Chennai Based "Aquaconnect" Listed in Forbes Asia 100 to Watch List

India's leading aquaculture startup "Aquaconnect" has been listed in the inaugural Forbes Asia 100 to watch list. Forbes list spotlights notable small companies and startups on the rise across the Asia-Pacific region. The list features 2 aquaculture startups and other startups in 10 categories across 17 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region.

Aquaconnect mobile farm advisor app

Founded in 2017, Aquaconnect is the pioneer of data and tech enabled aqua farming in India. It is a full-stack aquaculture technology venture that works with shrimp and fish aquaculture farmers to improve their farm productivity through AI and satellite remote sensing technology. Aquaconnect aims to promote sustainable aquafarming among the farming communities and works with 35,000+ farmers in various states of India. The company is working towards creating market linkages, formal finance and insurance accessibility for the Indian aqua farmers.

Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO and Founder of Aquaconnect said, "I am thrilled to learn that we are one of few Indian ag-tech startups that made it to the prestigious "Forbes Asia 100 to watch" list. India is the second largest global aquaculture player with a market value of about $20 billion. Aquaconnect's technology innovations are aiming to improve the efficiency of India aquaculture value chain by bringing transparency, traceability and predictability across the value chain players. I believe Forbes listing is a great validation of our initiatives in making the Indian seafood industry sustainable and promoting responsible production & consumption."

"We support the Government of India's vision to empower the aquaculture sector with a data-driven approach. We have evidently increased the tech adoption among 35,000 Indian aqua farmers and driven sustainable farming practices in every culture operation to improve their productivity & income. Our mission is to drive sustainability and improve the value chain with responsible production and consumption practices," He added.

In addition to a farm advisory and an online shop for equipment and supplies, Aquaconnect provides financing, insurance, market linkage and a network for farmers to connect with potential customers. The company raised $4 million in July in pre-Series A round led by Rebright Partners and Flourish Ventures. AgFunder and 6G Capital also participated in this round, along with existing investors Omnivore and HATCH-Norway.

About Aquaconnect

Headquartered in Chennai, Aquaconnect was Co-founded by Rajamanohar Somasundaram in 2017. It is a full-stack aquaculture technology venture that works with shrimp and fish aquaculture farmers to improve their farm productivity and market linkage through AI and satellite remote sensing technology. Aquaconnect aims to promote sustainable aquafarming among the farming communities and works with 35,000+ farmers in various states of India. Aquaconnect is funded by HATCH-Norway, India's biggest Agritech venture capital Omnivore, Japan's Rebright Partners, & flourish ventures.

Aquaconnect is recognized as World Changing Idea 2020 by Fast Company. The company is also an Innovator at Seafood Innovation Project and Hatch Accelerator, Norwegian Seafood Innovation Cluster. Aquaconnect is a platinum winner of Agriculture insuretech award by World Bank Group. 

To Accelerate Tech Adoption among Aquafarmers Aquaconnect Launches Direct-to-Farmer 'Aquaconnect HUBS'

India’s Leading Aquaculture Technology Company, Aquaconnect announced the launch of Aquaconnect HUBS, a first of its kind Direct to Farmer initiative. The integrated HUBS will help to accelerate the technology adoption with aqua farmers, improve last mile connectivity and also source feed, health products & farm equipment. The first HUBS have been launched in the coastal cities of Andhra Pradesh - Bapatla, Ongole, and Avanigadda.

The company plans to launch 25 HUBS in the next two years in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and aims to engage more than 45000 farmers.

Aquaconnect HUBS will also enable direct connection to Banks for farmers to secure loans. The company has empaneled leading Banks and facilitates aquaculture loans to the fish and shrimp farmers. The HUBS will provide farm advisory solutions and act as a diagnostic centre for aquaculture.

Aquaconnect witnessed 10x growth during the pandemic. Agri sector had a limited impact of COVID - 19 and it is the right time to improve the ecosystem for aqua farmers according to the company. The hubs will improve the support system for farmers and provide services on ground today.

The company will directly and indirectly employ 700+ people via the HUBS.

A World Economic Forum - Young Global Leader, Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO and Co-Founder of Aquaconnect said, “It is exciting to nurture a very underserved aqua-farmer market. A brick and mortar approach will bridge and accelerate technology adoption for aqua-farmers and encourage sustainable growth of the Seafood industry.”

“The industry is exploding with opportunities, and we believe that Aquaconnect HUBS will holistically serve the farmers to better their produce quality, output, and eventually farm income.”

India’s government has prioritized the fisheries sector in its 2020 annual budget, setting the target for fisheries production at 20 million metric tons (MT) by 2022-2023.

Aquaconnect works with more than 17,000 fish and shrimp farmers and helps them with its AI-powered farm advisory solution FarmMOJO which supports farmers to monitor and track farming activities such as a change in water quality, feed intake, shrimp growth, and disease occurrence

precisely. The full-stack aquaculture technology venture improves farm productivity and sustainability through AI and Satellite remote sensing technologies.

