Buzzing Success: UBEES Secures €8 Million for Worldwide Expansion of Sustainable Bee-Powered Agriculture

French Startup UBEES Raises €8 Million in Series A Funding

UBEES, a French startup that specializes in utilizing beekeeping for regenerative agriculture, has successfully secured €8 million in a Series A funding round. The primary objectives for this funding are to facilitate scaling up operations, expedite international expansion efforts, and streamline team structures.

The funding round was jointly led by European investment funds Starquest and Capagro, with additional participation from Newtree Impact.

CEO of UBEES, Louis Delelis-Fanien, expressed his excitement about the funding, stating, “This funding round represents a significant milestone for us. We are continually showcasing that pollination can serve as a measurable, profitable, and scalable agronomic tool. With the backing of our investors, we aim to hasten the shift towards more productive and resilient agricultural systems, all while promoting biodiversity.”

Established in 2017, UBEES leverages a combination of technology, agronomy, and professional beekeeping to enhance agricultural yields, safeguard biodiversity, and empower rural communities.

While initially founded in the United States, UBEES strategically relocated its headquarters to France to be in closer proximity to clients, investors, and European teams.

The company’s core focus lies in designing pollination programs based on in-depth analysis of pollinators and their habitats. By doing so, UBEES can evaluate ecosystem health, optimize agricultural practices, and quantify the tangible impact on crops by blending beekeeping, agronomic data, and on-site support.

According to UBEES, the decline in bee populations globally poses a significant threat to pollination, with a 46% decrease over the past decade. The company emphasizes that even though nearly 75% of food crops rely on pollination, it is often inadequately integrated into agronomic strategies and value chain management tools.

UBEES aims to bridge this gap by structuring pollination programs that serve as operational tools for both farmers and brands. The company utilizes connected beehives equipped with sensors and analytical tools to monitor pollinator health and environmental quality. This approach enables UBEES to collect valuable data on productivity, crop quality, biodiversity, carbon footprint, and more, which are then utilized to provide recommendations for optimizing agricultural practices.

In addition to its technological solutions, UBEES offers comprehensive support to its clients throughout the project lifecycle, from conceptualization to on-site implementation.

Starquest’s Investment Director, Quentin Simon, commended UBEES for its innovative approach, stating, “By combining extensive expertise in pollination with a unique model involving brands and farmers, Ubees has created a virtuous cycle, generating measurable environmental and economic benefits. Increased agricultural yields and additional revenue from honey production enhance farm resilience and bolster the entire value chain, while expediting the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices. We are delighted to support Ubees as they embark on their next phase of growth.”

UBEES intends to utilize the fresh capital to accelerate its expansion in key regions such as Latin America and Africa, known for coffee, berries, avocados, and cocoa production. Simultaneously, the company plans to strengthen its existing operations in Europe and the United States.

Furthermore, UBEES aims to enhance its embedded technologies within its connected beehives to improve pollinator monitoring and data quality. The company also seeks to refine its impact division to precisely measure the agronomic, environmental, and economic effects of its programs. Lastly, UBEES plans to establish an international community of trained, equipped, and supported farmers, enabling them to generate additional income through beekeeping and access valuable agronomic data.

Operating across more than fifteen countries on five continents, UBEES collaborates with entities in the agri-food, cosmetics, and energy sectors, including renowned brands such as Nespresso, Nestlé, and Starbucks.