Boston-based firm will use the funds to grow the R&D and engineering teams and further the development of advanced situational awareness systems for vessels.
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics announced Monday that it has closed a $10 million Series A investment led by Accomplice VC and Eniac Ventures.
Other participants included Toyota AI Ventures, Brunswick Corp. through investment partner TechNexus Venture Collaborative, NextGen VP, Geekdom Fund, Launch Capital and LDV Capital.
The investment brings the total capital Sea Machines has raised to $12.5 million. Sea Machines said it 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 development of advanced situational awareness systems for vessels.
“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,” said Michael Gordon Johnson, founder and CEO of Sea Machines.
This is the first time Toyota AI Ventures has invested in the maritime industry.
“We believe that autonomous mobility can help improve people’s lives and create new capabilities — whether on land, in the air or at sea,” said Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota AI Ventures. “Sea Machines’ autonomous technology and advanced perception systems can reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance safety in the multibillion dollar commercial shipping industry.”
Vic Singh, founding general partner of Eniac Ventures, called the global maritime industry “the next frontier for autonomy.”
Sea Machines currently is developing advanced perception and navigation assistance technology for a range of vessel types, including containerships. In the first quarter, the company will initiate testing of its perception and situational awareness technology aboard one of A.P. Møller – Maersk’s newbuild ice-class container ships.
In October, Sea Machines released its introductory line of autonomous command and remote control systems.
Sea Machines raises $10 million in Series A funding
