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Hectre

Category: AI in Agriculture

An agritech platform providing AI-powered computer vision for fruit sizing and comprehensive digital orchard management to optimize harvest and supply chain efficiency. Hectre was founded in 2016. The company is led by Matty Blomfield. Based in Auckland, New Zealand. Team size: 40. Total funding raised: $24.5M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include ["Punakaiki Fund","Nuance Connected Capital","Cultivate Ventures","WM Borton Investments","Sprout Accelerator","Angel Investors Marlborough"].

Founded
2016
Headquarters
Auckland, New Zealand
Team size
40
Total funding
$24.5M

Value proposition

Replaces manual, error-prone fruit sampling with instant AI-driven sizing and digital tracking, enabling growers to maximize pack-out returns and reduce food waste through better data-driven logistics.

Products and solutions

["Spectre (Handheld AI fruit sizing via mobile devices)","Spectre for Bin Tip (Automated sizing during the bin emptying process)","Hectre Arc (Overhead AI scanner for fruit grading by size, color and quality at receiving dock)","Hectre Perform (AI-based picker performance and quality management tool)","Hectre Orchard Management App (Digital timesheets, harvest tracking, and payroll integration)","Quality Control (QC) Module (Digital fruit quality assessment in the field)","Scouting & Weather (Pest/disease tracking and localized weather data)"]

Unique value

Enables high-accuracy fruit sizing using standard mobile hardware (iPads/iPhones) rather than expensive, stationary industrial machinery, allowing for 'edge' data collection directly in the orchard.

Target customer

Fruit growers, orchard managers, and large-scale fruit packing houses (primarily in the apple, pear, and citrus industries).

Industries served

["Agriculture (Agritech)","Horticulture","Fresh Produce Supply Chain","Food Technology"]

Technology advantage

Proprietary computer vision algorithms capable of sizing thousands of fruits in seconds under varying outdoor light conditions, integrated into a full-stack SaaS platform that bridges the gap between field harvest and warehouse packing.

How they differentiate

Hectre differentiates through its 'Spectre' AI, which enables high-accuracy fruit sizing using standard mobile devices (iPads/iPhones) rather than expensive, stationary optical sorting machinery or drone-based imagery. This allows for 'edge' data collection directly in the orchard or at the bin tip, providing instant results that bridge the gap between harvest and the packhouse.

Main competitors

["Aerobotics","Croptracker","Clarifruit"]

Key partnerships

["Borton Fruit (Strategic partner and 9% shareholder)","Rockit Global (Early adopter and development partner)","Punakaiki Fund (Lead Series A investor, 13% stake)","Cultivate Ventures (Investor)","Nuance Connected Capital (Investor)","Sprout Accelerator","Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud infrastructure"]

Notable customers

["Borton Fruit","Rockit Global","VOG (Italy)","Verfrut (Spain)","Nufri (Spain)","Unifrutti (Chile)","Rivoira","Washington Fruit","Prima Frutta","First Fresh","BC Tree Fruits","Cherri Global"]

Major milestones

["Won the 2021 AgTech Breakthrough Award for 'AI-based Sizing Solution of the Year'","Successfully expanded commercial operations into 22 countries","Launched 'Spectre for Bin Tip', automating fruit sizing during the warehouse receiving process","Launched Hectre Arc overhead scanner for AI fruit grading at receiving dock","Launched Hectre Perform AI-based picker performance management tool","Raised NZ$12M oversubscribed Series A led by Punakaiki Fund (Feb 2026)","Winner of the Puawaitanga Award at the 2022 Angel Association New Zealand summit"]

Growth metrics

Operations expanded to 22 countries; 40 staff; 95% of business offshore; revenue grew 100% in past year; data collected on 17 billion apples and 37 billion cherries; 2021 AgTech Breakthrough Award winner.

Market positioning

Specialized SaaS leader in the permanent crop (fruit) industry, focusing on harvest management and quality control automation.

Geographic focus

North America (specifically Washington State), Oceania (New Zealand and Australia), South America (Chile), Europe (Italy, Spain, Germany), and South Africa.

Patents and IP

Proprietary AI models and computer vision heuristics (specific public patent filings not disclosed, focused on trade secret algorithms for fruit detection).

About Matty Blomfield

Matty Blomfield is a serial entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the technology and marketing sectors and 8+ years in the agritech industry. Before co-founding Hectre, he co-founded 'The Social Club', which became New Zealand's largest influencer marketing platform. He also co-founded Mindfull NZ, a data analytics firm. He has led Hectre from its inception to becoming a globally recognized SaaS provider in the fresh produce sector, expanding operations into over 11 countries including the US, New Zealand, and Europe.

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