BiOceanOr: Revolutionising aquaculture with AI and BlueInvest

BiOceanOr’s team of 20, from data scientists and biologists to fish farmers and software engineers.
© BiOceanOr

Leveraging expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and marine biology, BiOceanOr, a French start-up, is using AI technologies to help manage water quality and promote sustainable practices. They have developed AquaREAL, a unique service predicting water quality. Their mission is to deliver bio-guided services that optimise fish welfare and growth, while supporting sustainable aquaculture practices.

“I am delighted by the invaluable support from BlueInvest for our fundraising efforts, which has substantially enhanced our brand visibility.” said Samuel Dupont, CEO and co-founder.

Thanks to BlueInvest support, the start-up successfully raised its first round of funding in June 2023, amounting to €2,5 million.

The journey towards aquaculture innovation

Starting from its roots in oyster farming, BiOceanOr’s has expanded their sales range to diverse aquaculture products, including salmon, seabass, bream, tilapia, shrimp and algae. However, as they secured contracts with major French water companies like VEOLIA, concerns arose regarding the environmental impact of their operations.

Driven to minimise their ecological footprint and mitigate potential repercussions for both downstream and fellow aquaculture enterprises, BiOceanOr set their sights on developing a tool that would ensure safe, environmental-friendly and efficient operations at farm level.

To address the data gap, BiOceanOr embarked on creating a digital solution to advance aquaculture. Going beyond simple monitoring, their innovation aimed to offer real-time insights and AI-powered analytics. This empowers aquaculture producers to foresee environmental shifts and proactively manage risks.

Real-time data from an underwater weather station

BiOceanOr’s AquaREAL water quality assistant provides real-time data for farmers and customers. The tool predicts crucial water quality parameters such as dissolved oxygen levels and assesses their impact on production and the marine environment.

Their innovation can work with different types of sensors and monitoring devices. It benefits aquaculture by enhancing downstream applications, boosting fish growth, and ensuring fish welfare. Furthermore, it aids water utilities in managing wastewater discharge and optimising pumping operations in the watershed.

BiOceanOr’s solution AquaReal gives real-time data about the water quality parameters.
© BiOceanOr

BlueInvest in action

BlueInvest has played an important role in BiOceanOr's journey. The programme provided them with valuable guidance and connected them with partners across Europe. Through pitching and coaching sessions, they were able to gain insights from experienced members of the BlueInvest community. In particular, the programme's support and visibility have been crucial for BiOceanOr in attracting new investors, clients, and partners.

Samuel Dupont, CEO and co-founder, acknowledges the value of BlueInvest support in fostering financial partnerships. The investment raised during its first round of funding (€2,5 million) will fuel the expansion of the company's activities in the salmon farming industry, particularly focusing on water quality prediction to mitigate risks and delivering actionable insights for production optimisation.

Furthermore, BiOceanOr has recently announced its collaboration with ScaleAQ Software, a major player in the tech-aquaculture industry. Together, they aim to improve fish farming by offering fish farmers unrivalled digital services through reference integration platforms.

About BlueInvest

BlueInvest is an EU initiative that aims to boost innovation and investment in sustainable technologies for the blue economy. It offers assistance to access financing for early-stage businesses, SMEs and scale-ups. BlueInvest is enabled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

BlueInvest Readiness Assistance is an exclusive coaching programme. It targets high potential EU startups and SMEs with innovative and sustainable products and solutions for the blue economy. Businesses and projects selected for Investment Readiness Assistance will receive coaching packages tailored to their readiness levels and business objectives. The programme is impact-driven, with a clear focus on providing business support to help startups and SMEs build capacities for growth and attract investment.

Discover more about BlueInvest on the Maritime Forum. For any questions, reach out to us at lu-blueinvestpwc [dot] lu (lu-blueinvest[at]pwc[dot]lu).