KOA Biotech
Shifting microbiological testing to reduce fish mortality due to pathogenic infections.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | €2.0m | Seed | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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KOA Biotech is a biotechnology company addressing the critical issue of disease management within the aquaculture industry. The company was established in 2021 as a spin-off from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. Its foundation is rooted in the doctoral thesis of its founder and CEO, Sira Mogas Díez, a human biologist who identified a significant market need in aquaculture for advanced pathogen detection. She holds a PhD in Biomedicine and a Master's degree in Computational Biomedical Engineering.
The company targets the global aquaculture market, which suffers economic losses estimated at over $6 billion annually due to infections that can cause production losses of up to 30%. KOA Biotech's core business revolves around a 'Sensing as a Service' model, providing fish farms with the equipment, consumables, and cloud-based data access through a subscription. This approach aims to make advanced diagnostics more accessible and affordable compared to traditional lab testing, which can be slow and costly.
KOA Biotech has developed a proprietary biosensor system that provides early detection of waterborne pathogens in fish farms. This system uses a hybrid technology that combines living organisms engineered to detect specific pathogens with a micro-electronic interface that translates biological signals into data. This information is processed by proprietary algorithms on an online platform, which sends early-warning alerts when pathogen levels exceed a safe threshold. The autonomous device continuously monitors water quality, a frequency reportedly 10 times greater than conventional methods, allowing farm operators to implement preventive measures, reduce fish mortality, and minimize the use of antibiotics. In February 2025, the company announced it had secured a €2 million investment round led by Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech, with participation from Fund-F and Faber, to advance its technology and implement its commercial plan.
Keywords: aquaculture technology, fish farm disease detection, waterborne pathogens, biosensor system, agrifood-tech, sustainable aquaculture, antibiotic reduction, Sira Mogas Díez, Pompeu Fabra University spin-off, pathogen monitoring, preventative aquaculture, microbial analysis, data-driven aquaculture, fish health management, Swanlaab, environmental impact reduction, food security, smart aquaculture, real-time diagnostics, sensing as a service