Israeli startup raises $12 million to reduce waste in the fruit and veg industry

A software platform for automated quality control for the fruit and veg supply chain, Clarifruit, recently announced the completion of around $12 million Series A funding round led by Firstime Ventures and Champel Capital. 

Among the other participants of the round are Kubota, agricultural machinery and technologies provider, and NevaTeam Partners venture capital fund, in addition to private investors.

The total amount raised by Clarifruit to date surpasses $15 million, adding to the grant of $2.5 million received through Horizon 2020, an EU program to support tech startups with the potential to make an environmental and social impact. 

In 2018, Clarifruit was founded by Avi Schwartzer, current COO and former senior R&D director at HP, Ruby Boyarski, CTO, and former VP of R&D for Infomedia; and Elad Mardix, Clarifruit CEO and former director of JPMorgan’s technology investment banking activities in APAC and the United States. 

Avi Schwartzer, who previously managed the innovative QA automation product for software at HP, has a background in agriculture. This is why he decided to combine his quality assurance expertise in software with agriculture.

Clarifruit Co-Founder and CEO Elad Mardix stated that since they launched their product 20 months ago, they contributed to tens of leading global players in their circle of clients that are now Clarifruit’s advanced technology users.

He added that today’s market opportunities are incredible since all industry actors, from the largest retail chains to growers, use outdated manual quality control methods. Clarifruit aims to become a company that will lead and revolutionize the industry. 

The company currently employs 25 people worldwide. Following the current funding round, Clarifruit plans to increase its sales activity with branches in Europe, North America, and Latin America. 

According to Jonathan Benartzi, Partner, Firstime Ventures, the emerging climate crisis has spurred the demand for solutions to conserve resources and food. Clarifruit has created a solution that reduces product waste and enables better use of water, fertilizer, and soil resources. 

Amir Weitmann, Managing Partner at Champel Capital, said that they are proud to sponsor Clarifruit, a company that provides an outstanding technological solution for an industry with a turnover of over $2 trillion a year.

Clarifruit was established to reduce waste in the $2 trillion fresh produce supply chain to guarantee sufficient food supply for the next generations. Its solution address the main challenges in quality control and decision-making—the lack of standardized and objective quality control processes in assessing fruit and veg quality. These problems lead to a 45% waste in agri production, totaling approximately $900 billion loss annually.

Clarifruit’s AI-powered quality control platform consists of a mobile app and a cloud-based control system.  

Its solutions empower retailers, wholesalers, marketing companies, and growers worldwide to make intelligent business decisions to minimize waste and maximize income. 

Among Clarifruit’s customers, there are Dole, Zespri, Pink Lady, Sanlucar, and Mucci Farms. This year, Clarifruit has collaborated with some of the largest international grocery retail chains.

If you wish to upgrade to Clarifruit's AI-powered quality control platform, please send your inquiry