Cork-based agtech startup ApisProtect is using an Internet of Things (IoT) technology to help bees survive and flourish. The company, founded in 2017, has just raised a €1.5 million of seed funding from Finistere Ventures and Atlantic Bridge Capital, along with contributions from Radicle Growth, the Yield Lab, and Enterprise Ireland. ApisProtect is one more shining example of a booming agtech sector.
Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of ApisProtect Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy explains that without these tiny pollinators, many of the fruits and vegetable we consume on a daily basis would not exist. In fact, bees are responsible for one-third of the food we eat. A single beehive can pollinate as many as 25 million flowers in one day and there are a total of 91 million managed beehives worldwide that contribute a massive €153 billion worth of pollination to the agriculture industry annually. Without these essential pollinators, feeding the global population, estimated to reach 10 billion people by 2050, will become even more challenging.
Bees have become deeply endangered owing to factors such as climate change, widespread use of harmful pesticides and herbicides, and disease. The word ‘Apis’ is Latin for bee so the name of the company literally means ‘protect the bees.’ The company has stemmed from the doctoral research of Murphy on the application of sensors and networking in honey bee hives. The work immediately received international recognition, including awards from the Irish Research Council, the IEEE, IBM, The Irish Laboratory Awards, and Google, as well as extensive international media attention, and more recently, the Sodexo WMB Female Newcomer Award 2018.
ApisProtect helps commercial beekeepers “understand their hives on a deeper level” so they can more effectively manage colonies and help growers optimise pollination. The IoT Solution uses an array of sensors embedded in the beehive that collect data which is then transferred to servers where big data and machine learning techniques are used to produce valuable information and actionable insights for beekeepers. Typically, beekeepers rely on manual hive checks but the periodic nature of this monitoring system often allows disease, pests, and other issues to damage hive health beyond repair.
With this new technology, beekeepers will have the opportunity to improve bee health and prevent problems before they take hold. This could effectively reduce honey bee losses and increase productivity. The technology could also reduce the costs of beekeeping and general agriculture by generating healthy colonies. Furthermore, bees have a massive influence on economies since many livelihoods and nutritious food depend on insect pollinators, particularly in the developing world.
The company currently monitors the health of over six million honey bees across Europe and North America 24/7. The new injection of funding will allow the team of artificial intelligence (AI) experts, engineers and scientists to rapidly grow to 25 staff over the next three years. The focus will be on deploying their IoT technology in more climates, bee sub-species, and bee foraging areas. In particular, the startup is hoping to establish a presence in North America, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.