Israeli precision robotics company Beewise announced an $80 Million Series C funding round led by New York-based global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, with participation from Fortissimo Capital, Corner Ventures, lool ventures, Atooro Fund, Meitav Dash Investments Ltd, and Sanad Abu Dhabi. This brings the company’s total funding to over $120m.
Primarily as a result of climate change, more than 30% of honeybee colonies are disappearing each year, a rate that is not only economically devastating to farmers but represents a severe risk to global food supplies. Beewise is on a mission to save bees and optimize pollination and honey yield using a combination of AI technology and robotics.
“Our entire global food supply is being threatened by a devastating collapse of the world’s honeybee population. Beewise impressed us as the only solution addressing every complex issue that is contributing to the collapse,” said Daniel Aronovitz, principal at Insight Partners. “Not only have we funded a company with a fantastic business model; it also addresses one of the biggest challenges our planet is facing.”
Beewise’s robotic beehive, the Beehome, detects threats to honeybee colonies such as pesticides and the presence of pests and defends against them in real time, requiring no human intervention.
In addition to defense, Beewise helps honeybees thrive and flourish by reversing the trend of colony collapse. To help combat the detrimental effects of climate change on bees, Beehomes are thermally regulated; resistant to fires, flooding, and Asian Wasps (murder hornets); and provide enhanced feeding techniques for periods when colony food supplies are scarce.
Through the Beehome device, Beewise has saved over 160 million bees over the course of the last 12 months. Beehome reduces bee mortality by 80%, resulting in increased yields of at least 50%, while eliminating approximately 90% of manual labor when compared to traditional beehives. Beewise currently manages more than seven billion bees, which equates to 25,000 acres of pollinated crops.
“We are the only company on the planet that is deploying precision robotics in tandem with the world’s most innovative technologies including AI and computer vision in order to save the bees,” stated Saar Safra, CEO and co-founder of Beewise. “Our Beewise team is thrilled to be supported by an incredible roster of investors for our Series C who understand our dedication, tenacity, and passion toward succeeding in saving the bees and reversing the trend of the bee colony collaps