Watbots

Name

Watbots

Legal name

Watbots AS

Website

https://watbots.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture Robotics

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Warehouse Robotics (HDAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Autonomous net cleaning
• Aquaculture robotics
• Fish farm automation
• Underwater inspection robots
• Robotic net maintenance

Headquarters

HQ city

Alstahaug

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Managed Service / Robotics-as-a-Service: Watbots operates on a service model where the company owns, installs, and maintains the system in the net. Customers pay a fixed monthly price for continuous net cleaning and inspection. No equipment purchase required. The service includes monitoring, maintenance, and automatic status updates. This creates recurring subscription revenue with high customer retention potential.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Watbots develops and operates Watbots ONE, an autonomous dual-sided net cleaning robot for salmon aquaculture that uses patented magnetic drive technology to continuously clean both sides of fish farm nets without cables or thrusters. The battery-powered, self-docking robot combines gentle brushing with AI-based visual hole detection, and is delivered to customers as a managed service ("Driftet som en tjeneste") where Watbots owns, installs, and maintains the system for a fixed monthly fee.

Product overview

Watbots offers a unified autonomous net cleaning and inspection system for aquaculture. The core product is Watbots ONE — a dual-sided, battery-powered, cable-free robot that uses patented magnetic technology to continuously clean both sides of fish farm nets while simultaneously performing visual inspection for hole detection. Data and analysis are delivered through the Watbots AMS cloud platform, which provides monitoring, alerts, and reporting. The company operates on a 'Driftet som en tjeneste' (operated as a service) model where Watbots owns, installs, and maintains the system, providing customers with continuous net cleaning as a monthly service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Watbots ONE An autonomous dual-sided net cleaning robot for aquaculture that uses patented magnetic drive technology to continuously clean both sides of fish farm nets without cables, winches, or thrusters. Battery-powered, self-docking with inductive charging, depth-rated to 100 meters, and integrated with six cameras for AI-based hole detection. Delivered to fish farm operators as a managed service.
• Watbots AMS (Asset Management System) Cloud-based monitoring and asset management platform that provides continuous net health analysis. Receives data automatically when the robot docks to charge, delivering real-time alerts, status updates, and video to fish farmers without requiring ROV or diver inspections.

Quantifiable outcome

• Net has remained clean continuously since May 2025 without intensive or point high-pressure washing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SINTEF OceancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Research collaboration as part of FHF-funded SMARTER project investigating microplastic emissions from aquaculture. SINTEF researchers published findings showing that Watbots' gentle cleaning approach reduces microplastic release compared to traditional high-pressure washing. Research involves testing of net materials and cleaning methods to develop industry standards.
• NORCE ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Research partner in the FHF-funded SMARTER project investigating microplastic emissions from aquaculture industry.
• NCE Aquatec ClustercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Research partner in the FHF-funded SMARTER project investigating microplastic emissions from aquaculture industry.
• ScaleAQminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Industry partner in the SMARTER project. Findings are being incorporated by ScaleAQ and described as solid basis for developing new aquaculture industry standards. ScaleAQ is an aquaculture equipment company.
• BrynsløkkenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026Research partner in the FHF-funded SMARTER project investigating microplastic emissions from aquaculture industry.
• Askvoll FOU-stasjoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerR&D station providing full-scale testing environment for Watbots technology. Features 90-meter cage with net for realistic testing conditions. Used for both net cleaning development and AI-based hole detection training. Station open for collaboration and testing of other aquaculture industry projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Akva Group: One of the largest global suppliers of aquaculture equipment and technology, including net cleaning and inspection solutions for salmon farming. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving the same Norwegian salmon farming customers with overlapping net maintenance capabilities, but as part of a much wider aquaculture portfolio.
• Saab Seaeye: Global manufacturer of electric underwater robotic systems used for inspection, cleaning, and intervention in aquaculture and offshore. Comparable as a broader underwater robotics incumbent whose products overlap with aquaculture net inspection use cases, even though its core market is defense and offshore.
• Kongsberg Maritime: Large Norwegian subsea technology and underwater robotics company with broad capabilities in autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles. Comparable as a broad incumbent with the engineering scale to enter or partner in aquaculture net cleaning, though aquaculture is not its primary focus.
• ScaleAQ: Major Norwegian aquaculture equipment and technology supplier offering cages, feeding systems, and net-related infrastructure. Listed as a SMARTER project partner alongside Watbots, serving the same salmon farming operators with broader equipment offerings that include competing net cleaning approaches.

Direct peers

• Argus Remote Systems: Norwegian supplier of ROVs and net cleaning equipment for the aquaculture industry, based in the same Norwegian salmon farming cluster. Directly comparable as a competing net inspection and cleaning provider to the same salmon farmer customer base.
• Remora Robotics: Norwegian startup developing autonomous net cleaning robots for the aquaculture industry using a different propulsion approach. Direct peer as another autonomous robotics entrant targeting the same Norwegian salmon farming net cleaning opportunity and the same customer pain points Watbots addresses.
• Sperre AS: Norwegian manufacturer of ROV-based net cleaning systems widely used in Norwegian salmon farming. Directly comparable to Watbots as a purpose-built net cleaning provider for the same customer base, though Sperre uses tethered ROVs rather than autonomous magnetic robots.

Emerging players

• Blueye Robotics: Norwegian underwater drone (mini-ROV) maker spun out from NTNU, with growing presence in aquaculture inspection use cases. Comparable as a smaller Norwegian underwater robotics player targeting adjacent fish farm inspection needs, though focused on portable observation drones rather than cleaning robots.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/watbots

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Watbots