Hatch Blue project manager Karlotta Rieve on the ground in Southeast Asia, spending time with local seaweed farmers. Hatch Blue has an investment portfolio of more than 70 companies linked to various forms of aquaculture.

Billionaire-backed Builders Vision takes stake in aquaculture investor

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Sustainable aquaculture investor Hatch Blue has announced a strategic minority general partner (GP) investment from Builders Vision, an investment and philanthropy platform founded by WalMart retail heir Lukas Walton.

The investment involves Builders Vision purchasing a non-controlling stake in Hatch Blue’s holding company, enabling it to gain direct exposure to the company’s fees and profits, while Hatch Blue’s team retains control.

Builders Vision has partnered with Ireland-based Hatch Blue since 2017 across its investment, consulting, and venture-building activities, including as a limited partner in its Blue Revolution Fund. The latest investment is said to represent a significant expansion of that relationship.

Georg Baunach: "This investment reinforces that aquaculture is no longer an emerging niche, but a critical growth sector."

Doubling down

“When a partner like Builders Vision - with its long-term perspective and deep roots in the global food system - doubles down at the GP level, it sends a powerful signal,” said Hatch Blue chief executive Georg Baunach.

“This investment reinforces that aquaculture is no longer an emerging niche, but a critical growth sector. With Builders Vision as a strategic partner, we can accelerate our ambition to build the world’s leading specialist investment platform for aquaculture.”

James Lindsay, investments director at Builders Vision, said: “Over nearly a decade, we’ve watched Hatch Blue transform into a global leader that is shaping the future of the sustainable blue economy.

“The Hatch Blue team has consistently demonstrated an ability to do the hard, transformative work that the ocean sector needs, particularly in restorative aquaculture. We are thrilled to expand our commitment through this GP stake and look forward to serving as a strategic advisor to the firm as they build the connective tissue necessary for a truly sustainable and successful aquaculture industry.”

A woman holds the Sensor Globe, the namesake product of one of Hatch Blue's portfolio companies. Sensor Globe delivers next-generation monitoring solutions designed to give fish farmers real-time insights during critical operations such as crowding, transfers, and handling.

Seaweed and salmon eggs

Builders Vision has a history of investment in sustainable aquaculture. It took part in a US $6.2 million Series A fundraise by Faroese seaweed farmer Ocean Rainforest in 2023, and it is an investment partner in SalmoGen, a company formed by North American aquaculture businesses and a Native American tribe. It plans to create a new supply of salmon eggs for United States fish farmers from 2027.

Last year, Builders Vision invested in Bluefront Capital II, the second investment fund to be managed by Norwegian seafood invesment company Bluefront Equity.

Walmart heir Lukas Walton is the founder of Builders Vision.

Lukas Walton is the grandson of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, and has an estimated net worth of US $41.5 billion.

He is the only child of philanthropist Christy Walton and the late John T Walton. Christy Walton is the founder of Cuna del Mar, an impact investment company focused on regenerative aquaculture. The company owns contract research organisations the Centre for Aquaculture Technologies (San Diego) and Onda (Prince Edward Island, Atlantic Canada), SalmoGen (Maine), fish farming equipment and technology supplier Innovasea (Boston), and fish farming companies Open Blue, Blue Ocean Mariculture, and Santomar.

In October last year, Cuna del Mar said was sharpening its focus on expanding its pioneering work and taking on a more active role as a global advocate for generative and regenerative aquaculture – a strategic shift after 15 years of developing economically viable and environmentally responsible open-ocean aquaculture technology and farming models.

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