From animal welfare to food waste, producers worldwide face mounting pressure to make agriculture more efficient and transparent. Yet most inspection methods rely on manual checks or involve destroying the product. That’s where Orbem, a Munich-based deep tech company, steps in.
Orbem has created technology that can “see” inside biological materials without opening them by merging MRI sensors with AI. The company’s platform captures internal data at lightning speed and translates it into actionable insights for producers, helping them make smarter, more sustainable decisions.
The company just closed a €55.5 million Series B round led by Innovation Industries, with participation from Supernova Invest and follow-on funding from General Catalyst, 83North, The Venture Collective, and Possible Ventures.
“Seeing from the inside out”
Founded by Drs. Pedro Gómez, Dr Miguel Molina, Dr Maria Laparidou, Orbem turns MRI into an industrial powerhouse enhanced by AI. From the start, the founders were driven by a mix of scientific curiosity and ethical motivation. They wanted to find a solution to long-standing problems in agriculture, starting with the inhumane practice of chick culling.
Their flagship technology, capable of determining the sex of a chick embryo inside the egg in under a second, offers an animal-friendly alternative that aligns with new EU regulations and growing consumer expectations.
Orbem’s innovation lies in combining high-speed MRI with what the company calls Vertical AI. Together, they enable non-invasive imaging at speeds once considered impossible, producing reliable, real-time insights without any human assistance.
Its commercial lineup includes the Genus Focus, which sex-determines eggs without breaking them, and the Genus Scale, which identifies which eggs are fertilised before incubation, saving energy, space, and cost.
While a handful of companies are exploring AI-based optical scanning, such as Ovabrite or ImpactVision (now part of Apeel), none have succeeded in industrialising MRI the way Orbem has.
Future Plans
The investment will fuel Orbem’s expansion into the U.S. market, scale its proven poultry solutions, and extend the technology into new sectors, including fruits, vegetables, and healthcare.