About Aquaconnect:

Headquartered in Chennai, Aquaconnect was founded by Rajamanohar Somasundaram, Sanjai Kumar and Shanmuga Sundara Raj in 2017. It is a full-stack aquaculture technology venture that works with shrimp and fish aquaculture farmers to improve their farm productivity and market linkage through AI and satellite remote sensing technology. Aquaconnect aims to promote sustainable aquafarming among the farming communities and works with 13,000+ farmers in various states of India. Aquaconnect is funded by HATCH Fund, Norway and India’s biggest Agritech venture capital Omnivore.

Aquaconnect is recognized as World Changing Idea 2020 by Fast Company. The company is also an Innovator at Seafood Innovation Project and Hatch Accelerator, Norwegian Seafood Innovation Cluster. Aquaconnect is a platinum winner of Agriculture insuretech award at World Bank Group.

Agritech Firm Aquaconnect Hires Former Urban Company and CropIn Leaders

• Arpan Bhalerao of Urban Company joins as Chief Growth Officer
• Amit Salunkhe of Cropin joins as VP Sales 
• Plans to hire 100 by Dec 2020

India’s leading aquaculture technology company, Aquaconnect announced the hiring of Arpan Bhalerao as Chief Growth Officer and Amit Salunkhe as VP Sales. The Chennai based startup plans to further strengthen its core technology and operations team and hire 100 people by Dec 2020. Aquaconnect is recognized as one of the World-Changing Ideas 2020 by Fast Company.

The company has seen increased demand over FY 19-20 with aqua-farmers adopting the technology.  Aquaconnect works with more than 13,000 fish and shrimp farmers and helps them with its AI-powered farm advisory solution FarmMOJO which supports farmers to monitor and track farming activities such as a change in water quality, feed intake, shrimp growth, and disease occurrence precisely. The full-stack aquaculture technology venture improves farm productivity and sustainability through AI and Satellite remote sensing technologies. 

A WEF Young Global Leader, Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO and Co-Founder of Aquaconnect said, “Signing up top tech and management talents was a steep challenge for agritech startups. We witnessed the change of trend in 2019; India's agritech, dairytech, aquatech startups attracted about $245 million in investments from venture capitalists. High growth potential, unparalleled access to capital have made agritech one of the primary attraction for the top talents."

“At such an opportune time, we welcome Arpan and Amit in our leadership team. Both leaders bring years of consumer and agritech experience to Aquaconnect. Their learning from scaling up operations in their past experiences will help us accelerate growth in India and new frontiers in Southeast Asia."

At Aquaconnect, Arpan Bhalerao will lead the product development, partnerships & alliances and strategic initiatives for the company. Amit Salunkhe will be heading the sales focused on Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Enterprise & Govt vertical

Arpan has worked with Urban Company as AVP. Arpan is a graduate from IIT Madras and completed his MBA from ISB. Amit Salunkhe has worked with CropIn and managed BFSI and West India for them. Amit comes from the background of sales with 15+ years of experience.

About Aquaconnect:

Headquartered in Chennai, Aquaconnect is a full-stack aquaculture technology venture that works with shrimp and fish aquaculture farmers to improve their farm productivity and market linkage through AI and satellite remote sensing technology. Aquaconnect aims to promote sustainable aquafarming among the farming communities and works with 13,000+ farmers in various states of India. Aquaconnect is funded by HATCH Fund, Norway and India’s biggest Agritech venture capital Omnivore.

Aquaconnect is recognized as World Changing Idea 2020 by Fast Company. The company is also an Innovator at Seafood Innovation Project and Hatch Accelerator, Norwegian Seafood Innovation Cluster. Aquaconnect is a platinum winner of Agriculture Insuretech award at World Bank Group.

Aquaculture platform Aquaconnect Raises $1.1 Mn Seed Round from Omnivore and HATCH

Aquaconnect announced today that it has raised a seed round of USD 1.1 million from Omnivore and HATCH. Aquaconnect is an AI-enabled platform that integrates Asia’s leading network for aquaculture farmers with predictive SaaS tools for farm management, and an omnichannel marketplace.

Aquaconnect is currently focused on India’s US$ 7.1 billion aquaculture sector, which produces almost 700,000 tons of farmed shrimp annually, and has become the top global exporter in recent years. Prior to this seed round, Aquaconnect received angel funding from HATCH, the world’s leading aquaculture focused startup accelerator, after participating in HATCH’s inaugural cohort in Bergen, Norway. This is Omnivore’s second investment in an aquaculture startup, following Eruvaka from its first fund in 2013.

Based in Chennai, Aquaconnect was founded in 2017 by Rajamanohar “Raj” Somasundaram, Sanjai Kumar, and Shanmuga Sundara Raj. Raj is an IIT Kanpur alumnus, World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader, and serial entrepreneur, who previously founded Hexolabs, a mobile technology startup that operated across Asia and Africa. Sanjai is an experienced aquaculture farmer who pioneered Vannamei culture in Tamil Nadu, while Shanmugaraj previously worked in leadership roles across the insurance industry, with ICICI Prudential, Canara HSBC, and Kotak Life.



