Coastal Aquaculture Research Institute Pvt. Ltd, which operates aqua farmers’ network Aquaconnect, has raised Series A funding of $15 million (around Rs 127 crore) led by impact investment venture capital firm Lok Capital. 

Several new and existing investors, including Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, Suneight Investment, Omnivore and Rebright Partners, among others, also participated in the funding round.

As per the startup, the raised funds will be deployed to boost its scalable solutions portfolio and expand service offerings. 

Aquaconnect | Online Marketplace For Fish And Shrimp Farmers

Launched by Rajamanohar Somasundaram in 2017, Aquaconnect is a Chennai-based startup that provides data-driven farm advisory and marketplace solutions to fish and shrimp farmers through artificial intelligence and satellite remote sensing technologies. 

 It is an online marketplace for fish and shrimp farmers to buy quality aquaculture products directly from manufacturers. The startup provides its services across the entire value chain of aquaculture and claims to offer probiotics, minerals, feed supplements, disinfectants and aerators with free doorstep delivery across India.  

Speaking about the development, Rajamanohar Somasundaram, Founder of Aquaconnect, said, 

“We have added about 500 aquapartners in the last 12 months, and this phygital network has helped us scale phenomenally across six major aquaculture production states. In the next 12 months, we are set to triple our aquapartners’ network across India and optimize our service offerings.” 

Through its offerings, Aquaconnect is improving farm productivity, financial access, and market linkage for fish and shrimp farmers. The full-stack aquaculture technology startup aims to become the largest aquaculture value chain aggregator. Aquaconnect has been working to navigate the challenges in the aquaculture value chain through an integrated tech-driven approach.

In March 2022, Aquaconnect raised Rs 60 crore in venture debt funding led by Trifecta Capital.

Commenting on the development, Hari Krishnan, Partner, Lok Capital, said, 

“While Aquaculture might seem like a niche agtech space, it is the sunrise sector in India showing double-digit YoY growth with a $15 billion market opportunity. Aquaconnect, with its deep-tech intervention, has the potential to disrupt the Indian aquaculture value chain and emerge as a key player in the growing blue food segment.” 

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