Based in Winterthur, Vatorex develops a patented solution to protect beehives from the varroa mite. With its technology already used in 12 countries, the startup has secured CHF 1.1 million to expand into North America. It has partnered with two Canadian organisations to supply and evaluate the solution with commercial beekeepers.
Founded by Pascal and Willi Brunner in 2016, Vatorex began as a project aimed at protecting beehives from the varroa mite- one of the leading causes of global honey bee population loss. The startup developed and patented a solution that uses automated thermal technology to counter varroa mite infestation with minimal harm to bees. Thanks to being eco-friendly and chemical-free, the solution has become an effective alternative for beekeepers in more than 12 countries.
Vatorex is now focusing on growing into the North American market after signing a commercial partnership agreement with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission (ABC) and Results Driven Agricultural Research (RDAR), valued at 650’000 CAD. The companies will launch a pilot project involving supplying and evaluating its patented varroa controlling technology to commercial beekeepers in Alberta, Canada, in the 2023-2024 beekeeping seasons.
The funds from its bridge financing round will support the activities in North America. The European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) invested in the company. Following the EIC Accelerator grant of 1.6 Million Euros that Vatorex was awarded in 2020, the EIC Fund expressed interest in becoming an equity investor outside of the EIC Accelerator grant programme - the programme itself is currently not open to Swiss companies. Vatorex also obtained additional funds from angel investor and entrepreneur Mike Keller, Winterthur, and secured a start-up loan from the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB).
Vatorex CEO Pascal Brunner says “We are delighted to welcome this bridge funding round. It is a tremendous vote of confidence from the EICF, BLKB and Mike Keller in both the environmental and community impact of our apiculture technology and its commercial viability”.
Vatorex Senior Marketing Manager Grant Morgan says, “For the past 40 years, commercial beekeepers have had to rely on miticides to control varroa mite infestations. However, this has always been a losing battle, and the bee populations are still threatened. Our partnership with ABC and RDAR is a paradigm shift for commercial beekeeping globally, as we now have an effective and profitable solution to one of the major causes of bee losses.
(Press release/RAN)
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