Aquaculture startup AquaExchange has raised $8 million in a funding round to expand its operations. The company provides a full-stack digital platform for aquaculture farmers, offering IoT automation, AI analytics, financing, insurance, and market linkages.
Its technology currently monitors over 70,000 acres of farms in India, primarily for shrimp, and claims to significantly improve crop success rates. The startup is now targeting profitability, international expansion, and potential replication of its model in other protein supply chains.
The main topics covered are the company's funding, its technology platform and services, its current scale and impact, and its future growth and expansion plans.
Aquaculture startup AquaExchange has raised $8 million in a round co-led by Endiya Partners and Factor Analytics, with participation from existing investor Accion Ventures, the company said on Monday.
Founded by Pavan Kosaraju, Hemasundar Dhavili, Kareem Mohammod, and Kiran Bandi, AquaExchange builds digital infrastructure for aquaculture farms, offering IoT-based automation, AI-driven predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, embedded financing, insurance, and market linkages for farmers.
The company said its platform currently monitors more than 70,000 acres of aquaculture farms in India, and covers about 25% of the countryâs active shrimp farming acreage. It operates across five states â Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Gujarat â and works with over 5,800 farmers, Kosaraju, the CEO, told ET.
âOur focus has been to build a full-stack platform for aquaculture farmers, from farm automation and predictive disease monitoring to financing, insurance, and market linkages,â he added. The startup earns its revenues from the farmers, who pay to use the platform.
The company expects to clock revenues of Rs 275 crore in FY26, driven by rapid adoption among shrimp farmers. Its technology divisionâs revenue has grown sixfold over the past year, and the company expects to become Ebitda positive this financial year, Kosaraju said.
The company claimed that farms using its technology, including IoT devices and AI-based health monitoring, have achieved crop success rates of nearly 85%, compared with an industry benchmark of 55-60%.
Beyond farm automation, AquaExchange has also built financial and risk management services for aquaculture farmers. It enables access to crop loans through partnerships with banks and institutions such as NABARD, and has introduced disease insurance products for shrimp farmers, a segment that historically had limited coverage beyond weather-related risks.
The platform also offers digital traceability and certification support for seafood supply chains through partnerships with global certification agencies such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Kosaraju said the companyâs model combining technology, financing, risk management, and market linkages can be replicated across other protein supply chains.
âWe started with shrimp farming to prove the model. Now that the framework is established, we have begun working on two fish species and are exploring other protein categories,â he said, adding that the company plans to expand to southeast Asia over the next 12 months.
While Andhra Pradesh accounts for roughly 80% of the companyâs domestic business, AquaExchange is gradually expanding to other states and international markets, and will use the fresh capital for the same.
The startup is targeting profitability next year and may look at public markets within the next three years. Internationally, AquaExchange has expanded to Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, and Madagascar, where it provides solutions for large shrimp producers.
Other startups in the country such as Aquaconnect, Pond Patrol, Eruvaka Technologies, and Farmonaut aid in increasing yield and reducing high mortality rates in fish farms.
Founded by Pavan Kosaraju, Hemasundar Dhavili, Kareem Mohammod, and Kiran Bandi, AquaExchange builds digital infrastructure for aquaculture farms, offering IoT-based automation, AI-driven predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, embedded financing, insurance, and market linkages for farmers.
The company said its platform currently monitors more than 70,000 acres of aquaculture farms in India, and covers about 25% of the countryâs active shrimp farming acreage. It operates across five states â Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Gujarat â and works with over 5,800 farmers, Kosaraju, the CEO, told ET.
âOur focus has been to build a full-stack platform for aquaculture farmers, from farm automation and predictive disease monitoring to financing, insurance, and market linkages,â he added. The startup earns its revenues from the farmers, who pay to use the platform.
The company expects to clock revenues of Rs 275 crore in FY26, driven by rapid adoption among shrimp farmers. Its technology divisionâs revenue has grown sixfold over the past year, and the company expects to become Ebitda positive this financial year, Kosaraju said.
The company claimed that farms using its technology, including IoT devices and AI-based health monitoring, have achieved crop success rates of nearly 85%, compared with an industry benchmark of 55-60%.
Beyond farm automation, AquaExchange has also built financial and risk management services for aquaculture farmers. It enables access to crop loans through partnerships with banks and institutions such as NABARD, and has introduced disease insurance products for shrimp farmers, a segment that historically had limited coverage beyond weather-related risks.
The platform also offers digital traceability and certification support for seafood supply chains through partnerships with global certification agencies such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Kosaraju said the companyâs model combining technology, financing, risk management, and market linkages can be replicated across other protein supply chains.
âWe started with shrimp farming to prove the model. Now that the framework is established, we have begun working on two fish species and are exploring other protein categories,â he said, adding that the company plans to expand to southeast Asia over the next 12 months.
While Andhra Pradesh accounts for roughly 80% of the companyâs domestic business, AquaExchange is gradually expanding to other states and international markets, and will use the fresh capital for the same.
The startup is targeting profitability next year and may look at public markets within the next three years. Internationally, AquaExchange has expanded to Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, and Madagascar, where it provides solutions for large shrimp producers.
Other startups in the country such as Aquaconnect, Pond Patrol, Eruvaka Technologies, and Farmonaut aid in increasing yield and reducing high mortality rates in fish farms.
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