Strella Biotechnology, makers of technology that predicts produce ripeness, just announced its first significant round of fundraising — a $3.3 million seed round that will enable the company to break into the retail sector.

CEO Katherine Sizov told Technical.ly that Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, the investment arm of the Yamaha Motor Co., and Catapult Ventures led the raise, with participation from Mark Cuban of “Shark Tank” fame, Red & Blue Ventures and others.

It’s the first raise with equity for the biotech company, although it had scooped up about half a million in funding from contests and pitch competitions since its start in 2017.

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