We are aware of the significance the bees have on our environment. Honeybees are essential for pollinating around one-third of the food we eat, including fruit, vegetables, oils, seeds and nuts. But, these insects also have an important role in helping the economy. According to the European Commission, “It is estimated that pollinators, including honey bees, bumblebees and wild bees, contribute at least €22B each year to the European agriculture industry.”
The EC also suggests that they ensure pollination for over 80% of crops and wild plants in Europe. Sadly, there has been a constant decline in the bees population across the world due to biodiversity loss, the use of pesticides, industrial agriculture, and climate change.
Apiculture and pollination startups
The loss of bees is claimed to pose a significant threat to crop production and endanger global food security. To keep the planet’s ecosystem and food chain intact, several tech startups have come up with solutions that protect these hardworking creatures. Here is a list of European tech startups that develop technology to foster sustainable apiculture and pollination as sourced from Dealroom.
3Bee (Italy)
Founder/s: Niccolò Calandri, Riccardo Balzaretti
Founded year: 2017
Funding: €1.1M
3Bee develops IoT technologies for farms ranging from bees to aquaculture. It was founded with the intention to combine biology and electronics to come up with a solution to counter the increasing phenomenon of bee die-off and help beekeepers manage their way in a better way so that bees can thrive. As per the company, it operates with the mission to bring social and environmental benefits.
Apic.ai (Germany)
Founder/s: Frederic Tausch, Katharina Schmidt, Matthias Diehl
Founded year: 2018
Funding: NA
German startup Apic.ai focuses on using tech in the process of testing for potential hazards of plant protection products prior to their market approval. The company claims to work with the bug producers as well as contract laboratories and regulatory authorities.
ApisProtect (Ireland)
Founder/s: Fiona Edwards Murphy
Founded year: 2017
Funding: €1.8M
ApisProtect provides real-time bee monitoring, which is powered by intelligent sensor technology. The company provides actionable insights and alerts to beekeepers to help prevent losses and increase the productivity of the colony. ApisProtect lets beekeepers monitor their apiaries with cutting-edge technology, know what to do for their colonies and when and more sans any special knowledge.
AproneX (Germany)
Founder/s: Anika Bracht
Founded year: 2019
Funding: NA
AproneX provides bee-hive monitoring solutions and offers AproneX variant with built-in SIM card, sensors, and GPS tracking systems to collect data of hive temperature and weather data. The AproneX Box sends alert notifications for users in case of extreme weather conditions. It also enables users to track the location of the hives and monitor thefts.
BeeLife (France)
Founder/s: Pascal Nuti, Naoufel Dridi
Founded year: 2018
Funding: NA
French startup BeeLife aims to preserve biodiversity by protecting the bees. With the CoCoon hive, it claims to offer a dream habitat for bees – bio-sourced and isolated, connected, and capable of getting rid of their main enemy, the Varroa destructor parasite, thanks to a patented heat therapy device. The additional feature in the hive protects the bees from changes in the weather, which can have a great impact on bee colonies.
Wildbiene + Partner (Switzerland)
Founder/s: Claudio Sedivy, Tom Strobl
Founded year: 2015
Funding: €4.2M
Wildbiene + Partner claims to be committed to wild bees and sustainable pollination of cultivated plants. The company works on projects related to wild bee sponsorship, agriculture, wild bee paradise and research. Furthermore, the startup provides advice and implementation for pollination with local mason bees for optimised and sustainable fruit and berry cultivation.
Beewise Technologies (Israel)
Founder/s: Saar Safra
Founded year: 2018
Funding: €9.1M
Beewise Technologies claims to operate with the mission to help beekeepers pollinate and produce honey by saving their bees with the help of modern automated technology. It has created beehome, which is touted to be earth’s first autonomous beehive that lets the upkeep of bees without any human intervention.
Olombria (UK)
Founder/s: Greg Orrom Swan, Louis Alderson-Bythell, Tashia Tucker
Founded year: 2017
Funding: NA
Olombria is an agricultural technology, which curates fly behaviour, to increase pollination and ensure greater crop yields. The agritech company has developed an integrated pollination system, which uses flies and a chemical signalling device and supplement existing bee pollination services.
Arnia (UK)
Founder/s: Sandra Evans
Founded year: 2009
Funding: €843k
Arnia claims to ensure state-of-the-art remote monitoring of the hive environment for the proper understanding and maintenance of bee health. The company combines environmental sensors with acoustic analysis in a single device and return collected information in real-time to the beekeepers’ home computer or smartphone. Arnia’s unique technology is touted to help the company to develop breakthroughs in understanding the bee populations and majorly improve the crucial symbiosis of humans and bees.
Stock photo from RUKSUTAKARN studio/Shutterstock
