Ace Aquatec has secured an investment from Earth Capital to develop its portfolio of products and expand into new markets.
The Dundee-based aquaculture technology company has also appointed Earth Capital's senior investment manager Bradley Jones to the board, alongside Chris van der Kuyl - who becomes chair - and Nina Santi - who is now a non-executive director.
Van der Kuyl is principal of existing investor Chroma Ventures, while Santi is a senior advisor at INAQ AS, a strategy advisory firm specialising in the seafood industry. Existing investor Aqua-Spark also contributed to the latest funding round.
Ace Aquatec has raised more than £10m since its Series A investment with Aqua-Spark and Chroma Ventures.
It has already grown across the UK, Europe, Canada, South America and South East Asia - and will use part of this additional capital to expand its presence and distributor networks in these markets.
The money should also provide a recruitment boost, with 10 jobs expected to be created including engineering, software and sales support roles in Dundee and Chile.
The investment will also enable the acceleration of development in aquaculture technology solutions, including its Biomass Camera, which has recently started production following successful trials.
The camera is designed to detect and quantify fish biomass automatically. It uses machine learning to produce accurate, real-time data on a range of fish species populations and distributions.
Nathan Pyne-Carter, chief executive of Ace Aquatec, said: “Earth Capital shares our outlook and passions – namely, the critical importance of technology to drive sustainable food production.
“Together we can tackle one of the world’s most pressing issues by providing sustainable and responsible protein for a growing world population.
“The team’s support and expertise will help us scale the business and take another huge step forward in the development of high-welfare products for the global seafood industry.“
Jones commented: “Championing sustainable practices and setting high welfare standards paves the way to ensuring that seafood farming becomes one of the biggest opportunities to responsibly feed a growing population.
“Sustainable farming aligns perfectly with Earth Capital's mission to advance technology within the energy, food, and water sectors while driving towards a net zero future.“
Van der Kuyl added: “On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Nina to Ace Aquatec.
“Nina is an accomplished and transformative executive with extensive experience in operations and technology management within the aquaculture sector.“
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
