# Joel Bar-El

> Joel Bar-El is an Israeli technology entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Swish Basket. He co-founded Trax with Dror Feldheim in Singapore in 2010, served as CTO and CEO, and became executive chairman in 2021. His career also includes enterprise software, retail robotics and mentoring founders through the Bar-El Center.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Swish Basket
- **Organizations:** Swish Basket, Trax Retail, Bar-El Center, 1MRobotics (later Xpand), Tersus Software, Sentryi, SunGard Business Integration, Mint
- **Nationality:** Israeli
- **Education:** B.Sc. in Physics, Tel Aviv University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Trax and helped develop its retail computer-vision business across international markets., Led Trax as CEO before its transition to a new CEO in 2021., Founded Swish Basket, selected for NBA Launchpad in 2026.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2010** — Worked at Mint and SunGard; co-founded Tersus Software and led Sentryi, later sold to IRESS.
- **2010** — Co-founded Trax in Singapore with Dror Feldheim; initially served as CTO.
- **2011** — Became Trax CEO in October.
- **2013** — Trax secured its first recurring customer, Coca-Cola in Australia.
- **2021** — Moved from CEO to executive chairman; Justin Behar became CEO. Trax announced a $640 million Series E in April.
- **2023** — Appointed chairman of 1MRobotics in August.
- **2024** — In May, Trax founders announced their departure from daily operations while retaining board positions.
- **2025** — Founded Swish Basket; continued founder mentoring through the Bar-El Center.
- **2026** — Swish entered the NBA Launchpad cohort and announced $3.2 million in pre-seed funding in August.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Trax and helped develop its retail computer-vision business across international markets.
- Led Trax as CEO before its transition to a new CEO in 2021.
- Founded Swish Basket, selected for NBA Launchpad in 2026.
- Established the Bar-El Center to support technology founders and executives.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Swish Basket selected for NBA Launchpad’s 2026 cohort.
- **2026-02** — Gemspring announced the combination of Trax’s image-recognition business with FORM; this was a business-unit transaction.
- **2026-08** — Swish announced $3.2 million in pre-seed capital led by Aristagora VC and opened a seed round.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-bar-el

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joel-bar-el
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23