Israeli startup that spent $1 billion seeks protection from creditors

Israeli automaker REE, included in Bloomberg’s list of 10 reality-changing technologies in 2020, has filed a petition with the Tel Aviv District Court for temporary protection from creditors.

The company, which develops a unique drive system for electric vehicles, was founded in 2011 under the name Soft Wheel by Daniel Barel and Ahishay Saradas. The company operates in a very conservative and complex industry, with very long processes, and therefore a need for very large amounts of money.

Over the past four years, it has lost $433 million and spent more than a billion dollars in total on product development. Among the company’s investors are insurance and pension structures such as Meitav Dash, Akhshara Bituah, Phoenix and Excellence.

To reduce the pace of its costs, the company has reduced its workforce from 211 employees at the end of 2024 to 31 employees today and changed its business model from manufacturing to selling technology, software and licenses, but this has not helped so far. Instead of projecting annual revenue of $10.5 billion in 2021, the company ended 2025 with revenue of $1.3 million and debts of NIS 51 million.