Funding will be used to advance the company's vision to bring the world's most sustainable aquaculture practices to the mainstream
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ReelData AI ("ReelData"), a company leveraging AI to provide customized data and automation to land-based farmers, today announced it has closed an US$8M Series A funding round led by Buoyant Ventures. Additional investment was also provided by S2G Ventures and The Nest Family Office.
With more than 3 billion people in the world currently relying on seafood as a significant source of protein, land-based aquaculture will be a critical part of the equation for feeding the world's rapidly growing population. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquaculture production is projected to reach 109 million tonnes in 2030, an increase of 32 percent (26 million tonnes) over 2018.
"Scaling the global land-based aquaculture industry is critical in both our fight against climate change and our ability to feed a growing population," said Mathew Zimola, co-founder and CEO of ReelData. "ReelData's farmer-first approach has informed our deep understanding of the pain points that our partners are facing when it comes to scalability. Our ability to solve those problems through the use of AI and automation is helping to push the boundaries of our industry's capabilities."
The land-based aquaculture industry has – by all accounts – audacious goals. Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing segments of food production and its continued pace of expansion rests on scaling land-based operations. These facilities are complex and require real-time, accurate decision-making. ReelData intends to use the funding it has raised to develop a precise and autonomous operating system to unlock the future of land-based aquaculture and the sustainability advancements it promises.
"Our investment in ReelData represents our belief that advancing sustainable seafood production is critical for both the health of our planet and its people. We look forward to working closely with them on their mission to become the premiere digital solution for the land-based aquaculture industry," said Amy Francetic, managing general partner and co-founder of Buoyant Ventures.
ReelData's first product on the market - ReelAppetite - identifies real-time population appetite and adjusts feed levels accordingly to maximize biomass while limiting waste. This technology has helped save companies up to $2-3 million USD on wasted feed per 10,000 MT annual production - in addition to related savings generated from increased growth rate and reduced production risks.
"Following our initial investment, we have been continuously impressed by the innovation and sustainability-related benefits that ReelData is bringing to the table," said Larsen Mettler, managing director at S2G Ventures. "The company's pace and efficiency in bringing new technologies to the sector are unparalleled and driving impressive results for its partners, enabling them to increase growth while decreasing costs and environmental impact."
ReelData's latest offering is ReelBiomass - the only biomass estimation camera system built from the ground up for RAS and flow through systems. The ReelBiomass technology can monitor the size, weight and distribution of fish populations with high degrees of accuracy, removing the need for intrusive weigh-ins, which cause high levels of stress for the fish and ultimately decrease its growth rate.
ReelData is a start-up located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Born out of a love for sustainability and entrepreneurship, ReelData set out to fill a need in a new market and have now built a team of 30+ employees, with clients of various sizes in multiple countries across the globe. ReelData is rapidly scaling to help land-based aquaculture farms reach their full potential with AI-aided technologies. ReelData is consistently recognized as one of the most promising technology companies in Aquaculture, despite their young age. For more information about ReelData, please visit https://www.reeldata.ai/.
Buoyant Ventures is a female-led venture fund investing in entrepreneurs using digital technology to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Buoyant invests in startups leveraging software and simple hardware to address climate change across the energy, transportation, agriculture, water, and the built environment industries.
S2G Ventures, the direct investment team of Builders Vision, partners with entrepreneurs who are working on solutions to some of the world's greatest challenges across the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets. We provide capital, mentorship, and value-added resources to companies pursuing innovative market-based solutions that generate positive social, environmental, and financial returns. We provide our partners with flexible capital solutions that can range from seed and venture funding through growth equity to debt and infrastructure financing. For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to our podcast, or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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