funneled into the liquidation fund to settle creditor claims.
