Launched in 2024 with support from the National Innovation Agency, Aquawise is a pioneering startup founded by Patipond Tiyapunjanit, Chanati Jantrachotechatchawan, and Kobchai Duangrattanalert. They’ll be exhibiting their innovative, AI-powered water quality monitoring technology at the upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. This year’s event will be held in San Francisco, October 27-29. Aquawise is thrilled to have been selected to compete in the elite Startup Battlefield competition!
Tiyapunjanit’s love of shrimp was the original inspiration for Aquawise. Propelled by this excitement, he started a research program focused on shrimp larvae. This latest effort uncovered an urgent need for actionable aquaculture water quality management. In Southeast Asia, over 80% of all farms face challenges related to water quality. Aquawise is looking to help solve this challenge with smart technology that gives aquaculture farmers the ability to monitor water conditions 24/7.
What makes Aquawise’s platform particularly unique is its physics-based AI model. It uses satellite imagery to constantly monitor fish and shrimp farms, removing the need for daily or weekly on-site inspections. This new breakthrough facilitates for the first time real-time monitoring of key water indicators including temperature, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen. Real-time monitoring increases farmers’ data-driven choices in the short term. It contributes to the never-ending training of the AI model.
It is no wonder, then, that aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector worldwide today. The United Nations considers it an essential part of the solution for how we will feed a global population expected to surpass 10 billion. With high levels of nutrients combined with a comparatively low level of environmental emissions, aquaculture has a great promise in producing food sustainably. Many farmers in Southeast Asia struggle with the high costs associated with existing water quality monitoring methods, such as sensors and testing kits.
Regional Aquaculture Coordinator, Patipond Tiyapunjanit, underlined the critical significance of water quality control in aquaculture production, and said that
“Water quality is one of the most important things in aquaculture.”
He expanded on his focus on the need for the right water quality, stating,
“It’s like being a human: You have to breathe. The aquatic life, they are living in the water all the time. If the water quality does not stay at the optimal level, it could cause stress, it could cause disease outbreaks, and a lot of things.”
Aquawise’s technology quickly and efficiently tracks real-time water quality. It provides predictive analytics, giving farmers the tools to anticipate and mitigate risks before they become realities. This proactive approach is critical to maintaining the responsible growth of aquaculture and increasing the productivity of the farms in general.
Kobchai Duangrattanalert expressed his vision for the impact of Aquawise’s technology within the region:
“We want people, especially in Thailand, and in the whole Southeast Asia [region], to feel that they can use it in order to improve their livelihood in terms of the community, the region and the farm itself.”
The founders of Aquawise first met during the 2023 Young Scientist Competition while presenting their project, which sparked their collaboration and eventual development of this innovative solution.
Aquawise is looking forward to releasing their revolutionary technology into the world at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Taken together, this launch represents a huge step forward in addressing one of the biggest hurdles faced by aquaculture farmers in the market today. Aquawise aims to innovate the monitoring and management of our water quality by leveraging satellite technology and AI. This groundbreaking method gives Southeast Asian farmers a consistent apparatus to make their businesses better.