Italy’s Aflabox raises €1.35 million to scale AI-powered portable aflatoxin detection across Africa and Europe

Aflabox, an Italian AgTech startup that aims to revolutionise food safety by making aflatoxin detection accessible, affordable, and efficient, has closed a €1.35 million Seed funding round.

The round was completed through FoodSeed, the programme within CDP Venture Capital’s National Accelerator Network dedicated to agrifood startups and managed by Eatable Adventures. The round also saw the participation of Farming Future, the National Agrifood Tech Technology Transfer Hub promoted by CDP Venture Capital SGR in partnership with ToSeed & Partners.

Fabrizio Cardillo and Luca Alinovi, founders of Aflabox, said, “We created Aflabox in response to a tangible problem we observed directly in the field: when testing is distant, expensive and slow, too many decisions across the supply chain are made without reliable data.”

“Our ambition is to build a bridge between Italian technology, African supply chains and international markets, transforming agricultural quality into data that is fast, accessible, geolocated and actionable for businesses, governments and institutions, directly where it is truly needed.”

Founded in July 2024 by Alinovi and Cardillo, Aflabox has developed a portable platform combining UV imaging, artificial intelligence and geolocated data to detect mycotoxins, assess the commercial quality of grains and map risks across agricultural supply chains. 

The company highlighted the toxic effects of mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, and the threat they pose to global food safety, with consequences for human health, product quality, the commercial value of commodities, and access to domestic and international markets.

It states that currently, many tests require specialised laboratories, benchtop equipment, qualified personnel and processing times ranging from several hours to several days. This limits the ability to intervene effectively, particularly in rural areas, collection centres and countries where the risk of contamination is highest.

Aflabox claims that it was founded to address this gap by transferring part of the testing and monitoring process out of laboratories and into the day-to-day operations of agricultural supply chains.

“Aflabox is not simply an analytical device,” says the startup. The company is developing a field intelligence platform that combines portable hardware, UV and white-light imaging, artificial intelligence, geolocated data collection and cloud-based dashboards. Each scan produces a digital, shareable result in less than 90 seconds, while contributing to the creation of a database that can be used to monitor quality, contamination, risk and the commercial value of agricultural products.

According to the company, the system analyses samples using UV and white-light imaging, processes the information through artificial intelligence models and generates a digital result that can be used by farmers, aggregators, collection centres, food processing companies, traders, exporters, public institutions and international organisations.

Aflabox notes that this system can be used by farmers to assess crop quality directly in the field. Collection centres, aggregators and traders can use it to support purchasing and storage decisions, while food companies and exporters can strengthen quality controls, traceability and market access.

The collected data can also support governments, public institutions, donors and international organisations to plan food safety programmes and monitor the areas most exposed to contamination risks. 

The company reported that it has already supplied 20 devices to the World Food Programme in Kenya and began its commercial development by presenting the technology at the Cereal Millers Association Annual Technical Conference in April 2026. It has also completed an initial validation phase for its AI-based technology and filed a patent application covering its solution.

“Aflabox is a tangible example of how technology and innovation can help make agrifood supply chains safer, more efficient and more transparent. The team has developed a solution with significant growth and impact potential, capable of addressing a highly relevant need at an international level. We are delighted to support the company in this new phase of development and to contribute to its industrial and commercial growth,” said José Luis Cabañero, CEO and Founder of Eatable Adventures.

Headquartered in Italy and operating from Nairobi through Aflazero Ltd, the company works across Africa and Europe. The company plans to use this capital to accelerate its transition from technological validation to industrial and commercial development. The funding will allow the startup to complete the validation and certification of its device, strengthen its commercial presence in Kenya, Nigeria and Italy, and begin developing a micro-factory dedicated to the production of Aflabox devices. 

The funding will also be deployed to enhance the AI platform, improve detection accuracy, expand the distribution network across Africa and Europe, and strengthen the team.

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