Seattle-based agricultural technology company Strella has raised $4.25 million in additional funding, taking its total investment to $26.25 million.

The fresh capital extends the startup’s Series A financing round and will support the expansion of its technology across the fresh produce supply chain.

The funding round was led by SilverBlue, with participation from LeVert Ventures, Beta Milouot and PeakBridge.

Strella is working on a problem that affects the journey of fresh produce from farms to supermarket shelves: understanding fruit quality and ripeness before spoilage leads to unnecessary losses.

How Strella Tracks Fruit Ripening

Unlike traditional quality checks that depend on inspecting produce at a particular stage, Strella uses connected sensors and machine vision to monitor fruit conditions.

Its Internet of Things (IoT) devices measure gases, including ethylene, a naturally occurring plant hormone associated with fruit ripening.

The company’s software combines these readings with information such as the fruit’s country of origin, packing date and variety to assess its condition.

This approach gives businesses additional information about produce quality as fruit moves through storage, transportation and distribution.

Strella works with growers, packing companies, shippers, distributors and retailers, covering different stages of the supply chain.

Kiwifruit Joins Strella’s Growing Portfolio

One notable development is Strella’s expansion into kiwifruit monitoring.

The company already provides produce-quality information for apples, pears, avocados and citrus fruits. Adding kiwifruit broadens the range of products covered by its technology.

Despite operating with a team of just 19 people, Strella serves customers across 26 countries.

Why Strella Moved Closer to Washington’s Orchards

Strella was founded in Philadelphia in 2019 by CEO and co-founder Katherine Sizov.

The company relocated its headquarters to Seattle in 2022 to be closer to Washington state’s fruit-growing industry.

That move placed Strella near an important agricultural region, giving the business a location closely connected to the produce sector it serves.

Its operations now extend beyond individual fruit growers to include companies handling produce at several points between farms and consumers.

Strella Wants to Connect Quality Data Across the Supply Chain

The company’s longer-term ambition goes beyond monitoring individual shipments or types of fruit.

Sizov wants Strella to develop into a central platform for tracking produce quality throughout the supply chain.

“Our vision is to become the system of record for quality in the food supply chain, or the ‘guardian angels’ of produce as it passes from hand to hand,” Sizov said.

The idea is to connect quality information collected at different stages, rather than leaving growers, transporters and retailers with separate views of the same produce.

“The next step for us is to begin stitching all the pieces together to become a one-stop shop for quality and tackle the food waste problem at scale,” she added.

Food Waste Remains a Major Economic Challenge

Strella’s expansion comes against the backdrop of substantial food losses worldwide.

United Nations estimates cited in the reporting put global food loss and waste at roughly one-third of food intended for human consumption, representing approximately $940 billion in annual economic losses.

In the United States, the reported figures are even higher, with around 40% of edible food going to waste and an estimated annual economic cost of $218 billion.

These figures illustrate the scale of the wider problem, rather than the amount of waste Strella’s technology has prevented.

What the New Funding Means for Strella

The additional $4.25 million gives Strella fresh capital to extend its technology’s reach as it works toward a more connected produce-quality monitoring system.

The company has established operations across 26 countries and expanded the types of fruit it monitors. Its next challenge is bringing those different quality insights together across the supply chain.

For Strella, the opportunity is not simply to tell businesses when fruit is ripening. It is to make that information useful throughout the produce journey, from the people growing fruit to those responsible for getting it onto store shelves.

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