DeepSea Technologies, the leading maritime technology specialist in vessel performance monitoring and optimisation, has secured €5 million in fresh funding from existing and new investors.
As shipping faces the dual challenge and opportunity of having to decarbonise and digitalise simultaneously, DeepSea’s technology enables its clients to make data-driven decisions to lead the industry forward. The investment reinforces DeepSea’s strong financial position and will enable further technological and product research, design, and development. The fresh funding will also be invested in accelerating the company’s international commercial expansion, which will focus on Asian markets.
The round was led by Nabtesco Technology Ventures with participation from The Signal Group and existing investor ETF Partners. Nabtesco Technology Ventures is the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Nabtesco Corporation – the Japanese leader in shipping automation with a robust 40% market share – operated by climate tech venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures. The Signal Group is a diversified maritime, technology and investment firm and developer of The Signal Ocean Platform, a SaaS platform for the commercial optimisation of shipping. ETF Partners (The Environmental Technologies Fund) is Europe’s leading sustainability focused venture capital fund. Founded in 2005, ETF Partners supports founders and businesses who are building cutting-edge technology to solve the world’s greatest challenge – climate change.
The funding follows a rigorous technical due diligence process carried out by the investors, which involved months of research, technical tests to check the accuracy of the AI models that the company has developed, and strict competitive analysis to explore how DeepSea scored against fellow technological companies and competitors in the industry. The resulting investment future-proofs the company and demonstrates that DeepSea is highly trusted by sector-specialised investors.
In parallel with the investment, DeepSea Technologies and Nabtesco will begin a commercial and research cooperation which will see DeepSea’s partnership with Nabtesco’s sales network, the development of joint products and the participation in joint research on technologies that will reshape the future of maritime industry. Similarly, in addition to The Signal Group’s capital participation, further collaboration opportunities will be explored following the funding. These partnerships are tangible proof that the investment has not only further strengthened DeepSea’s financial position, but also secured a specialised and robust sales network for the company and its participation in the development of innovative technological products for the shipping market.
Commenting on the announcement, Roberto Coustas, Co-founder and CEO of DeepSea Technologies, said: “We are thrilled to have secured this latest round of investment. Having the support and conviction of key industry partners who will support us in realising our mission of making shipping sustainable is extremely motivating for the whole team. This financing round, coupled with a very strong commercial environment driven by new vessel efficiency regulations from the IMO, make us very optimistic about the future.
With Nabtesco’s support in Asian markets, we are certain that we will be able to assist shipping companies in the region to realise the commercial value of AI technology to improve their bottom line. The investment that we are announcing today opens the next chapter of DeepSea, as a global player in the performance and optimisation space.”
Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos, Co-founder and CTO of DeepSea Technologies further commented: “This vote of confidence by a leader in maritime technology such as Nabtesco, following a rigorous technical due diligence process, confirms the value of our ground-breaking AI technology, which can model the behaviour of vessels with unprecedented accuracy to immediately deliver cost and CO2 emissions reductions of over 10%.
Their backing, combined with that of major international investors ETF Partners and Emerald, and of maritime AI pioneer Signal, strengthens our conviction that our robust data-driven approach is the best way forward to tackle the environmental challenges of the maritime industry. We look forward to combining our efforts with Nabtesco’s vast expertise in shipping, automation and robotics, as well as Signal’s in market analytics, to develop new solutions to further revolutionise fleet optimisation.”
Hiroshi Nerima, Managing Partner at Nabtesco Technology Ventures, added: “The decision to invest in DeepSea is fully in line with our dedication to engage with promising start-ups and support talented and passionate entrepreneurs.
The DeepSea team is developing innovative technologies that can make a lasting impact in the shipping industry and help the sector to overcome the severe environmental challenge that it is facing. We are excited to be a partner for DeepSea during this process and accompany them in their expansion to Asia through a close collaboration with the Nabtesco Group.”
Mehran Zaker, Sector Specialist (Mobility & Maritime) at Emerald Technology Ventures, commented: “We have seen the ground-breaking technology developed by a dedicated team with a vision to accelerate the sustainable transformation of the Maritime industry.
We are extremely excited about becoming DeepSea’s partner and support them together with the Nabtesco Group in their international expansion.”
Rob Genieser, Managing Partner at ETF Partners, observed: “We continue to be excited about Deepsea’s development, as their AI-enabled software platform empowers ship owners and charterers around the world to dramatically reduce their CO2 footprint.
In collecting real time information on a vessel, and comparing that across fleets, DeepSea can both optimise ship performance and reduce the maritime industry’s impact on the environment. We are very happy to be providing them additional capital, as they move forward into new markets.”
Nikolas Pyrgiotis, Vice President of Signal Ventures, concluded: “We are excited to see DeepSea join our ecosystem of innovative maritime technology partners. As a fellow Greek partner and much in line with the DeepSea team, we are of the opinion that innovation at scale can only be achieved through collaborations and by leveraging synergies in data and technology.
We believe that the pioneering work that DeepSea is doing in the sector can improve the way in which shipping looks at performance and decarbonisation. Together, we can make a lasting impact on our sector.”
