PROCEON Raises ISK 60M to Commercialise PROJET AI Waterjet Trimming for Salmon and Whitefish Fillets

Icelandic start-up PROCEON has closed its first funding round, raising ISK 60 million (about US$528,000) to finish developing PROJET, an AI-guided waterjet system that automatically trims salmon and whitefish fillets. Iceland’s state-backed Kría Venture Fund (Nýsköpunarsjóðurinn Kría) invested ISK 30 million, matched by private investors and the company’s founders.

The round is small, but it targets one of the most labour-intensive steps left in fish processing. It also follows a wider push among seafood processors to automate yield-critical tasks.

Automating fillet trimming

In most processing plants, fillet trimming is still done by hand. Workers inspect each fillet, decide which parts must be removed to meet the customer’s specification, and make the cuts. PROCEON says PROJET replaces this with computer vision and AI that analyse each fillet in real time and guide a precision waterjet cut adapted to that fillet’s characteristics and quality.

According to Kría’s announcement, the aim is to cut manual handling, remove subjective judgement, deliver more consistent quality and maximise yield by removing only what is needed to meet quality standards. For processors, a small gain in fillet yield across high-value species such as farmed salmon can be worth more than labour savings alone.

The company says a prototype is under construction after a design phase completed earlier this year. Extensive trials in Iceland are planned over the coming months, and the first customer delivery is targeted for the second quarter of 2027. PROCEON says its systems are designed to integrate with existing equipment and plant systems regardless of manufacturer.

Founders and first customer

PROCEON was founded in October 2025 by CEO Trausti Árnason, CTO Elías Jónsson and sales director Ragnar Guðmundsson, who the company says bring decades of experience building technology for the food industry. One of the ideas that came out of its early talks with processors won a grant from Icelandic research fund Rannís earlier this year.

The start-up already has an international reference project. It signed an agreement with a leading UK pelagic seafood company to deliver a complete herring roe processing solution, and delivered the first phase at the end of July, ahead of the herring roe season.

“The strength of the team is one of the most important factors we consider when investing in innovative companies,” said Hrönn Greipsdóttir, CEO of Kría. She noted that PROCEON had already delivered its first project to an international customer and attracted private investors at an early stage, and said supporting innovation in Iceland’s core industries is a priority for the fund.

“Market response has been very positive, and we believe PROJET has the potential to transform certain stages of fish processing,” said Árnason.

Why it matters for seafood processing automation

Icelandic seafood processors are pushing hard on automation and higher yields, according to Dealroom, which pointed to local firms that have built real businesses doing it. Vision-guided grading, defect detection and cutting are becoming a key competitive area for equipment suppliers serving salmon farming and whitefish processing.

Dealroom described the deal as early product-development financing rather than a growth round. Its significance lies in the sector, not the size. The real test will be whether PROCEON can turn the planned Icelandic trials and its first deployment into repeatable commercial installations, and show yield and consistency gains that justify a retrofit in existing filleting lines.

For food manufacturers outside seafood, the approach is familiar: vision-guided cutting that adapts to natural variation in raw materials is spreading across meat, poultry and produce processing. PROCEON says it is developing AI tools for food processing more broadly, as well as seafood and aquaculture.