ETF’s commitment to forge ahead with the investment during the global slowdown demonstrates strong support for the company, which has developed a unique software monitoring and AI platform used by maritime customers around the world. The insights provided by the platform allow shipping companies to save fuel, reduce emissions, and monitor their vessels remotely. The solution directly improves operating efficiencies, enhances communication between charterers and ship owners, and enables customers to respond to greater regulatory oversight.
The investment will be used to fund additional customer deployments around the world, as well as further new product development.
The company is led by its two founders, Roberto Coustas and Kostantinos Kyriakopoulos, who graduated from Oxford and Cambridge with advanced degrees in artificial intelligence and machine learning. With a technology team of over 40, DeepSea is one of the largest venture-backed companies in Greece, a country at the centre of the commercial maritime industry.
“The worldwide pandemic has led to a greater focus on the resilience of global supply chains,” said Co-founder and CEO, Roberto Coustas. “It will impact how every business operates, with more and more companies looking to incorporate sustainable technologies. In the maritime industry, our remote information-gathering systems will enable shipping companies to increase their visibility into operations, reduce their carbon footprint and improve their return on investment - wherever they operate in the world.”
“90% of all goods reach us by sea, with the shipping industry serving as the backbone of the global supply chain,” said Lucy Rands, Investment Manager at ETF. “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. Using Deepsea’s performance monitoring software, and AI-driven recommendations, the industry can take a positive step forward.”
“We like to back great founders with high-calibre teams. It’s clear that Roberto and Konstantinos really understand the shipping industry, and they are experts in the underlying software and AI technology - the combination of which is unique,” added Robert Genieser, Managing Partner at ETF. “We look forward to supporting them on this next stage of their voyage.”