BloomX raises $13M Series A to sell robotic pollination as a scheduled service

Israeli agtech company BloomX has raised a $13 million Series A led by the Elah Fund, bringing its total since its 2019 founding to $20 million, Calcalist reported on Oct 15. OurCrowd, BioBee and the Israel Innovation Authority also took part.

BloomX sells pollination as a scheduled farm input, the way growers already plan irrigation, and the robots are only the delivery method. Growers get the machines without significant upfront investment under a model the company calls Pollination-as-a-Service, a form of robots-as-a-service. The round pays for expansion in Peru, Mexico, South Africa and Israel and for a U.S. entry aimed at almond and blueberry growers, where the company-reported average yield gain of about 20% will have to hold in orchards BloomX has not yet worked.

Robee, built for blueberries, shakes plants with controlled vibrations that mimic bumblebee buzz pollination. The Yahav 2400, launched commercially for avocados this year, uses a high-voltage electrostatic field to pull pollen from male flowers onto a fabric that mimics a bee's body, holds it overnight, then rubs it onto female flowers.

BloomX says growers including Agrícola Cerro Prieto and Fruitist in Peru, Allesbeste in South Africa and Israel's Granot Group averaged that 20% gain, with returns of up to 10.5 times and one operator covering up to 3.5 hectares a day. Those figures are the company's own. CEO Thai Sade also says the technology "does not replace bees but works alongside them," which means U.S. growers may keep paying for hives on top of the service.