Wittaya Aqua's AquaOp Farm platform has a suite of features to help track, benchmark, and forecast farm performance.
Photo: Wittaya Aqua.
Aquaculture data and analytics start-up Wittaya Aqua has recently completed a successful seed funding round, raising US $2.8 million (EUR 2.57m), the company has announced.
Founded in Canada in 2017 by former fisheries biologist Evan Hall and animal nutrition and aquaculture researcher Dr Dominique Bureau, a professor at the University of Guelph, Wittya Aqua expanded to Singapore in 2023.
The company, which integrates different information streams from farmers, feed mills, and ingredient suppliers into one platform, says the new funding will support its further expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Wittaya Aqua says its platform is currently used in 10 countries by prominent aquaculture sector clients such as De Heus, Uni-President, US Soybean Export Council, Soy Aquaculture Alliance, Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, AquaChile, dsm-firmenich, Corbion, AGT Foods, POET, and Botaneco.
"This new funding will help us to build a better system to support seafood farmers, feed mills, and ingredient suppliers worldwide," CEO and co-founder Evan Hall wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the news.
"Wittaya Aqua's mission is to fill a critical gap in aquaculture's digital landscape. Our platform consolidates various data points across the seafood supply chain to improve profitability, sustainability, and efficiency. Last year, our platform enabled the production of over 1.64 billion meals of seafood, and this year, we are on track to increase that number significantly," Hall wrote.
"With the new funds, we plan to enhance our platform and expand our presence in the Asia Pacific, the leading aquaculture producing region. We are committed to providing reliable data and support to our stakeholders, setting a new bar in sustainable aquaculture," Hall continued.
Wittaya Aqua co-founders, CEO Evan Hall (top-left) and CSO Dominique Bureau (right)
Photo: Wittaya Aqua.
Investors participating in the funding round include The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, SEEDS Capital, Future Planet Capital, Conservation International Ventures, and SeaAhead Blue Angels.
"We are glad to now be supported by a fantastic group of investors who believe in our vision," Wittaya Aqua co-founder and CSO Dominique Bureau wrote in a separate LinkedIn post following the announcement.
"We are revolutionizing how the aquaculture industry stakeholders interact, collaborate, and advance. There’s finally a robust platform that helps streamline operations and improve efficiency across the board, from ingredients to feed to farm, and everything in between," Bureau added.
