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Since the dawn of time, farmers have worked alongside the honey bee as partners in agriculture. Pollination is an essential part of the growing process, but fluctuating weather patterns and dwindling insect populations can challenge the reliability of nature-first pollination. Agricultural technology company Edete, specializing in the first-of-its-kind precision pollination as a service (PPaS), offers a sustainable and reliable method to secure and enhance agricultural yields.
According to Eylam Ran, the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Edete is working to offer farmers and growers around the world a backup plan when it comes to pollination challenges. “We see rapid technological advancements in almost every sector of agriculture, but fertilization is a crucial part of growing our food that remains largely untouched. Our team is working to change that by innovating one of nature’s more timeless processes,” he points out.
Pollination is an essential step in growing the foods that we eat each day. It is also vital in sustainable agriculture processes. While pollination is naturally carried out by wind and insects, such as honey bees, Edete uses precision technology to duplicate the natural pollination process to collect and distribute pollen to crops.
Planting the Seed for Farming Innovation
Before he founded Edete in 2016, Ran spent more than two decades leading teams across the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Most of those years were focused on research and development, helping drive innovation as a vice president at armored vehicle manufacturer Plasan with a team of more than 200 researchers and scientists. According to Ran, his career has been a unique opportunity to translate technology-driven ideas into commercial solutions that transform how we work and live.
The business leader graduated magna cum laude from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2004 with his undergraduate degree in mechanical systems. Early in his career, Ran also garnered experience working in agricultural machinery and irrigation, offering him a front-row seat to the challenges that farmers have faced in recent decades.
Ran first connected with his co-founder Keren Mimran in 2016, but it would be several months before the pair would reconvene to launch a company together. With their shared interest and passion, Ran and Mimran’s mutual connections pushed the duo to meet for a conversation. Along with their third partner, Ori Inbar, who later became the chairman of the board, they quickly realized the need for a sustainable solution to support agriculture while bringing the sector into the modern age through technological advancements.
Growing The Perfect AgTech Team
With over 20 years of management experience, Mimran joined Ran in preparing the ground to establish Edete in 2016 as a co-founder and, eventually, the company’s Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. A previous management consultant, Mimran worked alongside global powerhouses such as Coca-Cola and eBay after serving as vice president of marketing and business development at Store Next, NCR. While her career followed a more corporate path, Mimran grew up in a family that has long been rooted in farming, growing avocados, almonds, and citrus.
Ran and Mimran work alongside an international founding team dedicated to the company’s agriculturally-minded mission. Co-founder Ori Inbar has worked with Edete since its genesis. He brings over 20 years of experience as a senior executive in leading animal health and livestock technology firms. Today, Inbar serves the Edete team as an investor and the company’s board chairman. Meanwhile, co-founder Elad Etgar supports Edete’s engineering efforts. His more than 25 years of experience in agricultural machinery serves as a cornerstone in the company’s mechanized pollination process.
The company rounded out its leadership team in 2022 with the hiring of Ed Surber, who now serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Edete’s American division. “I would say a core value within this team is that everyone is treated like family. The minute I was hired, I didn’t go into the office. I was invited to the founder’s home to meet his wife and family,” recalls Surber
A veteran in the agricultural industry, Surber previously led efforts for one of the country’s larger pistachio and almond growers. Since its founding, Edete’s team has grown to 15 employees worldwide, with offices in Israel and California.
Solving Age-Old Challenges with Precision Pollination
“Factors like the global climate crisis, ongoing water shortages, and dwindling farmland put our food supply under stress. But we hear from customers that Edete’s technology is a source of optimism,” explained Mimran. “Precision pollination does more than change the agricultural market and farmers’ income. This technology can transform how we grow food and feed the world.”
Edete’s pollinator system employs precision pollination by releasing small, carefully controlled amounts of viable pollen to crops. It begins with specialized machinery mechanically harvesting flowers to separate the pollen, creating a high-quality pollen bank that can be preserved for long periods. Then, high-efficiency autonomous pollinator units distribute the extracted natural pollen. This two-step process is enhanced by artificial intelligence, proprietary algorithms, and precise dosing capabilities to ensure optimized pollination.
While the company’s solution is already used for pistachio-growing operations, Edete is quickly expanding into almond orchards. According to Surber, the team is also working to apply its technology to cherries, avocados, and numerous other types of produce. To date, Edete has raised more than $15 million in funding to help advance its technology.
As farmers and growers adopt PPaS as part of their growing process, today’s agricultural industry will watch nature and technology merge for a sustainable tomorrow. Learn more about Edete’s precision pollination and innovative farming techniques at edetepta.com.
