{"id":75338,"date":"2026-02-03T21:40:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/889139809"},"modified":"2026-02-03T21:40:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:40:43","slug":"from-small-town-dancer-to-tech-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/03\/from-small-town-dancer-to-tech-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"From small-town dancer to tech founder"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shir Abecasis, who recently sold the <\/span><\/span>construction technology company<\/span><\/span><\/a> she founded in a deal valued at $79.5 million, did not grow up around venture capital or startup culture.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Raised in Be’er Sheva, Abecasis spent most of her childhood training as a classical ballet dancer. At home, she and her younger brother also played computer games, an activity that would eventually redirect her path. \u201cOne day we decided to try developing online games and make a bit of money,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was competition between us over whose game would get more downloads.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Without formal training, the siblings searched online for ways to learn programming and began writing code on their own. The game they built together attracted about 500 users. \u201cThat was the moment I fell in love with technology,\u201d Abecasis said. \u201cIt gave me a feeling of control \u2014 you imagine something, and then you\u2019re able to make it real.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At 18, Abecasis was drafted into Unit 8200, the military\u2019s elite intelligence and technology unit, an experience she described as a cultural shock. Soldiers around her spoke openly about startups, venture capital and future careers in high tech \u2014 concepts that had been largely absent from her upbringing. \u201cI was surprised to discover that people my age already knew they would work in tech after the army,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead of feeling sorry for myself, I focused on closing the gap.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After completing her military service and several years working in the defense system, Abecasis transitioned to the private sector. She later moved to London, where she worked while completing a degree in computer science at Reichman University through distance learning. During that period, she launched a social initiative using dance to connect students from different cultural backgrounds. The project led to an invitation to present it to Queen Elizabeth II during a university visit. \u201cIt was an exciting moment,\u201d Abecasis said. \u201cI wore blue and white and felt very Israeli.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When she returned to Israel, Abecasis was accepted into the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at Reichman University, a selective track that admits a small number of students each year. It was there that the idea for Firmus AI took shape. She founded the company with a partner, though the two later parted ways, leaving Abecasis to lead the business alone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Firmus AI developed artificial intelligence and machine learning tools designed to analyze construction plans and identify inconsistencies, missing data and potential risks before construction begins. \u201cIn construction, there are developers, planners and contractors, and contractors often have just days to submit bids based on thousands of pages of plans,\u201d Abecasis said. \u201cThere\u2019s no real ability to review everything manually.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The technology, she said, consolidates information across plans and alerts users to contradictions and errors. \u201cWe can flag things like a bathroom fixture that isn\u2019t connected to water or a wall that doesn\u2019t need to be there,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The company grew rapidly, expanding operations to the United States and Europe and reaching about 4 million users worldwide. Firmus AI employs about 40 people. The German construction software group Nemetschek acquired the company and retained Abecasis as chief executive. She has declined to comment on the sale price.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As the company expanded, competitors began entering the field. Abecasis said she chose not to focus on them. \u201cI don\u2019t want to spend my energy looking sideways,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were the pioneers, and my job is to make sure we keep building.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Abecasis, who now lives in Miami, conducted negotiations for the sale while in advanced pregnancy and gave birth to her first child several months ago. She is married to Lior Abramovitch, founder and chief executive of a real estate company. The couple, she said, always planned to share parenting responsibilities. \u201cThere is no perfect time to have children,\u201d Abecasis said. \u201cYou just have to decide and do it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Following the sale, Abecasis donated to a scholarship fund for student entrepreneurs at Reichman University. According to the university, she is the first graduate to have allocated company options to the institution at the time of founding and later made a donation after an exit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Looking back, Abecasis said the most significant obstacle she sees for women in technology is not technical ability but confidence. \u201cWomen shrink themselves too often,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing noble about thinking small. When you stop limiting yourself, you become a force that\u2019s hard to stop.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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… military\u00e2\u0080\u0099s elite intelligence and technology<\/span> unit, an experience she … and future careers in high tech<\/span> \u00e2\u0080\u0094 concepts that had been … knew they would work in tech<\/span> after the army,\u00e2\u0080\u009d she … to review everything manually.\u00e2\u0080\u009d The technology<\/span>, she said, consolidates information …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}