Currently, Aquaconnect has a network of over 3000 shrimp farmers across India and Indonesia, which it plans to rapidly expand across South and Southeast Asia. These farmers receive support via Aquaconnect’s mobile application, FarmMOJO, which uses AI and predictive analytics to help them increase farm revenues, minimize costs, and reduce risks through better disease management. Finally, Aquaconnect links their farmer network to an omnichannel marketplace, where they can transact with feed producers, laboratories, equipment manufacturers, hatcheries, processors, exporters, certification bodies, banks, and insurance companies.

With the current round of funding, Aquaconnect plans to accelerate the growth of its aquaculture farmer network, roll out deep tech improvements to FarmMOJO, launch new SaaS tools for the aquaculture ecosystem, and expand monetization across its omnichannel marketplace. Reihem Roy, who runs Omnivore’s Chennai office, will be joining Aquaconnect’s board to support the company’s growth strategy.

According to Raj Somasundaram, Co-Founder & CEO of Aquaconnect, “The funding will be used for team expansion, enhancing our AI-enabled platform offering, and increasing our omnichannel marketplace fulfilment capabilities. We aim to reach 15,000 shrimp and fish farmers across India and Indonesia by December 2020. Omnivore and HATCH understand aquaculture, so they are perfect investors for our first institutional funding round.”

Commenting on the transaction, Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Omnivore, noted that, “Omnivore is thrilled to partner with Aquaconnect as they catalyze the Blue Revolution 2.0 in India and across Asia.

The Government of India is ramping up support for the aquaculture sector, carving out a separate Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying as well as launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). We believe Raj and his team are building one of the most promising agritech startups globally, and we look forward to the exciting journey ahead.”

Carsten Krome, Managing Partner of HATCH, also noted, “Having closely worked with Raj and his team now for more than a year, we are absolutely confident that they can deliver on the sharp growth trajectory that we are sending them on with this capital injection.”

IC Universal Legal’s Chennai team, led by Sameena Chatrapathy, managed the transaction.

About Aquaconnect: 

Aquaconnect is an AI-enabled platform that integrates Asia’s leading network for aquaculture farmers with predictive SaaS tools for farm management, and an omnichannel marketplace. For further information on Aquaconnect, please visit: http://www.aquaconnect.blue

About Omnivore: 

Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in India, which funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems. For further information on Omnivore, please visit: http://www.omnivore.vc

About HATCH: 

HATCH is the world's first sustainable aquaculture accelerator, which seeks to find, develop, and scale disruptive aquaculture startups. For further information on HATCH, please visit: http://www.hatch.blue

Indonesia Innovator Award 2019 won by India's Rajamanohar Somasundaram for Using AI for Aqua-Farmers

Rajamanohar’s Aquaconnect, the only Indian startup who won innovator award 2019 in Indonesia and now it’s ready to sail to the Indonesian market. After helping more than 3000 farmers in India Aquaconnect is all set to expand internationally and shall be running pilots in Acehand Sulawesi among 2000 farms by the end of 2020.

Rajamanohar who is also referred as the Aquaman as his initiative “Aquaconnect” is promoting sustainable fish and shrimp (seafood) farming and aims at helping farmers increase their productivity and rural employment through artificial intelligence (The app FarmMOJO )

In their endeavour to further promote and contribute in Global sustainable seafood innovation ecosystem, Aquaconnect entered Indonesian seafood innovation project.

In late 2018, SIP placed a global call for innovations with the potential to improve Indonesia’s seafood sector in three challenge areas: Innovative financing, novel technologies, and market demand creation.

There were 80 startups that applied for the prestigious honour. After a rigorous selection process,informed and supported by seafood sector experts, sustainability specialists & business professionals,there were 6 innovators chosen for the program.

Aquaconnect is the only Indian startup that received the honour.

[caption id="attachment_134650" align="alignleft" width="300"] SIP Summit Day 2[/caption]

Rajamanohar was invited to participate the kickoff event in Bali, Indonesia in April 2019. Aquaconnect presented their ‘AIpowered FarmMOJO’ app among the SIP gathering.they shall be provided with 8-month accelerator program, office space, access to both local and global mentors, pro bono legal advice, marketingsupport, and access to small grants. At the end of the program, companies will be deeply embedded ina Global sustainable seafood innovation ecosystem.

The current market potential in India is about half a billion. The expansion into South East Asia shall provide Aquaconnect 6X opportunities like India. By the end of 2020, India’s own aquaman plans to work with 12000 aquaculture farmers in Indian and South East Asia.

Rajamanohar Somasundaram, an IIT Alumnus, is a serial technology entrepreneur with extensive experience inbuilding the Internet and mobile technology-driven businesses. “Young Global Leader in 2012” byWorld Economic Forum in recognition of the leadership and contribution in the technology innovation.

Innovator Award

The Seafood Innovation Project is building an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the fisheries andaquaculture sector in Indonesia. Through collaboration with a range of stakeholders, the SeafoodInnovation Project will accelerate innovative solutions to achieve a sustainable economy, and buildresilient communities engaged in the Indonesian fisheries sector.