The Israeli startup BeeWise, the developer of a smart hive, announced today the completion of an $80 million Series C funding round, in what is considered to be the largest high-tech fundraiser in Israel to date. The round was led by Insight Partners with participation from Corner Ventures, Fortissimo Capital, Lool Ventures, Atooro Fund, Meitav Dash, and the Emirati Investment Fund - Sanad Abu Dhabi.

The Internet of Bees

It is a little hard to believe but most hives today are not fundamentally different from those used in the 19th century. The robotic hive that BeeWise is developing uses AI capabilities to optimize its conditions. The hive, which is the size of a small container, features advanced climate control, robotic arms, spot pest control only for when certain pests are detected, autonomous bee population control which changes living conditions to prevent harmful overcrowding, real-time alert system for various issues, and a honeycomb assistance system that updates the beekeeper when the storage tank is full of the product and needs to be emptied (at about 100 gallons). According to the company, thanks to its technology, billions of bees have already been saved from death.

In addition, BeeWise's robotic hive - BeeHome - enables 24/7 monitoring of the bees and the company claims that by using their hive, the pollen capacity of bees and their honey production has increased significantly. BeeWise's beehives also protect the bees from weather damage, fires, floods, and huge Asian wasps (also known as ‘the murder hornet’).

BeeWise was founded in 2018 by Saar Safra, Hallel Schreier, Eliya Radzyner, Yossi Sorin and Boaz Petersil. To date, the Israeli startup has raised $ 120 million. The Israeli startup claims that the robotic hives he developed saved more than $ 160 million last year for the growers who used them alone.