Portfolio Spotlight: ANB Sensors

The Problem

When ANB Sensors first came across our desk in 2020, we knew firsthand they were onto something big. Many industries, from aquaculture to manufacturing, rely on accurate measurement of water chemistry in order to operate. pH sensing is a core component of this water monitoring – and often a main indicator that something is going wrong in the water. 

Yet pH sensing has long relied on a manual, labour-intensive process: calibrating the ph electrode by hand. This process takes around 30 minutes to complete, and must be done frequently to maintain the accuracy of pH sensors – sometimes daily, sometimes monthly, depending on the accuracy required. 

That's a particular pain point for hard-to-reach deployments – sensors moored in open ocean pens, for instance – where operators must take a boat out, pull the sensor up, buffer it, and redeploy it. Calibrating at sea is often difficult, so the sensor is transported back to a central lab for calibration, extending the time required for proper maintenance.

The Innovation

ANB Sensors has engineered a new class of pH sensor that self-calibrates, cutting that lengthy process dramatically. Maintenance goes from 30 minutes in traditional sensors to 30 seconds with ANB’s system. This maintenance needs no special training and can be done in the field by any labourer. For aquaculture, that's a major productivity gain, cutting operating costs for pH-sensing by as much as 70%.

Founders Nathan Lawrence and Kay McGuinness spent over a decade as research scientists before founding the company (Nathan with a DPhil in electrochemistry from Oxford, Kay in polymer chemistry from Sussex) and are recognized as leading experts in their niche. That rare expertise produced a robust solid-state sensor, replacing the fragile glass electrodes that standard sensors rely on with calibration-free measurement built directly into the design. The technology is backed by a strong IP portfolio, built off an X-Prize win nearly a decade ago.

Why We Backed Them

As specialist aquaculture investors, we've felt the frustration of pH measurement firsthand. We know how maintenance interrupts workflow, and that it's often skipped or done incorrectly. That field exposure is what let us see the far-reaching potential of ANB’s solution: pH probes that are easier to use than traditional sensors and take an order of magnitude less time to manage. 

While most startups in this space are digital plays in an already crowded field – software layered onto off-the-shelf sensors – ANB is a fundamentally new sensor technology. It's a real hardware innovation for a large, untapped market, with room to scale well beyond aquaculture into water treatment, mining operations, and offshore monitoring.

The Journey So Far

ANB Sensors brought their technology to market in 2023 and ran into their first learning curve: the first-generation sensor was revolutionary in its scientific innovation, but did not yet have the added features necessary to be a perfect fit for different industries. Getting the nuances right for each use case matters. 

Interest stayed high regardless: customers understood the scale of improvement the technology could bring, once it worked as intended. The team launched the second generation of its technology in April 2026, which has led to dozens of large-scale trials currently underway and excellent data coming from customers.  

How We're Supporting the Next Milestone

We're now supporting ANB Sensor's push into commercial adoption and scale, connecting the company to industry networks and expertise, including bringing in an Operating Partner to help accelerate that work. The team is laser-focused, with a Series A as the next milestone. 

We are proud to back this talented, hard-working team advancing a breakthrough technology with applications across every industry that depends on accurate water measurement.

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We back companies and technologies transforming aquaculture. See the rest of our portfolio here.