Orbem secures €55.5 million Series B
Funding will accelerate Orbem's mission to solve global challenges by revealing what we can’t see on the outside of food and biology
Advertisement
Orbem, the Munich-based Deep tech company turning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) into a powerful, AI-powered tool to reveal hidden insights in food and biology, announced the successful closing of a €55.5 million Series B financing round. The round is led by European Deep tech specialist Innovation Industries and joined by Supernova Invest, with significant follow-on participation from existing investors General Catalyst, 83North, The Venture Collective, Possible Ventures, and several angel investors.
Symbolic image
AI-generated image
Orbem has developed a breakthrough platform that makes MRI technology fast, affordable and scalable, enabling non-invasive analysis of biological materials at an industrial scale. By doing so, the company is building what is becoming the industry's largest and most comprehensive biological dataset. Already profitable and a leading provider of in-ovo sexing in five European countries, a position built on its deep understanding of poultry industry processes, Orbem will use the new capital to fuel its expansion into the United States, launch new solutions for the poultry industry, and enter the multi-billion-dollar fruit and vegetable market. Additionally, Orbem will invest in its vision to apply its actionable intelligence to human healthcare.
Proven Success: Transparency in the Poultry Industry
Orbem has already delivered measurable impact in the poultry industry, leveraging its deep industry process knowledge to deliver practical solutions. Its flagship product, the Genus Focus, uses AI-powered MRI to see inside a poultry egg, non-invasively determining its sex in less than one second. This provides an animal-friendly and highly efficient alternative to the culling of male chicks, a practice now banned in several EU countries. With over 170 million eggs scanned to date, Orbem is scaling rapidly, ready to meet increasing global demand spurred by initiatives like the new ‘Hatch Check’ certification in the US.
Building on this success, Orbem recently launched the Genus Scale, a first-of-its-kind product that sees inside eggs to check their fertilization status before incubation. This allows hatcheries to stop wasting valuable incubator space on non-viable eggs, repurposing them for the food industry, creating new revenue streams, and fighting food waste.
A New Era of Growth: Scaling and Expansion
The Series B funding will accelerate Orbem's mission to solve global challenges by revealing what we can’t see on the outside of food and biology. Key initiatives include:
- US Market Entry: After establishing its first US office in Houston, Texas, in 2025, Orbem is bringing its proven poultry solutions to one of the world's largest agricultural markets.
- Expanded Poultry Platform: Orbem will continue to strengthen its commitment to the poultry industry, scaling its existing solutions.
- New Vertical: Fruits & Vegetables: The company is expanding its actionable intelligence for sustainable food production into the fruit and vegetable sector. Orbem’s non-destructive technology can see inside produce like watermelons, avocados and mangoes to spot internal defects and assess quality without cutting them open. This helps producers to sort goods with precision, ensure consistent quality, and dramatically reduce food waste before products reach the consumer.
- Healthcare: What Orbem learns from scanning millions of eggs and avocados translates to a deeper understanding of biology. The company is building the world's largest biological dataset. This unique asset is the foundation for AI models that will have profound applications in human health, making non-invasive insights more accessible.
Dr. Pedro Gómez, co-founder and CEO of Orbem, says: “We’re the first and so far only company in the world to demonstrate the use of MRI in less than one second and without humans in the loop. We began by showing the poultry industry what’s possible when you can see inside an egg, and we are just getting started. This new funding allows us to accelerate our US expansion and help more food producers and healthcare providers make better decisions with data. Our scalable platform and our rapidly growing, proprietary biological dataset are the perfect basis for achieving this. We are proud to see the trust our investors have placed in us and our vision to help the world see from the inside out.”
Pleuni Hooijman, Investment Manager at Innovation Industries, states: “Orbem is truly exceptional. Few companies manage to make such complex technology accessible and scalable across so many industries. With its platform, Orbem is already transforming entire sectors, and we are very pleased to join them on this journey.“
Michaël Thomas, Investment Director at Supernova Invest, adds: "We’re thrilled to join forces with Orbem, a visionary company that perfectly embodies Europe’s Deep tech excellence. By combining cutting-edge AI and MRI technologies, Orbem delivers concrete answers to some of the major challenges of our time, from reducing animal suffering to fighting food waste and building a more sustainable global food system. This investment illustrates our conviction that Europe can lead in physical AI, transforming scientific breakthroughs into meaningful industrial innovation."
Other news from the department business & finance
Most read news
More news from our other portals
Something is happening in the food & beverage industry ...
This is what true pioneering spirit looks like: Plenty of innovative start-ups are bringing fresh ideas, lifeblood and entrepreneurial spirit to change tomorrow's world for the better. Immerse yourself in the world of these young companies and take the opportunity to get in touch with the founders.
See the theme worlds for related content
Artificial intelligence (AI) for food and beverages
Artificial intelligence (AI) is optimizing the food and beverage industry through automated quality control and more accurate demand forecasting. AI plays a particularly important role in product development by analyzing taste preferences and market trends. This allows new products to be developed that are better tailored to consumer needs, increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Artificial intelligence (AI) for food and beverages
Artificial intelligence (AI) is optimizing the food and beverage industry through automated quality control and more accurate demand forecasting. AI plays a particularly important role in product development by analyzing taste preferences and market trends. This allows new products to be developed that are better tailored to consumer needs, increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction.