DELOS Announces Continued Funding of 115 Billion Rupiah, Led by Centauri Fund and Alpha JWC Ventures

Having previously pocketed early stage funding led by Arise Fund, startup aquatech DELOS announced additional seed funding of $8 million or IDR 115 billion equivalent. The round was led by Centauri Fund and Alpha JWC Ventures. Both Centauri and Arise are managed funds of MDI Ventures.

Other investors involved in this funding are Number Capital, Arise, iSeed SEA, Irvan Kolonas, as well as Alto Partners Multi-Family Office, Mahanusa Capital, Kopi Kenangan Founder James Prananto, and a number of advanced strategic investors.

The company plans to use the funds to accelerate the process on-boarding client from the farm. In addition they continue to build and perform scale-up its main products are AquaHero, AquaLink, and AquaBank to accelerate the growth of Indonesian aquaculture.

"We want to encourage Indonesia to realize and take advantage of its vast marine potential, making it a major and sustainable national economic driver in the near future," said DELOS Co-founder Guntur Mallarangeng.

Within months of its operation following the initial funding round, DELOS has been working on developing its flagship product line. AquaHero, which is a complete agricultural productivity system combining scientific, technological and operational expertise was developed to increase agricultural yields. AquaHero products use high-end data collection methods and biological models to predict and reduce crop risk. This model will be applied to thousands of shrimp ponds in the DELOS ecosystem throughout Indonesia.

"DELOS comes with real, data-driven solutions to the day-to-day problems faced by shrimp farmers, and early traction has proven its effectiveness in optimizing farm operations and significantly growing output. With the expertise and network of its founders, we believe DELOS can to be at the forefront of the aquaculture revolution in Indonesia,” said Alpha JWC Ventures Partner Eko Kurniadi.

Meanwhile, according to Centauri Fund Managing Partner Kenneth Li, agriculture is one of the grassroots industries in Indonesia that contributes significantly to national GDP. In this regard, the shrimp industry in Indonesia is also one of the largest in the world and the largest contributor to the Indonesian fishery industry as a whole.

“DELOS is capable of producing a staggering 2-3x output of the industry average. DELOS has been able to solve this problem by implementing modern and standardized production methods and providing scalable supply chain solutions.”

DELOS business growth

Since November 2021, the company is actively conducting on-boarding 100 hectares of intensive and super intensive shrimp ponds, with backlog Existing demand is more than 600 hectares in pipeline company. This year the company will also continue to strengthen and expand AquaHero's product range, accuracy, features and clients, by increasing farm productivity and profitability, thereby adding value to the industry. The company has a target of around 200 hectares that can be managed this year.

DELOS claims to have helped its clients multiply their results through an app from AquaHero. This has resulted in the client base's agricultural output continuing to outperform the Indonesian shrimp farming industry, producing an average of 10-15 tons/ha/cycle.

Supporting DELOS' long-term goals, the company later established the DELOS Maritime Institute (DMI) in Yogyakarta. The Institute will become a training center for the development of specialized aquaculture talent, with a world-class curriculum and on-site practical training, to cultivate a new generation of farm managers, technicians, lab assistants and field operators. In addition, this activity will also support research and development of the latest technology in cultivation technology, such as: early detection and prevention of disease and livestock supporting infrastructure.

“The reception of DELOS in the aquaculture industry has been very positive, with client acquisitions beyond the team's ability to enter the farm,” said Guntur.