Tidal's Orca system being deployed.
Photo: Tidal
Aquaculture technology company Tidal, a spinout of X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Norwegian salmon producer SalMar to expand the use of artificial intelligence and automation in salmon farming, the companies have announced.
The partnership will focus on three main areas: automated feeding, real-time farm monitoring and the testing of an autonomous in-pen sea lice mitigation system. Announcing the collaboration, the companies said the initiative aims to support improved fish welfare, more efficient production and lower feed waste in selected SalMar sites.
Tidal develops underwater sensing, machine perception and automation technology for aquaculture. Under the agreement, SalMar will deploy Tidal’s camera systems and environmental sensors at a number of farming locations, with data fed into Tidal’s platform to monitor welfare indicators, lice levels, treatment performance and other operational risks.
The companies also plan to use Tidal’s autonomous feeding systems at several of SalMar's farming sites, with the aim of improving feeding consistency, support growth and feed conversion, and reduce wasted feed - and in the process "substantially reduce" the CO2 footprint of farming.
The third key aspect of the collaboration will involve trialling Tidal’s autonomous system for in-pen sea lice mitigation.
“Tidal’s mission is to support sustainable growth in aquaculture and protect the ocean,” said Rajesh Jadhav, CEO of Tidal. “Working with SalMar - a group with deep aquaculture value chain experience - allows us to continue to deliver our best-in-class AI-powered robotics and control platform into real-world industrial operations at scale.”
Tidal and SalMar said the partnership could also involve broader use of AI across the salmon value chain, including individual fish identification, tracking of growth and welfare, lice monitoring, breeding programmes and the use of large language models developed with Google.
Tidal is a spinout of X, Google’s Moonshot Factory.
Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at X, said Tidal exemplified the Moonshot Factory's philosophy, "that tackling the hardest problems first is often the fastest way to real-world impact."
"We’ve always felt that this approach - deep tech, rigorous science, and patience before scaling - would set Tidal up for meaningful commercial growth. It’s exciting to see that play out as Tidal teams up with SalMar at a moment when the industry is ready for what they’ve built,” he added.
Tidal, which began as a project within Alphabet’s X (formerly Google[x]), focuses on developing AI tools for sustainable aquaculture. Launched in July 2024, and headquartered in Silicon Valley, the company expanded into Norway later that year, announcing the appointment of Anders Fossøy, former Aquabyte commercial director, as its general manager in Norway, in September 2024.
The company unveiled its underwater camera remote monitoring system "Orca" last May, followed by its autonomous AI sea lice control system in August 2025.
The collaboration was also welcomed by Gustav Witzøe, Chairman of the board at SalMar ASA, who said his company “has always aimed to move the aquaculture industry toward smarter, more sustainable operations - and always on salmon’s terms.”
“We look forward to working with Tidal, whose platform can further strengthen our ability to deliver on that promise,” Witzøe continued. “We anticipate that automated feeding and a new lice treatment technique, together with more accurate data from our farming sites, has the potential to shape the next generation of salmon farming.”