Ace Aquatec chairman Van der Kuyl will be keynote speaker at St Andrews summit
Gaming guru will focus on emerging tech and AI at Global Seafood Alliance's annual event
Chris van der Kuyl, chairman of Dundee-based aquaculture technology innovator Ace Aquatec, has been named as the opening keynote speaker for the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) 2024 Responsible Seafood Summit, which will take place at the Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews, Scotland, from October 21-24, co-hosted by Seafood Scotland.
Van der Kuyl is one of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs working across the technology, media, gaming, and entertainment sectors. He is most notably co-founder and chairman of multiple award-winning games developer, 4J Studios, best known for developing Minecraft for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo game consoles. He and 4J Studios partner Paddy Burns invested an undisclosed sum in Ace Aquatec in 2020.
Ace Aquatec chief executive Nathan Pyne-Carter said at the time that the pair's experience growing digital businesses "will be a significant asset to our team as we strive to blend the best of physical and digital technologies to help our customers produce environmentally sustainable seafood".
AI-powered future
Van der Kuyl was the founding member of Entrepreneurial Scotland as well as a member of multiple advisory and local charity boards. He will be speaking on emerging technologies, innovation, and artificial intelligence (AI) at the Summit.
“The University of Edinburgh began research into computer science and AI over 60 years ago and I’ve seen, first-hand, how an AI-powered future has the potential to revolutionise aquaculture,” said Van der Kuyl. “I’m looking forward to sharing my insights with the industry at the Responsible Seafood Summit in October.”
For the first time, the Responsible Seafood Summit will offer six content tracks for attendees: shrimp, salmon, fisheries, aquaculture, marketplace and innovation. In addition, the Summit programme features networking receptions, industry field trips, and a golf event on Day 3 that is limited to 75 participants. Registration is open and registrants can secure an “early bird rate” until July.
