Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee tech duo behind Minecraft’s global success reveal their latest investment

Chris van der Kuyl  and Nathan Pyne-Carter
Chris van der Kuyl and Nathan Pyne-Carter

The Dundee tech duo who played a large part in the global success of Minecraft have invested in a city business that supplies innovative marine equipment.

Ace Aquatec, based at City Quay, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise twice for its inventions that include acoustic deterrent devices and electric stunners that are used by fish farm operators across the globe.

Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns, owners of 4J Studios, have acquired a 10% stake in Ace Aquatec, giving the aquaculture technology firm a post-investment valuation of £15.4 million.

Mr van der Kuyl will also join the Ace Aquatec board as the company hopes for strong growth.

The company’s management team, led by chief executive Nathan Pyne-Carter, plans to grow its team and regional support network over the coming months as ethical farming and food insecurity move up the global agenda in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

Mr Pyne-Carter said: “Aquaculture is set to grow even quicker post-Covid and is seen by many commentators as one of the key drivers to address the onset of a global food crisis.

“As the industry grows, we are helping our customers support their own growth with the most sustainable and ethical products in the market.

“Chris and Paddy’s experience growing digital businesses will be a significant asset to our team as we strive to blend the best of physical and digital technologies to help our customers produce environmentally sustainable seafood.”

The latest investment follows a funding round last year led by Dutch investment fund Aqua-Spark.

Mr van der Kuyl said: “Paddy and I are delighted to invest in such a fantastic technology, manufacturing and innovation driven company.

“Ace Aquatec has shown phenomenal global growth and ambition and I hope we can help bring our technology expertise to this world-class organisation.

“Investing alongside management and an aquaculture specialist investor in Aqua-Spark gives us cause for great optimism and excitement for future developments.”

rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk