Optiflux raises €2,5 million to become the global leader in fruit quality management
KU Leuven spin-off quintupled its customer base in 2025 and accelerates international expansion
Optiflux, the Belgian agtech spin-off from KU Leuven specializing in AI-powered quality management for fresh fruit and vegetables, has successfully closed a €2.5 million funding round. The investment was backed by AIF, LAVA, LRM, and the Gemma Frisius Fund. With this financing, Optiflux aims to realize its ambition of becoming the global leader in fruit quality management. The investment will support the further international rollout of its AI platform, continued product development, and the expansion of its commercial presence in key fruit-producing regions around the world.
From subjective quality inspections to data-driven decision-making
The global fruit industry faces major challenges related to quality, food waste, labor costs, and sustainability. Today, quality decisions are still largely based on limited sampling and subjective human assessments, resulting in inconsistent quality, operational inefficiencies, and avoidable losses throughout the supply chain.
Optiflux aims to fundamentally transform this process by digitizing, objectifying, and standardizing quality assessment through artificial intelligence, computer vision, and predictive analytics. This enables growers, cooperatives, auctions, packers, storage operators, and retailers to make faster, more consistent, and data-driven quality decisions.
Local growers also benefit significantly from this approach. Objective quality data increase transparency throughout the supply chain and improve product valuation, helping strengthen the competitiveness of locally grown fruit and vegetables.
The technology also enables more accurate shelf-life prediction and optimized storage strategies. As a result, companies can reduce food waste, improve operational efficiency, and make better-informed commercial and logistical decisions.
“Our ambition goes beyond developing software,” says Niels Bessemans, CEO and co-founder of Optiflux. “We are building the digital standard by which the global fruit industry measures, predicts, and manages quality. Just as the global food industry relies on internationally recognized standards such as ISO 22000 to ensure food safety, we believe that quality data in the fruit industry also needs an international standard. This investment marks a significant step toward realizing that ambition.”
Strong international growth
Since its founding, Optiflux has established a strong international presence. In 2025, the company quintupled its customer base, and today its solutions are used by growers, cooperatives, packers, and storage companies across 16 countries throughout Europe, North America, and South America. This growth highlights the increasing demand for objective, data-driven quality assessment within the global fruit industry.
The technology is currently deployed across a broad range of fruit categories, including apples, pears, berries, citrus fruits, cherries, and stone fruit. By making quality data available at scale, Optiflux helps the entire fresh produce supply chain improve product quality, reduce food waste, and maximize the value of harvested produce.
Investment supports the next phase of growth
“This investment enables us to accelerate the international deployment of our technology and further strengthen our position as an innovative partner for the global fruit industry,” says Bessemans. “The challenges surrounding quality, food waste, and efficiency continue to grow worldwide. We believe that data-driven quality management will play a critical role in the future of the fresh produce supply chain.”
“Optiflux combines strong scientific expertise with a clearly validated market need,” says Nico Snoeck, Investment Manager at AIF. “The company has demonstrated its ability to translate innovative technology into tangible value for the fruit industry. We look forward to supporting the team during this next stage of growth.”
More information: Niels Bessemans, CEO Optiflux: niels.bessemans@optiflux.world
