Mosquitter Turns Its Mosquito Traps Into an AI-Powered Surveillance Network

Mosquitter is turning its hardware mosquito trap into an AI-powered surveillance network designed to identify species, monitor populations, and provide early warnings about mosquito-borne disease risks.

The last two days are half off at Disrupt. Don't miss any more moments, register now

Disrupt the doors opening on October 13th. Get your card and bring someone with you with a 50% discount. Register now.

Mosquitoes and the diseases they carry are expanding into new territory. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and global travel are changing the way disease-carrying mosquitoes thrive. Cases of dengue, a viral disease spread through mosquito bites, more than doubled in one year, from 6.5 million reported globally in 2023 to a record 14.6 million in 2024, the WHO said.

A 30-person Pennsylvania-based startup, Mosqitter, thinks fighting the problem requires more than just killing mosquitoes. The company began by developing chemical-free devices that attract and trap female mosquitoes by mimicking human warmth, scent, and respiratory signals.

Mosqitter co-founder and CEO Anastasia Romanova told TechCrunch that the company aims to bring more sustainable mosquito control products to a market that still relies heavily on chemicals. Romanova says it now has more than 5,000 devices operating on five continents, up from 250 when TechCrunch last covered the company in 2022. The startup now wants to turn its traps into an artificial intelligence-based surveillance network that can identify mosquito species, track changes in their numbers, and give early warnings about emerging diseases.

Mosqitter began its research and development in Ukraine in 2019 and launched commercial operations in 2021, which the company considers its official launch year. The company started by studying mosquito behavior. Female mosquitoes, the only mosquitoes that bite, feed on blood before laying eggs. They lay eggs in a roughly three-week cycle, usually 100 to 200 at a time.

"We saw an opportunity: If we could catch the female mosquito at the point where she's about to lay eggs, we could potentially reduce the mosquito population and prevent it from growing," Romanova said. That's why we incorporated elements like heat, similar to the temperature of human skin, a scent that mimics the smell of human skin, and light. In the Grand model, which is the company's top offering, we also use CO2 to mimic human breathing.

Mosqitter, presented Wednesday as part of TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield story contest this week in downtown San Francisco, uses artificial intelligence to identify the mosquitoes its devices catch. Its computer vision system analyzes biological features to distinguish between species, Romanova told TechCrunch.

To identify a mosquito, Mosquitter runs an image through its neural network, checks the result against an external data set, and asks entomologists to confirm the findings. It then assigns you a confidence score based on how close those assessments are.

"You can think of it as three judges analyzing a case and making a ruling," Romanova said.

Mosqitter also adds environmental data, including weather, wind and humidity, to its system. The company says that as it collects more data, it plans to use these inputs to predict changes in mosquito populations and potential health risks.

Mosqitter's product portfolio currently focuses on two devices. The Mosqitter Grand, its flagship product, is designed for larger areas and public spaces, while the Mosqitter Mini is aimed at smaller residential spaces and can also be used as a portable surveillance device. The startup plans to officially introduce its Febris monitoring system next month, adding a data layer to monitor mosquito populations and assess potential outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.

It is important to understand that Febris does not diagnose disease, Romanova said. We cannot say with certainty that a particular mosquito is a dengue carrier. "What we can say is that there is a specific mosquito species, and knowing that can help increase the potential risk associated with the diseases that species can transmit."

Olga Diachuk, chief executive officer and co-founder of Mosqitter, said the company is looking for B2B partners globally, especially distributors with established sales networks and relationships with governments and retailers. Unlike Mosqitter's hardware products, Febris targets institutional customers, including governments, public health and mosquito control agencies, airports, municipalities and universities that require continuous mosquito monitoring.

Brazil, which has a high burden of dengue, is one example of the spread of the Mosquitter. According to the founders, Mosquitter has established local manufacturing and sales operations there. The startup also considers the key markets of the United States, Greece, India, Ukraine and Nigeria, using different sales approaches in each.

In Greece, Mosquitter works with an established pest control company. In the US, the Mini sells its device directly to consumers through Amazon and its website. The company is also working with the UK Health Security Agency to deploy Febris at locations including Heathrow and Gatwick airports. International travel can bring in mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases from other regions, and Romanova says this underscores the need for more ongoing surveillance.

"We think this part of the business can grow significantly with the Febris monitoring system because governments are major buyers of mosquito surveillance data," Romanova said.

The Mosqitter Mini retails for $199, while the Grand Professional System costs $1,999. The company earns revenue from hardware sales, while Febris adds a recurring revenue stream from monitoring, dashboards, analytics and data services.

Romanova said Mosquitter is on track to make more than $1 million in revenue by 2026. Revenue from Febris has only recently begun, but the company predicts the data business could bring in more than $3.5 million next year, based on the value of the contracts it's currently bidding on.

Mosquitter is raising a $5 million round in two parts, starting with $1 million, followed by another $4 million. The startup said the split is linked to milestones it plans to achieve with its Febris monitoring system. Mosquitter has raised $1.9 million to date.

There is also a story behind this name. Despite what most people think, "Mosquitter" is not a combination of "mosquito" and "quitter," Diachuk said. It's a combination of "mosquito" and "eater," a name that made more sense when the company was primarily focused on catching mosquitoes.

When you make a purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Keith Park is a reporter for TechCrunch focusing on technology, startups and venture capital in Asia. He was previously a financial journalist at Mergermarket covering M&A, private equity and venture capital.

Get 50% off second pass The Disrupt experience is meant to be shared. Get your pass and bring a colleague, partner or peer for 50% off. Cover more ground by building connections, building momentum, and discovering what's next in the startup ecosystem.

AI startup says it can create license-ready designs in minutes Kirsten Korosec

Elon Musk attacks Ambani over Jagmeet Singh's India Starlink launch delay

Remember Orkut? Its founder wants to bring back Jagmeet Singh

The United States barred Microsoft, Adobe and major IT companies from the green card program for skilled foreign workers Ayesha Malik.

Elon Musk questions Ambani's influence when launching India's Starlink Jagmeet Singh booth

The 19-year-old founder of Cal AI just raised $10 million for his new AI startup Julie Burt.