Orca AI, a leader in maritime technology, today announced it has closed an investment of £55 million in Series B funding. Brighton Park Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Ankona Capital and Hyperlink Ventures. The investment will enable Orca AI to further its autonomous platform, add new capabilities and enter new categories, including defence and security. The funding will also strengthen the company’s position as the market leader in autonomous shipping. The completion of this round brings Orca AI’s total funding raised to £85 million with OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures also participating in previous rounds.
Founded in 2018 by CEO Yarden Gross and CTO Dor Raviv, Orca AI is revolutionising the traditionally opaque, conservative shipping industry with AI-powered decision making and autonomous shipping capabilities. The company has the world’s largest marine visual dataset, built from over 80 million nautical miles. Powered by advanced AI and computer vision, this dataset forms the foundation for unmatched situational awareness capabilities in ocean navigation, helping captains and crew members identify risks and targets that cannot be spotted with the human eye. By delivering AI-based alerts and recommendations, Orca AI is able to significantly reduce the probability of collisions that have a severe economic and human impact, so crews can focus their attention on the most critical parts of their voyages.
Orca AI’s technology delivers significant improvements in operational decision-making and voyage safety. A 2024 analysis of Orca AI’s alerts system showed a 54% reduction in close encounter events, which improved overall safety and reduced associated accelerations. In turn, this led to an average of £80,000 savings in fuel per vessel per year – translating to a total estimated reduction of 195,000 tons in CO2 emissions in 2024.
Orca AI’s platform is already trusted by major global shipping companies, including MSC, NYK, Scorpio, and Seaspan. By helping mitigate accidents and operational issues, Orca AI enables hundreds of vessels to save billions of pounds in potential damage each year. The significant improvement in connectivity in remote waters, driven by satellite-based services like Starlink, allows real-time data to be transmitted to Orca AI for mapping routes, traffic monitoring, and sharing critical information. This capability is key to developing autonomous navigation, providing an unprecedented level of precision in vessel monitoring.
