More than 3 billion people around the globe rely on wild-caught and farmed seafood products for their protein intake. The world’s aquaculture production has hit a new record, and 89% of all aquatic animal production is being used for direct human consumption, according to a report published just last week. This shows a continuous increase in global consumption of aquatic foods. Accordingly, startups in the aquaculture sector are using AI technology to help farmers to enhance production and sustainability.
Among them is a Canada-based startup called Wittaya Aqua. Its data-driven platform enables seafood farmers to consolidate existing data points across the seafood supply chain to drive greater profitability, sustainability and efficiency. The startup raised $2.8 million in a seed round to further develop its feed-to-farm platform and expand further into Asia, the largest aquaculture-producing region, after entering Singapore in 2023.
“We were first founded in Canada, but our vision is global, and Asia is a key part of the equation. … The [Asia] region is the global leader in aquaculture production, contributing a significant portion of the world’s seafood,” co-founder and CEO of Wittaya Aqua Even Hall told TechCrunch. “While Southeast Asia boasts high production, there’s immense potential for further growth through data-driven practices.”
Many countries utilize aquaculture, but a few dominate aquaculture, including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and South Korea, which are the top five aquaculture producers.
The startup’s platform uses AI and machine learning to enhance its science-based models, forecast animal growth (predictive analytics), and recommend optimal feed types and quantities based on real-time data and growth projections. Its machine-learning algorithm analyzes historical data and environmental factors to suggest strategies for maximizing crop yields.
Hall, a wildlife conservation photographer, and Dominique Bureau, a professor of animal nutrition and aquaculture at the University of Guelph, saw the inefficiencies and challenges of siloed data in the industry and co-founded Wittaya Aqua in 2017. Hall also said he had experienced firsthand the painful process of copying field notes into Excel to analyze data while working as a fisheries biologist.
The aquaculture data has traditionally been fragmented and slow-moving, hindering the ability to make well-informed decisions, Hall said. Wittaya Aqua aims to address this issue by consolidating data from various points in the supply chain — including farmers, feed mills and ingredient suppliers — into a single centralized platform. Transparency across the value chain provides data and insights to help users make better decisions at every level, according to the company CEO.
“The unified view allows us to build robust, science-based models that provide stakeholders with actionable insights,” Hall said. “For instance, a farmer can see how their feed choices directly impact growth rates and compare their performance against industry benchmarks. Similarly, feed mills can analyze how their feeds perform on various farms, allowing them to refine feeding strategies for specific customer needs.”
Its users include ingredient suppliers, feed mills and farmers. The startup says it is in the revenue-generation stage and has secured some customers, including BioMar, De Heus, Uni-President, US Soybean Export Council, Soy Aquaculture Alliance, Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, AquaChile and others.
The global aquaculture market is projected to reach $355.6 billion by 2033, up from $299 billion in 2023, according to a report by Precedence Research.
The company competes with farm management solution providers like Fieldin, Taranis, eFishery, Victory Farms, Atarraya and AquaEasy. What sets Wittaya apart from its peers is that its platform combines nutritional information with field performance. That means the company can model the impacts of different feed ingredients on animal performance, which is unique, Hall said. In addition, it works with multiple species in multiple geographies, from mainstream commercial ones like salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and pangasius to niche species like grouper and snapper, unlike most companies that focus on a single species and a single geography.
In the longer term, Wittaya plans to pursue a two-pronged approach to usher in a new era of financial stability for farmers. First, it aims to reduce the perceived credit or insurance risks related to production mortality by offering robust data and insight. Second, it wants to match its users with lenders and insurers who can provide customized financial products, Hall said.
The outfit has 16 staff across Canada and Singapore.