Novo Holdings bets on aquaculture data and biotech after Benchmark and Stingray acquisitions.
Novo Holdings sees aquaculture as an emerging data and biotechnology play, with large biological datasets expected to drive the next phase of innovation in the sector.
Speaking at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen, Aleks Engel of Novo Holdings said the Danish investment firm has spent the past year building its understanding of the industry following a series of acquisitions including aquaculture genetics group Benchmark and fish health technology company Stingray.
“We have been in aquaculture for one year so we are here to learn,” Engel said.
Novo Holdings has increasingly focused on companies with extensive biological datasets, which Engel said could become a key asset as artificial intelligence tools are applied to aquaculture.
“In this world data is gold,” he said. “All this AI is all very good but if you don’t have the data sets there is only so much you can do with that.”
Benchmark and Stingray both hold large biological and operational datasets, which Novo believes could enable more advanced monitoring and optimisation of fish health and performance.
Engel said the development of phenotypic data systems, including tagging technologies, could significantly improve biological insight in salmon farming.
Novo Holdings entered the aquaculture sector last year through investments in technology providers rather than farming companies, positioning itself at the intersection of biotechnology, data science and fish health.