When Max Rünzel was working at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, he saw firsthand how difficult it was to track and manage natural systems. Data collection was expensive, slow, and fragmented.
He encountered the beginnings of a solution when he met Dr. James Wilkes—a computer science professor and longtime beekeeper who had built a task management tool for hive tracking.
As the two got to know each other, a partnership and grand idea bloomed. What began as a tool for beekeepers began to evolve into a broader environmental monitoring platform capable of collecting and making sense of data for both individual users and corporate clients.
“To protect nature, we need to be able to monitor it, because we need monitoring for managing,” Rünzel said. “And to manage it, we need to know very granularly what is going on—and to this day, that is very expensive and fragmented.”
The duo set out to fill that gap with HiveTracks, a startup they co-founded with Laura Dye (now COO). The platform streamlines how environmental data are collected, providing a faster and more cost-effective alternative to traditional monitoring systems.
The Hive Level
HiveTracks found its initial niche as a hive data collection and decision support tool for beekeepers. Originally built as a task management system, the application now serves as a centralized hub for tracking hive health over time.
“It’s a one-stop shop for small-holder beekeepers,” Rünzel said.
The platform has two arms: a free mobile app and a paid web platform. Users begin on the mobile app by creating an apiary and logging hive inspections through a “guided inspection” feature—a structured workflow that combines photo inputs with a set of targeted questions to assess colony health. The process walks users through key indicators such as food stores, population strength, brood stages, and potential stressors. Based on those inputs, the system generates recommendations, flagging issues like low food supply or parasite presence and suggesting next steps.
The data then feeds into a more robust web platform, where users can visualize trends, export datasets, and analyze hive performance over time. Users can now authenticate the origin of their honey with blockchain technology, for instance, or share their apiaries with their mentees, mentors or friends. And as the dataset has grown, so has the platform’s ability to identify significant patterns.
“We are coming up on 150,000 unique inspections,” Rünzel said. “That is enough data that you can see what helps a beekeeper and what doesn’t—what are the things that you need to be doing to make sure your bees stay healthy?”
Industrial Monitoring
Beyond beekeeping assistance, Rünzel always had the goal to expand the tool into a more holistic environmental monitoring platform.
“We work with corporations who need specific environmental data to be collected,” Rünzel said.
In practice, that means deploying the same data collection system used by beekeepers at industrial sites. HiveTracks contracts beekeepers from its network to place hives on locations such as solar farms, which are used to collect lab-tested levels of pesticides, heavy metals, microplastics, and PFAS, while also gathering standardized data on insects, plants, and surrounding environmental conditions through image capture. Using the app, those beekeepers follow guided workflows—capturing images that feed into a centralized dataset.
The system combines that input with image-based analysis and lab testing to generate detailed biodiversity reports for clients that meet their specific needs, from adhering to land owner or municipal requirements to aligning with internationally recognized nature reporting frameworks.
The approach provides an alternative to traditional environmental assessments, which are often conducted infrequently and at high cost. Instead of a single snapshot, companies receive ongoing, site-specific data that is pinpointed and easier to act on.
“It’s faster, better, cheaper and more granular,” Rünzel said.
Moving Forward
As HiveTracks scales, the company is expanding its partnerships across industries that manage large amounts of land, particularly in energy and development. Early work with solar projects helped the team establish a model they believe they can replicate across sectors from construction to land management.
Looking ahead, HiveTracks plans to further develop its platform into an AI-native tool for individual beekeepers. The team is working on features such as voice-enabled inspections, context-aware chat functions, and tailored recommendations based on a user’s hive history, ultimately aiming to create a more accessible, real-time beekeeping companion.
QUICK BITS
Startup: HiveTracks, Inc.
Co-Founders: Max Rünzel (CEO), James Wilkes, (Chief Beekeeping Officer) Laura Dye, (COO)
Founded: 2020
Team size: 5 (+ 5 part-time)
Location: Creston, NC
Website: hivetracks.com
Funding: Raising seed extension
Beyond traditional beekeepers, the startup is also exploring ways to engage a broader audience of “bee lovers,” including gardeners and park visitors. These efforts focus on providing simple tools to assess pollinator health in local environments and offer recommendations on planting to improve habitats.
As HiveTracks continues to expand globally, the team is prioritizing the addition of new languages and regional capabilities to better serve its user base, which already spans more than 145 countries.
“At the end of the day, one of the most exciting aspects of pollinators and plants is that they’re local, globally,” Runzel said.
