SeaMachines Raises $10 Million for Autonomous Ship

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics has announced that it has closed a US$10 million Series A investment led by Accomplice and Eniac Ventures, with participation from Toyota AI Ventures; Brunswick Corp., through investment partner TechNexus Venture Collaborative; NextGen VP, Geekdom Fund; LaunchCapital; LDV Capital and Maersk.

The investment marks one of the largest venture rounds for a marine- and maritime-focused technology company and brings the total capital Sea Machines has raised to $12.5M.

ICS Reveals Likely Impact of Autonomous Ships

Sea Machines will use the funds to expand the sales and global reach of its recently released line of products, grow the R&D and engineering teams, roll out new product feature sets, and further the company’s lead in developing advanced situational awareness systems for vessels.

The industrial marine sector encompasses a broad domain of significant industries, such as maritime transportation, offshore energy, and commercial fishing and aquaculture.

Though each are major contributors to the global economy, they commonly operate near or below break-even, in large part due to continued reliance on 20th-century methodologies and technologies.

Maersk to Trial AI on Autonomous Vessel

Today’s autonomous technology offers proven solutions to these challenges, and is already being used to retool and modernize the industry for the better.

Michael Gordon Johnson, founder and CEO, Sea Machines, said: “We are creating the technology that propels the future of the marine industries.

“This investment enables us to double down on our commitment to building advanced command and control products that make the industry more capable, productive and profitable.

“This backing is another signal that Sea Machines is the unquestioned leader in the space and is playing an integral role in the revolution of marine and maritime operations driven by technology.”

P. Michael A. Rodey, Senior Manager, A.P. Moller-Maersk, added: “I think this investment sends a strong signal on the types of technologies that will come to define the maritime industry in the future.”

Sea Machines is currently developing advanced perception and navigation assistance technology for a range of vessel types, including container ships.

In the first quarter, the company will initiate testing of its perception and situational awareness technology aboard one of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s new-build ice-class container ships.

Read more: Kongsberg & Wilhelmsen to Create New Autonomous Shipping Company