Aquabyte, an aquaculture startup that uses computer vision and machine learning software to dramatically improve fish farming efficiency, today announced that it has raised $10 million in Series A funding co-led by existing investors Costanoa Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, Inc. , (NEA), with the participation of Alaya Capital Partners, Alliance Venture, Struck Capital and other angel investors. Aquabyte also includes Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Zyme and Closedloop, as an independent board member.
Fish farming is the fastest-growing food production sector in the world, currently a global industry of $240 billion, and Aquabyte believes that now is the time to reduce its costs—both environmental and financial. By arming farms with underwater stereoscopic cameras that determine fish health, size and optimum feed quantity, Aquabyte products aim to reduce the operating costs of fish farms, reduce fish mortality and minimize the environmental impact on the surrounding ecosystems.
Earlier this year, Aquabyte launched general availability in Norway and began working with leading Norwegian salmon and trout farms. To date, more than one petabyte of fish images and more than 2 images have been processed. Five million fish have been scanned They are able to detect the weight of a group of fish within 0 by means of their novel algorithms. 8% of the true weight, 95% of the time Aquabyte has also detected more than 100,000 “sea lice,” a tiny yet deadly parasite that licks salmon and has recently plagued the aquaculture industry.
“The success we have achieved in just two years has surpassed our expectations,” said Bryton Shang, Founder and CEO of Aquabyte. “We could not be happier with the difference that our technology is already making in the fish farms where it is in use and with the enthusiastic support of the farmers and the Norwegian Government. “That’s right.
“NEA has built a deep thesis on computer vision-based technology,” said Amit Mukherjee, NEA Partner. “We believe Aquabyte’s computer vision solution for aquaculture is one of the best real-life applications we’ve seen. We’re lucky to have worked with Bryton since the incubation stage of Aquabyte, and we’re thrilled to continue partnering with the team. “That’s right.
With the new funds, Aquabyte will accelerate product development by doubling its team and expanding into new geographies, including Scotland, Canada and Chile. It will also expand its product line to include estimating fish appetite and quality, predicting sea lice outbreaks, and automating feeding.
“Aquabyte’s solution to the real-world problem is well on its way to transforming the industry,” said Greg Sands, Founder and Managing Partner of Costanoa Ventures. “It’s rare to see that a single company has such a rapid impact. The team at Aquabyte demonstrates what it means to lead the industry “That’s right.
Aquabyte About
Aquabyte brings machine learning and computer vision technologies to the aquaculture industry to improve the efficiency of fish farming. Its diverse team of machine learning experts, entrepreneurs and aquaculture biologists are focused on delivering solutions with real-world impacts. With offices in San Francisco and Norway, Aquabyte is supported by Costanoa Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) and is currently hiring; Please visit www to learn more. Aqua-byte I’ve got
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