Catchwise
Oslo, NO · 7 employees on LinkedIn · 6 known investors
Catchwise provides satellite AIS tracking and fishing activity analysis, giving global visibility into vessel positions, movements, and operations. The product serves the commercial fishing fleet with vessel profiles, historical tracklines, and fishing hotspot data tailored to fishing rather than general shipping.
Also known as Catchwise AS
Founders & leadership
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Catchwise is an Oslo-headquartered company that builds a data and AI platform for commercial fishing. The product consolidates satellite AIS (SAT-AIS) vessel tracking, historical fishery and catch records, and ocean measurements such as temperature and salinity into a single map interface used by skippers and shipping companies to plan trips, locate fishing grounds and reduce search time and fuel use.
Core capabilities described by the company include a fishing-oriented vessel database with live positions, tracklines and activity patterns; AI-based detection of hauls and fishing effort (gear in water) across vessel types with historical playback; marine weather and conditions layers covering estimated high-resolution seabed temperature, currents, tides, wind, waves, plankton, ice charts and satellite imagery; and integration with electronic logbooks so a vessel's own catch history can be enriched and used to generate catch-rate forecasts and identify the conditions associated with the best hauls. Additional map layers cover ocean infrastructure and gas pipelines, and the platform includes a regulations section. A mobile app has also been released.
The company positions itself as a deep data platform for fisheries delivered in the cloud, with the stated aim of helping vessels fill quotas faster while lowering fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Founding story
The founding team emerged from the FishAI: Sustainable Commercial Fishing competition, which they won in 2022, beating researchers and developers from around the world. Founders Ludvig A. Løddesøl, Tomas Roaldsnes, Jonas Dammen, Kristian Andersen Hole and Åsmund Brekke come from Vestland, Møre og Romsdal, Nordland and Oslo/Akershus and have backgrounds at Schibsted, Norges Bank, McKinsey and Oda, combined with commercial fishing experience. Sources differ on the incorporation year, giving 2022 [6] and 2023 [7].
Business model
Software platform sold to commercial fishing vessels and shipping companies, delivered as a cloud/web application with a companion mobile app and integrations to electronic logbook systems [0][2][4].
Traction
The website reports use by 400+ skippers and a case study covering the first two years with 69 vessels analysed, showing an average +6 percentage point catch efficiency improvement relative to comparable peers in the same fishery and season, while noting other factors such as weather, quotas and skipper decisions also affect results. Coverage of the 2025 pre-seed round cited over 50 large vessels using the platform daily and a claim of cutting search time and eventually fuel consumption by up to 50%. Named users include vessels in Norway (Libas, Remøy, Doggi, Gadus Njord, Gadus Poseidon, Veidar, Skjongholm) and the United Kingdom (Kelly of Ladram, Boy Andrew) [0][6][7].
Latest developments
Blog posts dated 2026 describe a major maritime weather upgrade, significantly more accurate seabed temperature, currents and plankton data, a new ocean infrastructure and gas pipelines layer, a fished-areas overview, a spring 2026 product update, and growing adoption among UK skippers from Newlyn to Scrabster, alongside customer stories from vessels including Libas, Kelly of Ladram and Boy Andrew [4][0].
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Describes itself as the world's first cloud-based deep data platform for fisheries; reports 400+ skippers using the product and, at the time of its 2025 pre-seed, over 50 large vessels using it daily [0][2][6].
Data layers and vessel database are built specifically for fishing rather than general shipping, blending a customer's own logbook catch history with public AIS, fishery and ocean data; the company reports fishing-specific outputs such as AI-detected hauls and bottom-temperature estimates validated by skippers [0][2][7].
Technology
Combines SAT-AIS satellite vessel tracking, roughly 20 years of fishery records and ocean metrics (temperature, salinity and others) with AI models for haul detection and predictive analytics, real-time visualisation and operations automation; the company also develops high-resolution seabed temperature forecasts and works on an operational-at-sea AI solution [0][6][7].
Go-to-market
Direct engagement with the fishing industry: the team travels the Norwegian coast from Tromsø to Austevoll, goes to sea with customers, speaks with them daily to shape the roadmap, publishes customer stories and industry analyses on its blog, and attends sector events such as Pelagisk Arena and the Ombordfryst conference in Ålesund [0][2][4].
Commercial fishing skippers, vessels and shipping companies across gear types including pelagic, trawl, longline, gillnet and Scottish seine; the company states all boat types are represented on the platform except crab fishermen [0][2].
Geography
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with customers along the Norwegian coast and in the United Kingdom; the company also participates in EU research projects [0][2][4].
History
After winning the FishAI competition in 2022, the team built out map layers and features through 2023-2024, including bottom temperature on the map, a global ice map, international AIS, tow lines with catch activity, a zooplankton layer and a mobile app. In March 2025 the company announced a €1.25M pre-seed round. During 2025 it joined two EU projects (Marine Guardian and INFINIFISH) and published analyses of Norway's most efficient fishing vessels; in 2026 it released upgrades to maritime weather, seabed temperature, currents and plankton accuracy, an ocean infrastructure and gas pipelines layer, and expanded activity with UK skippers [2][4][6][7].
Risks & controversies
The company notes that its reported +6 percentage point catch efficiency figure does not establish that Catchwise alone creates the difference, since fishing outcomes are also affected by weather, quotas and skippers' decisions. Public sources also give conflicting founding years (2022 versus 2023) [0][6][7].
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 10
launches, deals, and filingsCatchwise announced participation in the EU INFINIFISH project.
Catchwise announced it joined the EU Marine Guardian project focused on advancing sustainable fishing.
Catchwise announced a €1.25 million pre-seed round led by Dreamcraft Ventures with participation from Sondo, Ocean Impact and angel investors from Oda, Enode and Meltwater, to be used to improve its AI and data platform and establish product-market fit across fisheries.
Catchwise announced the launch of international AIS coverage in its platform.
The founding team won the FishAI: Sustainable Commercial Fishing competition, from which Catchwise emerged.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Catchwisecatchwise.no · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Catchwise do?
- Norwegian software platform combining satellite AIS, catch history and ocean data to support commercial fishing decisions.
- Who founded Catchwise?
- Catchwise was founded by Jonas Dammen.
- Who are Catchwise's investors?
- Catchwise's investors include Sondo Capital, Dreamcraft.
- Where is Catchwise headquartered?
- Catchwise is headquartered in Oslo, NO.