The startup, which has developed cameras that leverage AI and machine learning to assess the health, welfare and growth of salmon – backed by software that allows the data to be analysed and applied to a range of uses – has raised an impressive $48 million since it was founded by Shang in 2017. It’s all the more impressive as San Francisco-based Shang says that he only really become aware of aquaculture less than a decade ago, after speaking to a friend who’d been doing some angel investing in the space. Sensing a commercial opportunity he decided to investigate the sector’s major pain points, via a tour of US fish farms. The difficulty of accurately monitoring and measuring the fish was one of the key themes that the farmers mentioned to Shang. Being practically and technically minded he decided to develop his own device for doing this.