Greek AI startup DeepSea lands €3 million to develop logistics platform for maritime industry
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DeepSea Technologies, an Athens-based software platform for the monitoring and optimisation of ships, has secured €3 million from London’s ETF Partners, the firm’s first investment in Greece.
The AI platform monitors vessel (or fleet) performance and operational data, sharing the information in real time with owners and charterers. With the underlying data, DeepSea makes recommendations on how to increase efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
The maritime logistics startup was founded in 2017 by a pair of Oxbridge graduates, Konstantinos Kyriakopoulos and Roberto Coustas, whose family heritage lies in shipping and whose studies focused on machine learning.
“We saw a big opportunity to apply next-generation technology to an industry that we know well,” explained Coustas, the company’s CEO. “This is even more true today, as the recent global pandemic will encourage the industry to adopt best-in-class operating models, as traditional supply chains are redrawn and ultimately strengthened.
Lucy Rands, an investment manager at ETF, also sees the potential to revolutionise a key logistics channel, not just to serve the industry but to serve the environment as well.
“90 percent of all goods reach us by sea, with the shipping industry serving as the backbone of the global supply chain,” she said. “While shipping by sea is one of the greener forms of transport, certainly when compared to air, we still have a tremendous opportunity to improve the maritime industry, by cutting down on its CO2 emissions and curtailing ship pollution.”
Employing about 40 people, the Greek startup serves customers like shipping companies, chartering companies, and shipyards. The fresh funding will go toward acquiring more customers around the world as well as further product development.