This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2025.
KOA Biotech, a Barcelona-based biotech startup focused on aquaculture health, has secured €2 million in funding to scale its early pathogen detection technology. The round was led by Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech, with participation from international impact investors Fund-F (Austria) and FABER (Portugal). Founded by Sira Mogas during her PhD in biomedicine, KOA Biotech emerged from a desire to build a purpose-driven company addressing a clear market need. Initially unfamiliar with the aquaculture sector, Ms Mogas identified a critical pain point: bacterial infections in fish farms, which cause up to 30% production losses globally—estimated at over $6 billion annually.
KOA’s core innovation lies in its genetically engineered biosensors, designed to detect bacterial infections in water before outbreaks occur. These in-house developed sensors are paired with hardware readers and machine learning algorithms that analyze response patterns and issue preventive alerts. The solution enables early action, reducing fish mortality, antibiotic usage, and economic losses, while improving sustainability and real-time health monitoring. The startup offers its system via a “Sensing as a Service” model, providing equipment and consumables on a subscription basis, along with cloud-based data access. Nora Alonso, General Partner at Swanlaab, highlighted KOA as an example of Spain’s potential to lead in agrifood-tech innovation by focusing on research and attracting international capital. With the new funding, KOA plans to accelerate product development, expand its commercial strategy, and solidify its position as a key player in sustainable aquaculture technology.