ADVANCING THE FUTURE OF
LAND-BASED AQUACULTURE
AquaFounders Capital is a development platform leveraging the partnership and unique first-hand experience of its founders in building and operating two of the industry’s leading companies – Ohad Maiman, Founder and former CEO of The Kingfish Company, and Thue Holm, Founder and former CTO of Atlantic Sapphire.
We are focused on securing a strategic position in the land-based aquaculture sector, across the value chain, by identifying and tackling the most critical challenges and solutions needed for the Land Based aquaculture sector to mature and scale.
Our current technology and production platform companies include:
Farm in a Box: a prefabricated, standardized, modular land-based fish farming system enabling fast cost effective deployment of plug-and-play RAS farms
The Black Cod Company: the first land based farmer of Black Cod starting in the EU, with a view to develop a multi site operation of high value species in RAS, deployed at import dependent markets globally.
A transformative leap in land based aquaculture technology- engineered to address the supply bottleneck of sustainable seafood- by solving the high cost, lengthy construction, and operational complexity currently holding back the Land Based sector’s growth potential.
The modular, pre-fabricated, and customisable high-tech solution is poised to disrupt current aquaculture practices by providing scalable, environmentally-friendly farming systems at lower CAPEX/OPEX and fast on-site assembly.
Drawing on the strategic advantage of land-based systems to deliver a high quality product and deploy at the relevant market, we see a strong business case in the development of new high-value species deployed in markets where their supply is limited.
We are currently developing The Black Cod Company in The Netherlands, poised to become the first full cycle land based farmer of Black Cod, starting in the EU where the species is highly priced and import dependant.
MEET OUR MANAGING PARTNERS
OHAD MAIMAN
From an earlier career as VP of Business Development at a family office active in energy, infrastructure and agro-industry; Maiman set his focus on the land based aquaculture sector in 2013 and launched The Kingfish Company as Founder and former CEO (2015-2022).
Maiman's role at The Kingfish Company, from inception to its listing on the Oslo Euronext stock exchange, led the company to become a first mover and the world's largest Yellowtail Kingfish RAS producer.
In addition to his Managing Partner role at Aquafounders Capital, he is Chairman of the Board at Pine Island Redfish and a Board Member at ReeData AI.
Connect with Ohad on LinkedIn.
THUE HOLM
Founder and former CTO of Atlantic Sapphire, Thue Holm began his career in the land based aquaculture sector in 2002 when he joined Billund Aquaculture, one of the earliest large scale RAS suppliers.
That experience and expertise led to the founding of Atlantic Sapphire in 2010, where Holm remained as CTO until 2022, enabling the company to grow into the largest land based aquaculture company in the world before being listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
In addition to his Managing Partner role at Aquafounders Capital, he is a board member at Plast Solutions Aps.
Connect with Thue on LinkedIn.
WHAT IS ADVANCED LAND BASED AQUACULTURE?
Advanced Land Based aquaculture (RAS) is the farming of high quality seafood in controlled optimal conditions on land, much like a greenhouse for fish.
The technology has advanced significantly over the last decade from proof of concept to commercial scale in order to address the structural supply bottlenecks and environmental challenges of wild catch and traditional aquaculture.
AQUACULTURE IS THE FASTEST GROWING FOOD SECTOR GLOBALLY (USD billions)
Source: McKinsey Analysis
POTENTIAL FOR LAND-BASED TO FILL DEMAND (In million tons)
Source: Word Bank, OECD
