VCs invest $8m in Singapore's Umitron

The round is being touted as the largest ever early-stage investment in the aquatech industry, a technology development area that includes a focus on fish farming and related aquaculture disciplines. The capital will be used to drive service improvements and R&D.

Umitron, which also maintains a presence in Japan, uses internet-of-things (IoT) and artificial intelligence technologies to help aquaculture operators optimize fish school analysis and feeding processes as well as reduce environmental risk for water farming resources.

The company said in a statement that optimization of feeding was the industry's biggest challenge as global population growth and limitations in the capacity of land-based farming drives demand for seafood protein. The effect is expected to be exaggerated in Asia due to demographic and lifestyle trends.

Earlier this year, Umitron entered into an agreement with a provincial government in Japan to provide IoT feeding control systems to local aquaculture producers. The program will incorporate the company's UmiGarden product, which allows for site monitoring and data analysis via the internet.

D4V closed its debut venture fund in April with more than JPY5 billion ($45 million) in commitments. The GP, also known as Design for Ventures, focuses on companies looking to expand internationally that prioritize design as a key business differentiator.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• North Asia
• Technology
• Industrials
• Early-stage
• Singapore
• Japan
• Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ)
• Agriculture
• seed