Ocean economy makes waves with founders and ‘blue angels’Photo by yang weweBlue is the new green for a slew of startups and VC investors acr...
Published by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
Ocean economy makes waves with founders and ‘blue angels’
Photo by yang wewe
Blue is the new green for a slew of startups and VC investors across the globe.
The ocean economy—which includes everything from shipping and fishing to offshore wind energy and alt-seafood—is expected to grow to $3T trillion by 2030, buoyed by record venture funding and tech innovation.
In the U.S., accelerators are surfacing from Miami to New England; a group “blue angels” are working to make bluetech the next cleantech; S2G Ventures launched a $100M oceans fund; the Sustainable Ocean Alliance expanded to invest in later stage companies; and Investable Oceans introduced micro-financing for sea-faring investors.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Credit Suisse launched a $212M ocean health impact fund.
Ocean health
A school of startups is focused on keeping the ocean around:
Coral Vita, an alumnus of Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s accelerator, raised a $2M seed fund to advance coral farming. The company operates the world’s first commercial land-based coral farm in The Bahamas;
Miami-based The Addition Company, which got its start with crowdfunding, is developing a way to 3D print seawalls to combat rising sea levels; and
Swiss startup Tide Ocean Material is working with a global network of fishers to upcycle ocean-bound plastic.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food-production sector. A brood of startups are working to make the industry more efficient and sustainable:
Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Scoot Science (they’re hiring) develops forecasting tools for fisheries;
Canada-based ReelData automates fisheries with software that tracks things like feeding times and stress levels of fish;
Israel’s ViAqua Therapeutics developed a pill that can boost a shrimp’s immunity to disease;
Norway-based Manolin offers an automated disease alert system for salmon farmers; and
Vancouver-based Oceaneos is advancing “ocean seeding” to fatten up wild fish.
Alt-seafood
In part because of all that fishing, 70% of the world’s fish populations are already fully used, overused, or in crisis. Enter alt-seafood, an industry that’s projected to grow 28% annually over the next decade.
A fever of new companies are developing plant-based seafood alternatives, including Finless Foods, which offers plant-based tuna; San Francisco’s New Wave Foods, which makes plant-based shrimp; and New York-based AKUA, which pioneered seaweed jerky.
This week global behemoth Nestle announced its own line of vegan shrimp—which could be taken as a shot across the bow for these fledgling startups.
Photo by yang wewe
Blue is the new green for a slew of startups and VC investors across the globe.
The ocean economy—which includes everything from shipping and fishing to offshore wind energy and alt-seafood—is expected to grow to $3T trillion by 2030, buoyed by record venture funding and tech innovation.
In the U.S., accelerators are surfacing from Miami to New England; a group “blue angels” are working to make bluetech the next cleantech; S2G Ventures launched a $100M oceans fund; the Sustainable Ocean Alliance expanded to invest in later stage companies; and Investable Oceans introduced micro-financing for sea-faring investors.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Credit Suisse launched a $212M ocean health impact fund.
Ocean health
A school of startups is focused on keeping the ocean around:
Coral Vita, an alumnus of Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s accelerator, raised a $2M seed fund to advance coral farming. The company operates the world’s first commercial land-based coral farm in The Bahamas;
Miami-based The Addition Company, which got its start with crowdfunding, is developing a way to 3D print seawalls to combat rising sea levels; and
Swiss startup Tide Ocean Material is working with a global network of fishers to upcycle ocean-bound plastic.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food-production sector. A brood of startups are working to make the industry more efficient and sustainable:
Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Scoot Science (they’re hiring) develops forecasting tools for fisheries;
Canada-based ReelData automates fisheries with software that tracks things like feeding times and stress levels of fish;
Israel’s ViAqua Therapeutics developed a pill that can boost a shrimp’s immunity to disease;
Norway-based Manolin offers an automated disease alert system for salmon farmers; and
Vancouver-based Oceaneos is advancing “ocean seeding” to fatten up wild fish.
Alt-seafood
In part because of all that fishing, 70% of the world’s fish populations are already fully used, overused, or in crisis. Enter alt-seafood, an industry that’s projected to grow 28% annually over the next decade.
A fever of new companies are developing plant-based seafood alternatives, including Finless Foods, which offers plant-based tuna; San Francisco’s New Wave Foods, which makes plant-based shrimp; and New York-based AKUA, which pioneered seaweed jerky.
This week global behemoth Nestle announced its own line of vegan shrimp—which could be taken as a shot across the bow for these fledgling startups.