XpertSea, a Canadian company transforming how seafood is farmed and traded, closed a $20 million Series B funding round. The round was led by QED Investors and Atlantico with Investissement Quebec joining previous investors Obvious Ventures, Aqua-Spark, Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Real Ventures and edō Capital. QED partner Lauren Morton will join XpertSea’s board, resulting in both an executive team and a board where women are in the majority.
XpertSea delivers a data-driven marketplace that uses AI and financial services to connect shrimp farmers with a network of vetted buyers and ensure same-day payment. Using their phone’s camera and XpertSea’s smartphone app, farmers can capture reliable crop data, transact with buyers and receive the payment within 24 hours of harvest, which improves their cash flow, de-risks their business and unlocks growth.
“We founded XpertSea with the firm belief that technology and data will unlock aquaculture’s enormous potential to be the most sustainable source of protein available to feed our planet. For years, we worked towards this mission by helping farmers farm more successfully, and more recently by providing them access to cash flow and market opportunities,” said Valerie Robitaille, CEO of XpertSea. “This investment will not only help accelerate the development of our data-driven solutions but will allow us to leverage our unique capabilities to bring transparency and efficiency to the entire supply chain, getting us closer and closer to providing sustainable seafood for everyone.”
The injection of fresh capital follows the success of XpertSea’s data-driven marketplace that has fueled a 1000%+ year-over-year growth in company revenues. XpertSea will use this capital to accelerate its move into new markets and expand its financial services and new product development. The company is currently hiring for positions in Toronto, Quebec City and its international markets.
“Family-run shrimp farms lose 50% of their crop to disease, only 10% of farmers can get loans, and they are constantly at the mercy of price fluctuations and delayed payments by big buyers,” said Tony Fadell, Principal at Future Shape. “Shrimp farming alone is a $30 billion industry! Xpertsea’s powerful AI tools deliver healthier crops and certified forecasts of shrimp quality and quantity. That same data fuels XpertSea’s marketplace to connect farmers, buyers, and distributors. It’s a win-win-win for the rapidly growing $250 billion aquaculture industry.”
