Ep. 87: Opportunities in Ocean Tech—with Liané Thompson of Aquaai

Prior to 2016, no proper study had been done around the economics of the ocean. At the time, the ocean economy was estimated at $1.5 trillion and expected to reach $3 trillion by 2030. In fact, the ocean has the potential to solve several of humanity’s biggest problems, and the opportunities in ocean tech are as vast and deep as the ocean itself. Liané Thompson is the cofounder and CEO of Aquaai, a B2B startup using AI, computer vision, machine learning and biomimicry to create ecofriendly robotic fish to monitor below the surface and gather sophisticated data from the ocean. Prior to Aquaai, Liané spent 20 years in media, serving as a radio reporter, video journalist, TV producer and media executive. Today, Liané joins us to explain the work they do at Aquaai, sharing how she made the jump from journalist to ocean tech entrepreneur. She shares her approach to climate deniers and walks us through Aquaii’s evolution as a business. Liané also discusses the team’s decision to form a company rather than a nonprofit and what differentiates Aquaai from the traditional Silicon Valley startup. Listen in for insight around the economics of the ocean and learn about the vast opportunities in the ocean tech space. Topics Covered The work Aquaai does Robotic fish gather data from ocean ‘Intelligence below the surface’ How Liané got into the ocean tech space Met Simeon (‘Q’ of Israel) as journalist Promise to his daughter to save seas The evolution of the Aquaai clownfish First iteration 12 inches long (auto Tweet photos) Current 1.5-meter fish gathers sophisticated data Swim in fish farms supplying salmon to Whole Foods Liané’s transition from journalist to entrepreneur Desire to keep learning after return to US Idea to turn promise to Emily into business Liané’s response to climate deniers Encourage to read, observe extreme weather More concerned with educating people on fence The Aquaai trajectory as a company Early interest from global reinsurers Reached out to fish farmers (pilot partners) The greatest challenges in the ocean tech space Underwater conditions (salty, cold + can’t see) Technology unbelievably expensive How Aquaai differs from a typical Silicon Valley startup Not MIT or Stanford scientists Tough and experienced Aquaai’s decision to form a company rather than a nonprofit No desire to ask for money entire career Found their people in B2B aquaculture The economics of the ocean At least $1.5T in 2016, $3T by 2030 Solve food, water and energy problems Liané’s 10-year vision for Aquaai Key in changing perception and behavior Channel to show ‘good, bad and ugly’ Connect with Liané Aquaai https://www.aquaai.com/ Aquaai on Twitter https://twitter.com/aquaaicorp Aquaai on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Aquaai/ Aquaai on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/aquaai-corp/ Liané on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianethompson/ Liané on Twitter https://twitter.com/lianethompson Resources The Fish on My Plate Documentary http://pbsinternational.org/programs/fish-on-my-plate-the/ ‘The Ocean Economy in 2030’ by Claire Jolly https://www.oecd.org/sti/ind/Session%201_b%20-%20Claire%20Jolly%20-%20Web.pdf Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/ Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/ Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC