Diptera

What Diptera does

Diptera.ai is an Israeli biotech startup founded in 2020 and headquartered in Jerusalem that has built an AI-enabled platform to industrialize the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) for mosquito control. The company's core technology combines proprietary optics, computer vision, and automation to sex-sort mosquitoes at the larval stage — a task previously considered impossible — enabling centralized mass production of sterile male mosquitoes that can be shipped to release sites rather than requiring an insect factory at each location. In a 2021 trial in Tzora, Israel, the company reported up to 94% mosquito population suppression using only 20% of the resources of current leading SIT solutions, positioning its approach as a non-GMO, chemical-free, and species-specific alternative to pesticide-based mosquito control.

The company's primary customer segments are municipal governments and public health agencies addressing mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue, Malaria, Zika, and West Nile Virus, with a secondary commercial segment for outdoor-space protection at hospitality and recreational facilities. Diptera plans to monetize through a subscription-based sterile mosquito control service rather than equipment sales. Distribution is built on direct engagement with municipal authorities, supported by a U.S.-Israel R&D partnership with Vectech funded by the BIRD Foundation, and the company is preparing for a 2025 field trial in the WHO African Region as its first expansion outside Israel.

The company operates with a multidisciplinary team of 11–50 scientists, engineers, programmers, and an insect rearing expert, led by CEO Navonel Glick, CTO Dr. Ariel Livne, and CSO Dr. Elly Ordan. Capital to date consists of a $300K pre-seed (May 2020), a $3M seed round led by Trust Ventures (June 2021) with participation from IndieBio, Fresh.fund, Sapir Ventures, SOSV, and Arc Impact, and a follow-on SOSV investment in September 2023. The company holds a granted patent on its proprietary computer vision technology and is not yet revenue-generating, with commercial subscription launches pending.

Name

Diptera

Legal name

Diptera.ai

Website

https://diptera.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Diptera.ai is a Jerusalem-based biotech startup using proprietary computer vision, optics, and automation to sex-sort mosquito larvae and enable centralized production of sterile males for non-GMO mosquito population control, serving municipal governments, public health agencies, and commercial outdoor-space operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vector Control Services

NAICS

Exterminating and Pest Control Services (561710)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Monthly/Recurring Mosquito Control Programs (HSAMAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mosquito & Tick Control (IMAIAHAI), Grounds Pest & Mosquito Control (Outdoor) (BPABADAK)

Keywords

• Sterile insect technique
• Mosquito control
• Computer vision
• Vector control
• Pest management

Headquarters

HQ city

Jerusalem

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based mosquito control service: The company plans to offer a subscription model for its sterile mosquito control service, providing ongoing mosquito population management to municipalities and commercial customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Diptera.ai provides a Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) mosquito control service that uses proprietary optics, computer vision, and automation to sex-sort mosquitoes at the larval stage. This enables centralized mass production and distribution of sterile male mosquitoes, which when released overwhelm wild populations and suppress them by over 90%. The service is offered to municipal governments for integrated mosquito management and to commercial operators seeking chemical-free outdoor mosquito protection.

Product overview

Diptera.ai offers a unified mosquito control platform based on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The core product is a computer vision-powered system that sex-sorts mosquitoes at the larval stage, enabling centralized mass production and distribution of sterile males. The company provides this technology through two application channels: Municipal Mosquito Control for government integrated pest management programs and Commercial Mosquito Control for protecting outdoor business spaces. Both applications use the same underlying SIT platform, which achieves greater than 90% mosquito population suppression without chemicals or genetic modification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SIT Mosquito Control Service Eco-friendly mosquito population suppression service using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Diptera.ai combines proprietary optics, computer vision, and automation to sex-sort mosquitoes at the larval stage, enabling centralized mass production and distribution of sterile male mosquitoes. Releasing sterile males overwhelms the wild population since females mate only once, achieving greater than 90% population suppression. The service is applied through two channels: Municipal Mosquito Control (adding Non-GMO SIT to integrated mosquito management programs for government and public health agencies) and Commercial Mosquito Control (chemical-free mosquito protection for outdoor commercial spaces).

Quantifiable outcome

• >90% mosquito population suppression within weeks during Israeli pilot
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VectechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025U.S.-Israel R&D collaboration partnership with Vectech for biological AI systems integration with field deployment capabilities. Supported by the BIRD Foundation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Rentokil Initial: Broad incumbent — one of the world's largest commercial pest-control service companies with broad geographic reach and large municipal and commercial customer base. Provides a scaled channel and competitor reference for Diptera's subscription-based commercial outdoor service.
• Rollins (Orkin): Broad incumbent — Rollins owns Orkin and other pest-control brands and is one of the largest pest-control service companies globally. Comparable as a competitor/potential acquirer for residential and commercial mosquito service routes.
• Verily (Debug Project): Broad incumbent — Alphabet's life-sciences subsidiary operated the Debug Project, which developed AI-driven sterile mosquito production at scale. Comparable in technology approach (automation + biology for SIT) but operates as one initiative within a much larger precision-health organization with deeper capital.
• S.C. Johnson: Broad incumbent — major consumer-products company with significant pest-control brands (OFF!, Raid). A potential strategic acquirer or distribution partner for Diptera's commercial mosquito-control offering given scale of consumer pest-control reach.
• Terminix (ServiceMaster): Broad incumbent — major residential and commercial pest-control services company with national coverage. Provides a comparator for the recurring-service revenue model Diptera plans to deploy at municipal scale.

Direct peers

• MosquitoMate: Direct peer — uses Wolbachia-based mosquito population suppression (related bio-control approach to SIT) approved by the EPA for Aedes albopictus control. Targets the same municipal and commercial mosquito-control market with a comparable eco-friendly, non-chemical mechanism.
• Oxitec: Direct peer — Oxitec is the leading commercial developer of sterile mosquito technology (both SIT and genetically engineered approaches) targeting Aedes aegypti population suppression for public health and agricultural use. Most directly comparable in product category, customer base (municipalities and public-health agencies), and SIT-based delivery model.
• World Mosquito Program: Direct peer — non-profit deploying Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes across more than a dozen countries to suppress dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases. Operates in the same public-health, SIT-adjacent category with global deployment footprint Diptera is targeting.

Emerging players

• In2Care: Emerging player — offers an In2Care mosquito trap that uses a combination of larvicide and adulticide to control Aedes mosquitoes. Competes in the same eco-friendly, non-spraying mosquito-control niche with a different delivery mechanism.
• Vestaron: Emerging player — develops peptide-based bio-insecticides as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. Adjacent to Diptera as a fellow biotech-innovation pest-control company addressing pesticide-resistance headwinds.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diptera