Polish startup Reef Factory will turn aquarium into the new smart home gadget

Two serial entrepreneurs are partnering to develop a smart aquarium management IoT system and devices that will allow saltwater animal enthusiasts to control their aquarium habitat from within an app. Reef Factory just secured €3 million in a seed round from Polish investors Aper Ventures and KAP HOLDING.

Pet tech is gaining popularity among investors, at 23.2% CAGR, it is expected to reach €22.000 million by 2028. Reef Factory has announced its €3 million seed round to further strengthen its share of that market. The startup intends to solidify its position as the global leader in smart gadgets, dramatically increase sales and enter the US market. Company is supported by Polish fund Aper Ventures, as well as co-investor KAP HOLDING and Business Angels.

- Our firm was founded on a love of aquaristics and cutting-edge technology. Almost every aspect of life is being automated these days. We discovered a void in this trend, which comprises aquaristics. Our professional expertise enabled us to design solutions that satisfy the demands of people like us rather rapidly,' said Jarek Wojczakowski, one of Reef Factory's founders.

Smart Home for fish

Reef Factory is the only firm in the industry that has developed a complete marine aquarium management system, Smart Reef 360, which enables full automation for maintaining optimum water parameters by integrating smart devices, software, and supplements. It delivers messages to users and permits remote control of the system in the case of an anomaly. Despite being on the market for only three years, the firm is a global leader in terms of the range of smart devices available.

- Reef Factory has focused on establishing a scalable business since its start. This approach enabled the firm to penetrate 33 markets in two years, with a revenue of €1.8 million at the end of 2021. After the first half of 2022, it is apparent that the expected increase for this year will be 250-300%. This is made possible by an experienced workforce, excellent worldwide distribution management, and the development of gadgets that meet the demands of customers. These are the characteristics we seek in the hardware firms we wish to include in our portfolio. remarked Bartosz Skadzień, Partner at Aper Ventures.

Behind the company's success is a team of experienced entrepreneurs with a unique mix of traditional business and gamedev competencies - Jarek Wojczakowski (CEO), co-founder of Vivid Games S.A., familiar with the latest technologies, and Marek Protasewicz (CSO), knowledgeable in the marine aquarium industry, former owner of one of Poland's leading aquarium wholesalers, who now manages product distribution globally. Bartomiej Arcichowski (CTO), formerly of Fibaro, has also joined the team, further cementing the company's objectives in the smart devices sector.

- Our initial encounter at Reef Factory proved that this is the team in whom we want to invest. The founders are competent, determined, and have built a variety of goods that are not only smart, but also stand out for their high aesthetics and practicality,' adds Magdalena Pazgan-Wacawek, co-owner of the KAP HOLDING family fund.

4 million passionate aquarists worldwide

There are almost 4 million enthusiastic marine aquarists throughout the world, each spending an average over 4 thousand euros on equipment. The marine aquarium market is predicted to be worth PLN 30.3 billion, with PLN 21.3 billion spent on hardware and PLN 9 billion spent on aquarium chemicals. The market in Europe alone is worth over PLN 11 billion. Over the following four years, the growth dynamics of the reef aquaristics market will be approximately 10.7%.