Canadian startup gets nod for AI fish farming technology
February 1, 2021
By
Liza Mayer
(L-R) Hossein Salimian and Mathew Zimola, co-founders of Halifax-based ReelData AI. The company provides fish farmers a smarter way of managing their farms through AI and computer vision technology A Halifax, Nova Scotia-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence for land-based fish farming has received nods from innovation accelerators locally and in the U.S.
Founded by Dalhousie University computer science grads Mathew Zimola and Hossein Salimian, ReelData’s AI technology provides data-driven insights and automation to enhance efficiency, sustainability and profitability in fish farming.
Most recently, its software that analyzes video from inside aquaculture tanks to ensure the fish are getting the right amount of feed won the $50,000 prize in the MassChallenge accelerator program in Boston. It was the only Canadian competitor in a field of more than 100 participants from 12 countries.
ReelData now counts Denmark’s Atlantic Sapphire as a customer. The land-based salmon farmer will use ReelData’s technology in its farms in Denmark and the U.S., including at its new Bluehouse plant in Florida, the world’s largest land-based fish farm.
Last year, the startup landed a $25,000 investment from a micro-fund from Atlantic Canada, Volta Cohort.
