Scottish fish farm connectivity provider nets £2.95m for expansion
A Scottish company that works with salmon farmer Mowi to provide internet connectivity for the company’s sites in Ireland has secured US $3.7 million (£2.95m) to fund continued international expansion.
Krucial uses a combination of state-of-the-art satellite and cellular technology combined with internet of things (IoT) devices and cloud services to offer a full end-to-end digital infrastructure to connect operations from anywhere on earth.
In practice, this enables users to deploy the latest IoT technology on sites and assets with no existing communications infrastructure, such as remote fish farms, meaning operators can get continuous data insights no matter the location or conditions.
Krucial’s funding round was led by the Scottish National Investment Bank, joined by the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise, and Dubai-based space and technology investor AzurX.
It takes the total amount raised by Krucial to date to around $7.5m following seed investment in July 2021 of $3.8m.
'Vote of confidence'
“This funding is a clear vote of confidence in Krucial’s cutting-edge solution – especially given wider macroeconomic conditions. The ambition, potential and performance of Krucial to this point has proven our value to investors, who are backing us to take the next steps towards digitising the planet,” said the company’s co-founder and chief executive Allan Cannon.
He added that the new investment would unlock new opportunities both in the UK and internationally in the $400bn enterprise IoT market.
“While we’re a Scottish-based company, we’re global in outlook, and are aware of just how excited international partners are by our solution,” said Cannon.
As well as working with Mowi, the company has recently announced strategic partnerships with organisations including Netherlands-based Amphibious Energy, which provides renewable energy to offshore and onshore locations, and Scottish telecoms specialist Logicomms.
The new funding will be used to accelerate growth in core markets including energy, rail, aquaculture and agriculture in the UK and internationally.
Increasing impact
Simon Comer, director of sustainable investment at the Scottish National Investment Bank, said partnerships with companies like Mowi and Logicomms demonstrated the diversity and expansion potential of Krucial’s offering.
“Our funding will help maximise this potential, not only in the UK but enabling this Scottish-based business to increase its impact in the international marketplace.”
Krucial’s products include Connected Seafarm, which offers a drop-in digitisation solution specifically for the aquaculture sector. It comes complete with sensors, a weather station and a bespoke Insights Platform which allows collected data to be viewed on mobile and desktop to help spot trends, identify issues and understand site conditions remotely. It can be deployed in just six hours with no user technical expertise required.
The company has recently also announced its capability to enable fish farmers to feed remotely (away from site/shore) by communicating low-latency video and feed controls via satellite, in a service that it says could save the aquaculture industry millions while improving fish welfare and reducing waste.
