Earlier this week, at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event in El Segundo, Saif Khawaja and Delian Asparouhov of Founders Fund mulled over a question rarely asked at venture events: how do you ensure fish are stress-free before they hit your plate?

Khawaja's company, Shinkei Systems, has addressed this with Poseidon—a refrigerator-sized robot that scans each fish with computer vision and pierces its brain to kill it instantly. This method is more humane than the traditional slow death, which can flood the fish with stress hormones and affect taste.

Shinkei's ambitions extend beyond just the killing machine; they are now a vertically integrated fish harvester and processor, deploying robotics and AI across the entire chain from boat to plate. The company gives Poseidon machines to fishermen free of charge, then pays them a premium for the fish, taking full possession before selling under their consumer brand, Seremoni.

This humane harvesting method is now being piloted at Erewhon in Los Angeles, where it's marketed as sustainably caught and humanely harvested. The real selling point, however, lies in the practical benefits: a catch that typically has a 5-to-7-day shelf life can last up to 12 or 14 days.

The issue of American seafood getting processed abroad for cheaper labour is also addressed by Shinkei's re-shoring initiative. They aim to do it all under one roof in Tacoma, Washington, potentially outcompeting the current system.