Google-created company launches 'most advanced' cage camera and AI system
An underwater camera system and software platform described by salmon farmer Mowi Norway’s chief operating officer as the most advanced in aquaculture has been launched commercially by Tidal, a spin-off from Google owner Alphabet.
The Tidal team has partnered for several years with Mowi and other industry leaders to combine their knowledge of fish farming with Tidal’s expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), underwater robotics, and data science.
The result is Tidal’s patented and now commercially available camera and software, installed across more than 250 pens globally.
“Tidal’s technology focuses on providing precise and
real-time data at scale to support the salmon aquaculture industry to address
major challenges and unlock new opportunities,” said the company’s chief
executive Rajesh Jadhav.
Real-time growth
The system allows farmers to track real-time growth and estimate harvest results, monitor and act early on fish welfare trends, act decisively in response to sea lice pressure, and feed fish with what Tidal says is the industry’s first fully integrated AI-powered autonomous feeding capability.
The company says the suite of tools enables fish farmers to better understand and optimise their operations to reduce costs and waste, make data-driven decisions to improve production efficiency and planning, and proactively manage fish wellbeing and the surrounding environment.
“The Tidal system is the most advanced sensing and analysis platform in aquaculture, and undoubtedly the one with the greatest potential,” said Øyvind Oaland, chief operating officer of Mowi Farming Norway.
Tidal launched in July as an independent company from X, the moonshot factory, Alphabet’s “innovation engine”.
US and Norwegian investors
The company has now received investment from New York-headquartered Perry Creek Capital, and Norway-based Ichthus Venture Capital (IVC) and Futurum Ventures, which Tidal said would enable it to establish a stronger base in Norway and expand to Chile and Australia. A spokesperson for Tidal told Fish Farming Expert that the system was also commercially available in Scotland, Ireland, the Faroes, and Canada.
Both IVC and Futurum Ventures have links to the Witzøe family that owns a majority stake in the world’s second largest Atlantic salmon farmer, SalMar. IVC is a seafood investment company backed by Witzøe-owned Kverva, and 27.5% of Futurum is owned by Salvesen & Thams Invest, a third of which is owned by Kverva. Gustav Magnar Witzøe, the son of SalMar founder and chairman Gustav Witzøe, is one of Futurum’s extended team.
