Ocean 14 Capital invests in aquaculture health assessment startup WellFish Tech

Ocean 14 Capital announced on its LinkedIn  that it has added WellFish Tech to its portfolio of investments.

WellFish Tech, based in Scotland, is a startup working to improve fish health and welfare using data and blood-based clinical analysis. The company, according to Ocean 14, uses blood biomarkers and AI to determine the health status of fish, allowing aquaculture operations to improve the health of the fish in their stock.

Founded by Professor Brian Quinn, an exotoxicologist, the company is also working on a method to assess the optimum smolt transfer window using algorithm-based AI modelling. The company said that by using specific biomarkers, the company can rapidly analyze blood samples to give salmon farming companies the ability to understand exactly what stage of “smoltification” – the name for the anatomical changes in salmon biology that allow it to move from fresh water to salt water – the salmon are at.

“We are delighted to have invested in WellFish and be part of the aquaculture diagnostics market that is valued at [GBP] 3 billion [USD 3.6 billion, EUR 3.4 billion] and growing,” Ocean 14 Capital Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer Francisco Saraiva Gomes said. “The sustainability of aquaculture and blue foods requires precision and rapid diagnostics. WellFish's solution has the potential to become one of the de facto standards of the industry".

The exact size of the investment was not disclosed.

Ocean 14 Capital was founded in 2019, and is a partnership between Pontos Aqua, the Blue Marine Foundation, and Vedra Partners. The investment fund recently signed an investment of up to EUR 10 million (USD 10.5 million) with Ava Ocean, a company developing a type of precision scallop harvesting.   

The investment in Ava Ocean came as the company received a EUR 20 million (USD 21 million) investment form insurance company Convex, and a EUR 10 million (USD 10.5 million) investment form family offices and high-net-worth individuals, bringing its total available funding to EUR 160 million (USD 167 million).

The company added that the investments led to it surpassing its original EUR 150 million (USD 158 million) target, and that it now aims to surpass EUR 200 million (USD 211 million) by the end of 2023.  

Photo courtesy of WellFish Tech