Indian aquaculture tech firm scores USD 1.1 million from Hatch, Omnivore

Chennai, India-based Aquaconnect, the developer of FarmMOJO, an online app that helps aquaculture farmers manage their businesses, has received a USD 1.1 million (EUR 1 million) investment from aquaculture business accelerator Hatch and Indian venture capital firm Omnivore.

Aquaconnect was a participant in Hatch’s inaugural cohort of aquaculture-focused start-ups in its 2017 accelerator program in Bergen, Norway. Assisted by artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, the FarmMOJO platform offers forecasting tools for farm management and creates a networked marketplace that allows farmers to connect with feed producers, laboratories, equipment manufacturers, hatcheries, processors, exporters, certification bodies, banks, and insurance companies.

Aquaconnect Co-Founder and CEO Raj Somasundaram said his company is currently focused on enabling shrimp farmers in India to increase farm revenues, minimize costs, and reduce risks through better disease management. Aquaconnect’s other co-founders are Sanjai Kumar and Shanmuga Sundara Raj.

“The funding will be used for team expansion, enhancing our AI-enabled platform offering, and increasing our omnichannel marketplace fulfilment capabilities. We aim to reach 15,000 shrimp and fish farmers across India and Indonesia by December 2020,” Somasundaram said in a press release. “Omnivore and HATCH understand aquaculture, so they are perfect investors for our first institutional funding round.”

Hatch Managing Partner Carsten Krome said he’s excited to see what Aquaconnect can do with this round of funding.

“Having closely worked with Raj and his team now for more than a year, we are absolutely confident that they can deliver on the sharp growth trajectory that we are sending them on with this capital injection,” he said.

Omnivore Managing Partner Mark Kahn said Aquaconnect’s expansion is well-timed, given the Indian government’s growing support of its aquaculture sector.

“The government of India is ramping up support for the aquaculture sector, carving out a separate Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, as well as launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY),” Kahn said. “We believe Raj and his team are building one of the most promising agritech startups globally, and we look forward to the exciting journey ahead.”

Photo courtesy of Aquaconnect

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