ALKEMYST, the company’s proprietary platform, is an AI foundation model designed for seafood and aquatic systems © Umami bioworks
At its core, ALKEMYST integrates biological, environmental and production data into a “digital aquatic cell”, a living model that simulates how marine species grow, adapt and respond to change. By compressing timelines from years to months, the platform is enabling faster R&D cycles, smarter breeding programs, and lower-impact seafood production.
“AI is rewriting what’s possible across industries. With ALKEMYST, we’re bringing that same intelligence to the ocean, and turning fragmented biology into an engine for sustainability, resilience, and growth,” said Ashwath Bendre, product manager at Umami Bioworks*, in a press release.
Structured like precision medicine for the sea, ALKEMYST operates as an AI flywheel. Proprietary multi-omics and metabolomics libraries spanning hundreds of marine species feed into generative algorithms that predict growth, nutrition and disease outcomes with species-level precision. These models are deployed through partnerships with seafood producers, optimising feed, breeding and health management in real time. Each deployment generates new data, sharpening predictive accuracy and compounding the platform’s value over time – a dynamic similar to how AI is reshaping drug discovery and diagnostics in healthcare.
Early results point to step-change efficiency. Projects powered by ALKEMYST have demonstrated the potential to cut feed conversion ratios, detect disease risks early through genomic surveillance, and accelerate the breeding of climate-resilient species using biomarker-driven insights.
Umami Bioworks is already working with major aquaculture and seafood companies to embed ALKEMYST into real-world operations, from precision feed trials to adaptive breeding programs. Originally developed to support cultivated seafood R&D, the platform now extends far beyond, positioning itself as the digital backbone of a new, regenerative blue-economy infrastructure.
*Umami Bioworks is one of Hatch Blue’s portfolio companies, but The Fish Site retains editorial independence.
