Aquatech Startup DELOS Receives Seed Funding Led by Arise

Aquatech startup DELOS announced seed funding with an undisclosed amount led by Arise, a special fund created by MDI Ventures and Finch Capital. MDI Ventures also participated in this round, along with other investors, such as Hendra Kwik (Number Capital), Irvan Kolonas (JAPFA Executive), and iSeed Asia.

The company plans to utilize the fresh funds to strengthen and improve its DELOS shrimp production software accurately to forecast and recommend actions to increase farm profitability and productivity. In addition, funds will also be channeld to develop value chain integration and on-board more DELOS agricultural partners.

DELOS was founded this year by Guntur Mallarangeng, Bobby Indra Gunawan, and Alexander Farthing. These three founders brings together a multidisciplinary team covering aquaculture, marine biology, technology, and business. The startup partners closely with Dewi Laut Aquaqulture, a leading local aquaculture company, and Alun, a leading aquaculture fintech company, to accelerate the development of in-house technology.

DELOS holds an ambition to encourage the growth and modernization of the Indonesian aquaculture industry. Currently, there are currently basic problems in the supply chain in this sector due to the lack of technology adoption. Whereas global demand for seafood-based protein is increasing, while wild-fished stocks are declining under immense pressure. Aquaculture supplies more than 60% of all seafood consumed.

With its 54,000 km coastline, abundant coastal human resources, and tropical climate, Indonesia is set to become a clear global leader for sustainable aquaculture, especially with Indonesian shrimp competing on a global scale as the world's second most valuable aquaculture product, the greatest seafood export.

The Indonesian government recognizes a new revolution, targeting shrimp aquaculture and production to grow by 250% over the next 3 years. However, low technology adoption, non-standard management practices, and poor access to finance have set a limit to the growth of Indonesian aquaculture – particularly aquaculture productivity.

These factors have created bottlenecks in the middle of the value chain, and limited downstream processor output to an average of 40%-60% capacity. Less than 5% farms are 4 times more productive than neighboring farms (40 tonnes vs 10 tonnes/Ha).

This productivity gap has kept a $2 billion industry from fulfilling its latent potential and becoming a $4 billion industry, according to Indonesia's Ministry of Fisheries.

DELOS's interdisciplinary team and cutting-edge technology will be critical to supporting the national agenda to promote this growth while maintaining economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Guntur and his team are trying to improve their experience, network and IP, a full-stack pond management system that is researched and developed internally to increase the productive capacity and output of existing Indonesian shrimp farms by 50%-150% – creating value for farmers, increase the volume of national exports, and enhance Indonesia's reputation as the world's leading aquaculture country.

In its official statement, Arise Partner Aldi Adrian Hartanto explained that the classic challenges in the layered value chain, low productivity, and lack of financing has blocked the Indonesian shrimp industry which has not been fully utilized, even though it accounts for 77% of the total value of fishery products.

“DELOS technology-based solutions have succeeded in immersing technology and operations into the culture and infrastructure of local farmers while bridging them with existing stakeholders. This leads to a higher FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio), SR (Survival Rate), and Harvest, making it a deadly flywheel," he concluded, Thursday (28/10).

Aquaculture startup in Indonesia

The global Aquaculture market size is expected to have a market growth in the forecast period 2020 to 2025, at a CAGR of 3.5%% in the forecast period 2020 to 2025 and is expected to reach $239.8 trillion in 2025, from $209.4 trillion in 2019.

Every year, aquaculture increases its contribution to global seafood production. The sector produced 110.2 million tonnes in 2016, valued at $243.5 billion and constitutes 53 percent of the world's seafood supply. According to FAO data, 90 percent of production volume is produced in Asia.

In Indonesia, there are already several startups that have started targeting similar segments. In includes Aruna, a technology startup that provides a platform to make it easier for fishermen to sell their products directly to global and domestic markets. The company has also successfully secured funding in 2020 from East Ventures, AC Ventures, and SMDV.

One more startup that is engaged in a more specific sector, Jala. This startup presents technological solutions to optimize the productivity of shrimp farmers in Indonesia. In 2019, his team managed to secure an initial round of funding from 500 Startups of 8 billion Rupiah.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian