Shinkei Systems

Shinkei Systems is a seafood robotics company that manufactures automated fish harvesting systems for commercial fishing vessels. Its flagship machine, Poseidon (also referred to as PSDN), is roughly the size of a small refrigerator and is installed on boat decks. A fish is inserted head first; computer vision scans it to identify species and anatomy, locating the brain and gills, and generates a cutting path to execute ike jime — a centuries-old Japanese technique in which the fish is spiked in the brain for immediate death, bled, and rapidly chilled. The company states the full cycle takes about six seconds and that avoiding suffocation prevents the stress response that releases stress hormones and lactic acid, acidifying the meat and accelerating decomposition. Shinkei says the result is up to 3x shelf life and better flavor retention.

Beyond hardware, Shinkei operates a software stack spanning onboard computer vision, fleet-wide coordination, and real-time supply chain analysis, giving traceability on when and where each fish was harvested and how its quality is changing. The company is vertically integrated: it launched Seremoni in 2024 as its consumer-facing distribution brand and subsidiary, defining a "Seremoni Grade" standard for fish that is wild-caught by American fishermen in US waters, harvested by hands-free ike jime, free of added preservatives, and given extended shelf life without freezing. Shinkei manufactures Poseidon units in parallel at a factory in El Segundo, California, and frames its mission around reshoring seafood processing, citing that roughly 90% of American seafood is imported — much of it caught in US waters and processed overseas — and an $18 billion US seafood trade deficit.

The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2022 batch and is categorized under hardware, robotics, food tech, and agriculture. Its team draws on aerospace engineering experience from SpaceX and Anduril, brand experience from Lululemon, Oishii, and Erewhon, and commercial fishing and seafood industry backgrounds.

Founding story

Saif Khawaja grew up fishing with his father and later worked on commercial fishing vessels. He has said he was prompted to start the company after reading a college article titled "What if fish could scream?", which argued that fish, lacking vocal cords, receive less empathy than livestock as they suffocate on boat decks — a process that can take up to an hour. That led him to develop a robotic system automating the Japanese ikejime method, which is both more humane and better preserves meat quality. Shinkei Systems was incorporated in April 2021 and co-founded by Khawaja (CEO) and Reed Ginsberg (CTO).

Business model

Shinkei provides its Poseidon robots to commercial fishing vessels free of charge rather than renting or selling the machines, structuring a profit-share with each fishing operation it outfits. Fishermen process their catch with the robot and sell it back to Shinkei at above-market prices, allowing them to capture more value per fish without buying new vessels or adding labor. Shinkei then sells the resulting fish under its Seremoni brand to chefs, restaurants, and retailers. The company said it previously tried renting and selling the machines before shifting to this model.

Revenue comes from downstream sales of Poseidon-processed, "Seremoni Grade" fish through the company's Seremoni distribution brand to restaurants, chefs, and retail outlets, rather than from hardware sales or rentals; fishermen are paid a premium for catch processed on Shinkei equipment under a profit-sharing arrangement.

Traction

Shinkei reported 10 ships equipped with its systems as of September 2025, with Poseidon robots processing thousands of fish daily and the company's site citing six species processed weekly. Total funding reached $30 million after the $22 million Series A. Team size is listed at 80. The company doubled its headquarters footprint in September 2025 and added a Washington processing plant in March 2026. Seremoni launched with Black Cod and Black Sea Bass and planned additions including red snapper and salmon, later adding sockeye processing capability.

Latest developments

In September 2025 Shinkei relocated to a 15,000-square-foot El Segundo headquarters, more than doubling its space. In November 2025 it launched NERA and CHRN. In March 2026 it purchased a 16,000-square-foot processing facility in Tacoma, Washington, to expand its supply chain, and in July 2026 SeafoodSource reported the addition of sockeye processing capabilities via its PSDN-S technology. Coverage in 2026 included TechCrunch on Founders Fund's investment and HNGRY on the company's seafood software stack.