The startup has developed an AI- and IoT-enabled platform that helps shrimp farmers manage farms, access financing, monitor operations, and connect with markets.
The startup was founded by engineers Pavan Kosaraju, Hemasundar D, Kareemullah Md, and Kiran Kumar, who grew up in small towns and villages along the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh, where shrimp farming has been part of daily life for more than 30 years. Their goal was to create a platform that connects everyone involved in shrimp farming—from farmers and hatcheries to exporters, banks, insurers, and retailers. That idea also inspired the name AquaExchange.
AquaExchange provides a full-stack technology platform for the shrimp aquaculture ecosystem. The company offers solutions in three main areas. The first is farm management, where it helps farmers improve day-to-day operations, increase efficiency, reduce mortality, and use predictive tools to improve farm management.
The second area is finance and risk management. AquaExchange enables banks to provide direct loans to farmers through its platform. AquaExchange built a data-driven platform that gave banks the structured information they needed while helping farmers access loan products suited to their needs.
The third area is market connectivity. Since more than 90% of India’s farmed shrimp is exported, the platform connects farmers with processors, exporters, and global buyers.
Speaking about the product line, Pavan explains, “Shrimp farming needs continuous monitoring and automation, so hardware is a core part of what we do. We have developed a portfolio of around 17 IoT products, all designed, developed, and manufactured at our facility near Vijayawada. We also own the intellectual property for all these products.”
One of its key products monitors aerators, which supply oxygen to shrimp ponds. Since dissolved oxygen levels are critical for shrimp survival, even a delay of two to three hours in detecting an aerator failure can result in the loss of an entire pond. AquaExchange’s IoT system continuously monitors aerator operations and sends an alert by phone if an aerator stops working for more than 10 minutes.
The company also aims to reduce electricity costs, which are the second-largest expense in shrimp farming. Its power management system monitors energy consumption and improves electrical efficiency by raising the power factor to around 0.98, helping farmers lower their electricity bills.
Another solution is an IoT-enabled robotic feeder, a solar-powered device that automates shrimp feeding. “We have developed an AI-based feeding system that uses sensitive underwater microphones to capture the sounds shrimp make while eating. The AI analyses these acoustic signals to estimate the shrimp’s hunger levels and adjusts feeding accordingly. This helps improve feed efficiency by around 10% while reducing feed wastage,” Pavan says.
The company has also developed AI-powered health monitoring tools that analyse microscopic images of shrimp organs, including the hepatopancreas and gut, as well as water samples. Using custom AI models, the system can detect stress and predict disease risks three to four days before visible symptoms appear. According to the startup, the system helps reduce mortality losses by 40-50 per cent.
Speaking about the design challenges, Pavan adds, “Our products operate in nearly 100% humidity, temperatures ranging from 6-7°C to over 48°C, with constant water splashes, feed dust, and continuous vibrations. We also have to account for rough handling in the field, unlike controlled industrial environments. To withstand these conditions, we designed our devices with IP65-rated protection. Even then, vibration remained one of our biggest engineering challenges, leading us to carry out detailed acoustic and vibration analysis before finalising every product design.”
On the company’s financial performance, Pavan Kosaraju says, “We closed the financial year ended March 2026 with revenue of around ₹2.75 billion. We have also reached operational break-even, so our core business is now financially sustainable.”
Speaking about the company’s current challenges, Pavan says, “Our biggest challenge today is reliability. As we scale, we have to ensure not just that our technology works consistently, but also that our manufacturing processes, supply chains, and operations remain reliable.
Looking ahead, the company has three main growth priorities. In the shrimp sector, it aims to increase its market share by around 10% each year while increasing adoption of its technology among existing customers. The second is international expansion, where the company says it is already among the top two players. The third is expanding beyond shrimp by applying its technology to other aquaculture species.
