This month, Calcalist released its annual list of the top 50 most promising Israeli startups, and one area that continues to grow is agtech. One of the most optimistic sectors in Israel, agtech continued to show what Israeli companies can achieve to foster innovative solutions for the betterment of the country and the world.
Sector: Agrotech | Founded: 2017 | Founders: Ben Alfi, Yair Shahar, Aviram Shmueli | Employees: 150 (Israel and US) | Funding: $89M from Insight Partners, Entrée Capital, Clal Insurance, Allied Investments, Regah Ventures, Peregrine Ventures, and Jesselson
The field of advanced agriculture, or agrotech, is crucial for global food security, yet few companies have emerged as major players. The ongoing food security crisis, exacerbated by population growth and shrinking farmland, highlights the urgent need for solutions. A variety of technologies aim to solve the problem, from changing the way crops are grown to optimizing farmers’ work and saving labor. One prominent company looking to revolutionize agriculture is Bluewhite (formerly Blue White Robotics). Named after the colors of the Israeli flag, BWR has developed autonomous robotic solutions for a variety of agricultural tasks. The company’s technology solutions combine hardware and software to facilitate convenient management and remote information retrieval of agricultural fleets. The company’s hardware can be attached to any tractor, enabling autonomous navigation and task execution, such as sowing, spraying, mowing, and harvesting, even in harsh conditions.
The company’s software analyzes the data received and provides real-time insights and reports to ensure farm operational efficiency. Led by founders Ben Alfi, Yair Shahar, and Aviram Shmueli, BlueWhite aims to bridge the gap between agriculture and technology to increase productivity and address labor shortages. The company’s system allows one operator to manage eight tractors at the same time and specializes in orchards, focusing on grapes, oranges, apples, and almonds. The recent $39 million funding round advances BlueWhite’s vision to deploy autonomous tractors across numerous farms and states in the United States. Currently, the company serves 20 major clients covering approximately 600,000 dunams, with 150,000 hours of autonomous tractor operation. With major distributor deals on the horizon, BlueWhite expects significant revenue growth and sustained visibility in the coming years.
Sector: Agrotech | Founded: 2017 | Founders: Nadav Bocher, Dr. Itzhak Khait, Alon Klein-Orback | Employees: 50 in Israel and the US | Funding: $45M from Deep Insight, JVP, Syngenta Group Ventures, Orbia Ventures, FBN, and Eyal Waldman
Agriculture is a sector that requires technology and cost-cutting measures. Every farmer knows that many resources are wasted unnecessarily in agriculture: too much water for irrigation, too much fertilizer on plants, and every year, farmers around the world use millions of gallons of herbicides, most of which are sprayed wastefully and ineffectively on bare soil and crops. Increased chemical use damages the environment and puts a significant financial strain on farmers as weeds become resistant to herbicides.
Israeli agricultural technology company Greeneye, founded by entrepreneurs who served together in the Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit, has developed a combination of hardware and software that saves farmers a lot of resources. The system allows farmers to precisely spray pesticides on weeds instead of spraying the entire field evenly. Greeneye’s system works with any existing sprayer, regardless of model, turning it into a smart machine. The company’s evaluations have shown that the system it developed has been proven to reduce herbicide use in agriculture by 88%.
Sector: Cleantech | Funding: Unknown, from fresh.fund, At One Ventures, E44 Ventures, and Global Innovation Technology Ventures
Gigablue is focused on large-scale carbon capture and removal using science, AI and natural processes. It aims to help businesses and governments achieve negative emissions targets. Its approach involves mimicking Earth’s carbon capture process, utilizing AI to optimize the impact and efficiency of deployment, and sequestering carbon by promoting the growth of phytoplankton in the ocean. Gigablue works with commercial fleets, governments and large corporations to this end.
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