What Aquaticode does

Aquaticode is a private aquaculture technology company founded in 2018 and backed by venture builder Nacre Capital, headquartered in Malta with primary operations in Stavanger, Norway and Valparaíso, Chile. The company builds AI-powered phenotyping systems that enable individual-fish selection at industrial scale — specifically the SORTpro and SORTvax product lines, which use multi-sensor imaging, patented non-invasive ultrasound, and deep learning models trained on a proprietary dataset of more than 3 million labeled images and videos to classify juvenile salmon by gender, health markers, maturation status, and other performance traits in real time. SORTpro processes up to 10,000 fish per hour at reported 97-99% accuracy, compared to 90-95% for manual sorting, and SORTvax integrates phenotyping directly into existing vaccination lines.

The company sells its machines primarily through direct enterprise field sales to major salmon producers in Chile — the world's second-largest salmon market — with an established customer base including Salmones Camanchaca (early proof-of-concept partner since 2021), Australis, and AquaChile. As of May 2025, contracts covering over 60 million fish had been secured with the two largest Chilean producers. Revenue is generated principally through hardware sales of SORTpro and SORTvax systems, supplemented by over-the-air software updates that expand diagnostic capabilities post-deployment. The company has raised $6 million in Series A funding (2022) and maintains an 11-50 person team distributed globally with an unusually deep strategic advisory bench drawn from former CEOs of AKVA group, SalMar, Benchmark Holdings, Skretting, and Cargill Aqua Nutrition.

Aquaticode's R&D foundation includes more than 15 industrial research partnerships and participation in the FHF-funded NephroReduce consortium targeting nephrocalcinosis detection, alongside major salmon producers MOWI, Cermaq, and Lerøy. The company holds granted patents in Chile and the United States and has six additional patent families in prosecution. Forward product expansion includes planned bass/bream solutions for Mediterranean finfish farmers in 2026, signaling intent to extend the phenotyping platform beyond Atlantic salmon into adjacent aquaculture species.

Name

Aquaticode

Legal name

Aquaticode Ltd.

Website

https://aquaticode.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aquaticode builds AI-powered phenotyping and sorting systems for salmon farming, using computer vision, non-invasive ultrasound, and deep learning trained on 3M+ labeled images to classify fish by gender, health, and performance traits at 10,000 fish/hour. It sells SORTpro and SORTvax hardware primarily to major Chilean salmon producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture Technology

NAICS

Finfish Farming and Fish Hatcheries (112511), Aquaculture (1125)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Hatchery Equipment, Systems & Technology (RAS Hatcheries, Incubation, Grading, Transport Systems) (AFAEAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Aquaculture Farm Services & Operations Support (net cleaning, diving, grading, harvesting) (AFAEAAAM), Aquaculture & Fish Health Services (AFAEANAE)

Keywords

• AI aquaculture solutions
• Automated fish sorting
• Salmon phenotyping technology
• Computer vision aquaculture
• Smolt gender sorting

Headquarters

HQ city

Stavanger

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SORTpro Sales: Sale of the SORTpro automated sorting machine to salmon hatcheries and smolt producers. The high-speed machine processes 10,000 fish per hour and represents the company's flagship product. Revenue is generated through direct enterprise sales to major salmon producers.
2. SORTvax Sales: Sale of SORTvax system integrated with vaccination processes. This product targets vaccination lines and offers automated phenotyping with minimal operational requirements (no operators needed). Provides a more compact solution (1000mm x 650mm x 550mm) for facilities requiring smaller footprint.
3. Software Updates and Feature Expansion: Over-the-air software updates continuously expand SORTpro and SORTvax capabilities, adding new diagnostic features and health assessments. This enables ongoing value delivery and potential subscription-like revenue streams from existing installed base.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aquaticode builds AI-powered hardware systems (SORTpro, SORTvax, SORTmini) that use computer vision, multi-sensor imaging, and deep learning to scan, classify, and sort salmon smolt at industrial scale by gender, maturation status, deformities, and health traits. The systems enable non-invasive phenotyping at line speed (up to 10,000 fish per hour) for salmon hatcheries and smolt producers, replacing manual sorting with automated precision (>95-99% accuracy).

Product overview

Aquaticode offers AI-powered aquaculture solutions for salmon farming, primarily consisting of two core product lines: SORTpro (automatic high-speed sorting machine, up to 10,000 fish/hour, integrates with vaccination) and SORTvax (vaccination-integrated phenotyping and sorting system). Both products use non-invasive ultrasound and multi-sensor imaging combined with deep learning AI to classify salmon by gender, health traits, robustness, and other performance characteristics. A third offering, SORTmini, provides a portable scanner variant for smaller operations. The company also plans to launch bass/bream solutions in 2026. All products leverage proprietary neural networks trained on millions of labeled images and videos, enabling near-100% classification accuracy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SORTpro: AI-powered automatic sorting machine that scans, classifies, and sorts 20-100g salmon smolt at up to 10,000 fish per hour based on gender, maturation, robustness, and health traits. Processes up to 10,000 fish per hour at >95% accuracy.
• SORTvax
• SORTmini

Products and services

• SORTpro AI-powered automatic sorting machine that scans, classifies, and sorts 20-100g salmon smolt at up to 10,000 fish per hour based on gender, maturation status, deformities, and other health traits. Uses patented non-invasive multi-sensor imaging and deep learning neural networks trained on millions of labeled images. Built for enterprise-scale salmon hatcheries and smolt producers.
• SORTvax Automated phenotyping and sorting system integrated directly with vaccination lines. Uses patented non-invasive ultrasound, multi-sensor imaging, and AI to assess key traits (gender, health markers, robustness) in real time and route each fish accordingly at full line speed. Compact (1000mm x 650mm x 550mm), 900W power consumption, no operators required. Generates comprehensive biological datasets.
• SORTmini Portable scanner for smaller quantities of fish, providing a semi-automated phenotyping and sorting solution for operations requiring flexibility or lower throughput than SORTpro. Capable of identifying gender in juvenile salmon through non-invasive methods.

