Two billion-dollar consumer exits: Waze ($1.15B to Google, 2013) and Moovit ($900M to Intel, 2020). The only Israeli "duocorn." Unit 8200. TAU. The Founders Kitchen.
The Builders | Olam.business
Uri Levine is the only Israeli entrepreneur with two billion-dollar consumer exits — Waze (a reported $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion to Google, June 2013) and Moovit ($900 million to Intel, May 2020). Since Waze, he has founded, chaired, or invested in more than a dozen startups, most through his company-builder platform The Founders Kitchen, and has become one of the most in-demand speakers on entrepreneurship globally following his 2023 book Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.
At a Glance
| Born | February 1965, Israel |
|---|---|
| Education | BA, Tel Aviv University |
| Military service | IDF Unit 8200, before university |
| Waze | Co-founded with Ehud Shabtai and Amir Shinar (founding year reported as 2006, 2007 or 2009 depending on the source); CEO 2008–2009, then president; owned by Google since June 2013 |
| Moovit | First board member and investor; later chairman; sold to Intel, folded into Mobileye, for about $900 million, May 2020 |
| Current platform | The Founders Kitchen — company-builder fund; chairman or board member across 20+ startups including Pontera (formerly FeeX), FairFly, Refundit, SeeTree, Fibo |
| Book | Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution (2023) — codifies his entrepreneurial methodology |
| Other roles | Board of trustees, Tel Aviv University; independent board member, Infosys; Forbes contributing columnist; teaches "Building Unicorns" workshop at IE University |
Two Unicorns, One Playbook
Levine co-founded Waze with Ehud Shabtai and Amir Shinar, serving as CEO through 2008 and 2009 and then as president as the company scaled. The app grew to roughly 50 million users before Google acquired it in June 2013 for a reported $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. Google retained the Waze brand, its Israeli R&D team, and its community-sourced mapping model; the product now has more than 750 million cumulative global users.
After Waze, Levine became the first board member and investor in Moovit, often described as "the Waze for public transportation." Moovit scaled to more than 800 million users in 3,100 cities across 102 countries, according to Intel's 2020 announcement, before Intel acquired it for about $900 million in May 2020, folding it into Intel's Mobileye autonomous-driving division under Amnon Shashua. The underlying pattern was the same in both cases: community-sourced data, a consumer mobile interface, network effects, and an eventual strategic acquisition by a larger platform. Levine ran that playbook twice, a decade apart, in adjacent mobility categories, producing two billion-dollar outcomes.
Who Owns Waze, and What Did Google Pay?
Google owns Waze, and has since the acquisition closed in June 2013. Google announced the deal on June 11, 2013 and said the Waze product development team would remain in Israel and operate separately for now, according to The Times of Israel. The reported price ranges from $1.1 billion (Calcalist and The Times of Israel) to $1.3 billion (Globes), because the parties did not disclose terms. Haaretz reported that Google would pay in cash. Olam has not verified how Alphabet reports Waze internally today.
Calcalist reported that Waze had about 107 employees and roughly 50 million users when the deal was announced, and that Waze secured commitments that its activity would stay in Israel for years with no layoffs. Waze was based in Ra'anana with a Palo Alto office, and Noam Bardin served as chief executive. Haaretz, quoted by Naharnet, reported that R&D and Bardin would stay in Israel for at least three years.
Waze had raised $67 million before the sale from investors including Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Venture Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, BlueRun Ventures and Microsoft, and a $30 million round in October 2012 led by Horizons Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and iFund, Globes reported. Before the deal, Globes estimated that CTO Ehud Shabtai would receive $78 million, Levine $38 million, and Amir Shinar and his brother Gili $65 million.
Facebook had offered nearly $1 billion in May 2013, but talks broke down because Facebook wanted Waze's R&D moved out of Israel, The Times of Israel reported. Sources also differ on when Waze was founded: Wikipedia dates the community project FreeMap Israel to 2006, Calcalist says 2007, and Globes says 2009. The deal drew antitrust review from the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK Office of Fair Trading and the Israel Antitrust Authority, none of which challenged it, according to Wikipedia.
Who Owns Moovit, and What Did Intel Pay?
Intel owns Moovit through its Mobileye business. Intel announced on May 4, 2020 that it had acquired Moovit for approximately $900 million, or $840 million net of Intel Capital's equity gain, according to Intel's announcement published by Business Wire. Globes reported that Intel would also pay a reported $100 million to keep Moovit's employees for a set period. TheMarker first reported the price at $1 billion. Mobileye is itself majority-owned by Intel, as Olam explains on its Mobileye page. Olam has not verified how Moovit is organized inside Mobileye today.
Moovit was founded in 2012 by Nir Erez, Roy Bick and Yaron Evron, according to Intel and Globes, and Erez served as chief executive; the Jerusalem Post dates the founding to 2011. It had about 200 employees, offices reported in Tel Aviv and Ness Ziona, and a data repository covering more than 7,500 transit agencies and operators, according to Intel. Moovit had raised about $133 million to $134 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, Gemini Israel Ventures, Vintage Investments, BRM Group, NGP Capital, Sound Ventures and Vaizra Investments, according to Global Venturing and Globes.
Intel was already a shareholder. Intel Capital led a $50 million round in February 2018, and Shashua joined Moovit's board as an observer, the Jerusalem Post reported. Shashua said the acquisition kept Mobileye's robotaxi plans on track for a 2022 launch, and Erez said Moovit would continue as a standalone subsidiary partnering with Mobileye.
The Founders Kitchen and the Post-Exit Portfolio
Levine now heads The Founders Kitchen, a company-builder fund, and has been involved as co-founder, chairman, or board member in more than 20 startups since Waze. His active portfolio includes Pontera (formerly FeeX, addressing hidden financial fees), FairFly (automated airfare rebooking when prices drop after purchase), Refundit (automated VAT refunds for tourists), SeeTree (agricultural AI), Fibo, Engie (car-diagnostics app), and a board seat at HERE Technologies, the digital-mapping company. He also sits on the board of trustees at Tel Aviv University and serves as an independent board member at Infosys.
His 2023 book, Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, distilled his approach to company-building into a widely cited methodology, and he now teaches a "Building Unicorns" workshop at IE University alongside regular contributions as a Forbes columnist.
Where Levine Sits in the Israeli Builder Hierarchy
Levine sits in a narrow cohort of Israeli founders with multiple billion-dollar exits: Amnon Shashua has Mobileye (twice, across its Intel sale and 2022 re-IPO); Assaf Rappaport has Adallom and Wiz; Levine has Waze and Moovit. Google's acquisition of Waze is widely credited with catalyzing the next wave of the Israeli startup ecosystem — the capital recycling, talent dispersion, and confidence effect from the exit reshaped Israeli venture capital for the following decade, with Israeli financial press estimating dozens of subsequent Israeli unicorns tracing some lineage back to the Waze alumni network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Uri Levine?
Uri Levine is an Israeli entrepreneur and the only Israeli founder with two billion-dollar consumer exits: Waze (sold to Google in 2013) and Moovit (sold to Intel for about $900 million in 2020). He now runs The Founders Kitchen, a company-builder fund, and is the author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.
Who owns Waze?
Google owns Waze. It bought the Israeli navigation app in June 2013, and the product development team stayed in Israel. Waze is an Israeli-founded, Google-owned product.
How much did Google pay for Waze?
Reports put the price between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion. The parties did not disclose financial terms.
Who owns Moovit?
Intel owns Moovit through its Mobileye business, after a May 2020 acquisition of about $900 million.
What is Moovit?
A public-transit navigation app that Levine backed as first board member and investor. Intel said it had more than 800 million users in 3,100 cities across 102 countries when its Mobileye division acquired it in May 2020.
What companies is Uri Levine involved with today?
He chairs or sits on the board of more than 20 startups through The Founders Kitchen, including Pontera, FairFly, Refundit, SeeTree, Fibo, and HERE Technologies, alongside board roles at Tel Aviv University and Infosys.
Sources
Times of Israel report on the Waze sale; Calcalist report on Google's purchase; Globes report on the Waze price; Naharnet report quoting Haaretz; Business Wire release on Moovit; Globes report on Moovit; Global Venturing report on Moovit funding; Jerusalem Post report on Mobileye's plans.
More From The Builders
- Amnon Shashua: Mobileye Co-Founder, Hebrew University Sachs Chair
- Assaf Rappaport: Wiz Co-Founder Behind Israel's Largest Exit Ever
- Yossi Vardi: The Patriarch of Israeli Internet
- The Builders
מי הוא אורי לוין?
אורי לוין הוא היזם הישראלי היחיד עם שני אקזיטים צרכניים בשווי מיליארד דולר: Waze (נמכרה לגוגל ב-2013 תמורת 1.1 מיליארד דולר) ו-Moovit (נמכרה לאינטל ב-2020 תמורת 900 מיליון דולר). כיום הוא מנהל את The Founders Kitchen, קרן לבניית חברות, ומחבר הספר Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.
The Olam Editorial Team | The Builders / הבונים
How we report: Olam stories draw on public filings, company disclosures and named sources, checked by our editors. Read our methodology · Corrections
