OTAQ makes equity investment in Blue Lion Labs

On May 11, 2021, marine technology company OTAQ Plc announced a $300,000 equity investment in Blue Lion Labs Ltd., for approximately 10% of Blue Lion's issued ordinary share capital.

In addition, the companies have signed cooperation and licensing agreements which will ultimately allow OTAQ to incorporate Blue Lion's specialty in artificial intelligence technology (AI) to analyse plankton monitoring data at fish farms.

Blue Lion is a Canadian data management and software company developing solutions to multiple water-quality challenges, including real time monitoring of harmful organisms in water to deliver more sustainable food sources. The company was established in 2018 by Dr. Jason Deglint and Dr. Katie Thomas, two PhD alumni from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, with expertise in machine learning and AI, and aquatic biology, respectively. Blue Lion already has the support of incubator and mentorship programmes including Hatch, the Ocean Startup Challenge and NEXT Canada.

Ahsan Sadiq and Adam Carlin Gowling WLG advised Blue Lion with respect to this investment.