Quantifiable outcome

• Males grow 20% faster than females; gender sorting enables optimized harvest timing
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• NephroReduce Consortium (FHF-funded)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAquaticode participates in NephroReduce project alongside 14 industrial and academic partners including University of Bergen, University of British Columbia, University of Gothenburg, NOFIMA, Moredun Research Institute, Patogen, Skretting, MOWI, Cermaq, Lerøy, Osland, Hofseth, Hima, and NCE Seafood Innovation. Project targets nephrocalcinosis (kidney disease) in salmon through better mitigation strategies, funded by Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF). Aquaticode developing SORTpro feature to classify nephrocalcinosis degrees.
• University of BergencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner in NephroReduce consortium focused on nephrocalcinosis in salmon. Contributes scientific expertise to Aquaticode's R&D efforts.
• NOFIMAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in NephroReduce consortium. Norwegian food research institute contributing to Aquaticode's health diagnostics development.
• MOWIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld's largest salmon farmer and partner in NephroReduce project. Strategic collaboration for health diagnostics and kidney disease reduction in farmed salmon.
• CermaqcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor salmon farming company and partner in NephroReduce project working with Aquaticode on targeted health diagnostics.
• LerøycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Norwegian seafood company and partner in NephroReduce project contributing to kidney disease research.
• SkrettingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld's largest aquafeed company. Strategic advisor Therese Log Bergjord is former CEO of Skretting. Partner in NephroReduce project for aquaculture health diagnostics.
• Pillsbury (Law Firm)coreOthersTop-tier patent firm headquartered in New York working with Aquaticode since 2019 to develop international patent portfolio covering activities and product offerings in key salmon markets.
• Salmones CamanchacaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly adopter and proof-of-concept partner since 2021. Hosted R&D development of SORTpro, validating 97%+ gender classification accuracy with no mortality increase. Historically sorts ~15 million fish per year. Provides invaluable support in bringing solution to market through facility access and expertise sharing.
• Trond WilliksencoreOthersStrategic advisor with 20+ years aquaculture leadership experience. Former CEO of AKVA group, SalMar, and Benchmark Holdings. Brings farming, technology, genetics, and fish health expertise to guide AI phenotyping adoption.
• Therese Log BergjordcoreOthersStrategic advisor and one of most respected aquaculture leaders. Former CEO of Skretting (world's largest aquafeed company). Serves on boards of Kverva, Nordic Aqua Partners. Brings sharp strategic insight, deep biology/business understanding, and global perspective.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BioSort: Norwegian AI/camera-vision company developing iFarm for individual fish monitoring and sorting in salmon farming. Was acquired by Cargill (now part of Cargill Aqua Nutrition), making it the closest direct competitor to Aquaticode's SORTpro in salmon phenotyping.
• Observe Technologies: AI/computer vision platform for aquaculture feeding optimization and biomass monitoring. Competes with Aquaticode in applying AI/computer vision to commercial aquaculture operations, though focused on feeding rather than sorting.
• Stingray Marine Solutions: Norwegian provider of computer vision and laser-based systems for aquaculture, including sea lice detection and fish counting/counting cameras. Competes with Aquaticode on underwater imaging AI for salmon farms.
• AquaScan: Norwegian manufacturer of optical fish counters and measuring equipment for aquaculture. Competes with Aquaticode on automated fish-level data capture, though primarily focused on counting/sizing rather than AI-based phenotyping.
• Cflow Fish Handling: Norwegian supplier of gentle fish handling and pumping equipment for the aquaculture industry. Competes with Aquaticode on the physical fish-handling infrastructure that SORTpro integrates into during smolt vaccination and sorting.

Emerging players

• Manolin: AI-powered aquaculture health analytics platform for fish farmers, predicting disease outbreaks and treatment needs using farm data. Comparable as an AI aquaculture startup targeting salmon health diagnostics — an overlapping use case to Aquaticode's phenotyping roadmap.

Broad incumbents

• AKVA Group: Global leader in aquaculture equipment and technology, offering feeding systems, sensors, cameras, and software for salmon farming. Broad incumbent in the same customer accounts, with potential to add AI phenotyping to its portfolio (Trond Williksen, ex-CEO, is now an Aquaticode advisor).
• Bluegrove: Norwegian aquaculture technology company (formed from merger of Stingray, Akva, and other assets) offering cameras, sensors, feeding systems, and AI analytics for salmon farms. Broad incumbent providing overlapping sensing and AI capabilities to the same customer base as Aquaticode.
• Steinsvik (ScaleAQ): Major Norwegian aquaculture equipment and technology supplier offering feeding, sensors, and digital solutions across the salmon farming value chain. Broad incumbent serving the same Norwegian salmon farmer customers as Aquaticode.

Others

• Optimar Iceland: Provider of processing equipment and automation solutions for seafood and aquaculture. Comparable as an industrial equipment supplier serving salmon processors — adjacent to Aquaticode's hatchery equipment business.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquaticode

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquaticode