Top 10 Aquaculture Startups by Funding

Startup	Total Funding	Headquarters	Founded	Description
eFishery	$294M	Bandung, Indonesia	2013	Provides smart feeding systems and an online marketplace for fish and shrimp farmers.
FreshToHome	$286M	Bengaluru, India	2015	Online platform delivering fresh fish, seafood, and meats to customers.
Captain Fresh	$226M	Bengaluru, India	2019	B2B marketplace supplying a wide variety of seafood to retailers and restaurants.
InnovaFeed	$450M	Nesle (Hauts-de-France), France	2016	Produces insect protein (black soldier fly larvae) for sustainable aquafeed (fish and animal nutrition).
Calysta	$172M	Menlo Park, USA	2011	Develops FeedKind®, a microbial protein made from natural gas to replace fishmeal in aquafeed.
Laxey	€130M (~$147M)	Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland	2019	Land-based salmon farming company using RAS (recirculating aquaculture) technology to grow Atlantic salmon.
BlueNalu	$118M	San Diego, USA	2017	Produces cell-cultured seafood by growing fish cells into fillets and other seafood products.
Aquabyte	$48.4M	San Francisco, USA	2017	Uses computer vision and AI to monitor fish health and optimize feeding on salmon farms.
Finless Foods	$48M	New York City, USA	2017	Cellular agriculture startup growing fish (finfish) meat from cells as an alternative seafood.
XpertSea	$29.2M	Quebec City, Canada	2009	Provides IoT-enabled hardware and software (XpertCount) to count and analyze shrimp and fish larvae for aquaculture farmers.

🔍 Key Insights & Trends

1. Feed Innovation is Booming

Companies like InnovaFeed and Calysta are creating new types of protein from insects or natural gas. This helps reduce the use of fishmeal and makes aquaculture more sustainable.

2. India is Rising Fast

Indian startups FreshToHome and Captain Fresh are leading in online seafood sales and supply chains. Both have received more than $200M in funding.

3. Smart Farming is the Future

eFishery and Aquabyte are using AI and smart devices to help fish farmers feed fish better, track health, and increase profits.

4. Cell-Cultured Seafood is Gaining Ground

BlueNalu and Finless Foods are making real fish meat in labs without harming marine life. Investors are interested in this clean and future-friendly solution.

💡 Why Investors Love Aquaculture Startups

🌍 Eco-Friendly Focus: New solutions are helping save wild fish stocks and reduce pollution.
🤖 Tech-Driven Growth: AI, IoT, and automation are improving efficiency in farms.
💸 High Market Demand: The global demand for fish and seafood keeps growing fast.
📈 Scalable Business Models: Most startups use platforms, data, or labs that can scale globally.

Summary of Key Trends

The highest-funded aquaculture startups span feed technology, digital marketplace platforms, and novel production methods. Notably, Indonesia’s eFishery leads with $294M, offering automated feeding systems and a farmers’ marketplace. India’s FreshToHome ($286M) and Captain Fresh ($226M) built large online seafood supply platforms. In feed innovation, France’s InnovaFeed has raised about $450M (from insect protein production), and U.S. Calysta secured $172M for its microbial protein “FeedKind” for aquafeed. Startups deploying new production methods also stand out: Iceland’s Laxey raised €130M for land-based salmon farming, and U.S. cell-cultured seafood companies like BlueNalu ($118M) and Finless Foods ($48M) received large investments. Overall, investors are backing solutions that use technology to make aquaculture more sustainable, efficient and traceable – from AI monitoring on fish farms to novel feed ingredients.

Sources: Company profiles and news reports (latest available data).

📌 Final Thoughts

Aquaculture is not just about farming fish anymore. It’s about smart farming, digital platforms, sustainable feeds, and clean meat. These top 10 aquaculture startups are leading the way with big funding and game-changing technology.

If you’re in the fisheries or aquaculture industry, keep an eye on these startups — or even partner with them!