Spot Ship, a SaaS platform modernising global ship chartering, has raised £1 million in a funding round led by Lisbon-based venture capital fund Ventures.eu, with participation from Tradeworks.vc, Improbable CEO Herman Narula, and Marcel Kind.
The British startup is transforming maritime logistics by reducing vessel chartering times from six days to just two hours by leveraging next-generation AI and machine learning for brokers, charterers, ship owners, and operators.
Ventures.eu leveraged its corporate network to introduce Spot Ship to leading shipping companies and industry experts as part of its investment process. Several major shipping players converted into customers following these introductions, additional co-investors joined the round, and the market provided validation of the investment thesis.
The funding marks the inaugural investment from Ventures.eu Fund I, which recently held its first close and aims to back technology-driven companies addressing real industry challenges across Europe. The firm combines proprietary sourcing via Dealflow.eu with hands-on commercial validation to support portfolio companies from day one.
The capital will support Spot Ship as it continues to modernise ship chartering globally and accelerate adoption across the shipping industry.
Our mission is to bring 21st-century speed to a centuries-old industry. Ventures.eu shares that vision and has delivered value from day one. Their ability to bridge the gap between a startup and global shipping giants has already resulted in new customers and investors, and we’re thrilled to have them leading this round as we modernise ship chartering globally.
James Kellett, Co-founder & CEO
We are thrilled to support Spot Ship as our inaugural investment. Our mission is to identify Europe’s most promising, market-ready innovations and help them scale by opening doors to the right corporate partners. Spot Ship has demonstrated exceptional technology, strong execution, and a clear opportunity to become a category leader.
Fernando Ferreira, Partner at Ventures.eu
We see Spot Ship as the system of insight and action for fixing ships, cargoes, and insurance. Their AI-driven intelligence, with human-in-the-loop assurance, delivers best-in-class data accuracy, turning unstructured emails into actionable intelligence. This, combined with an amazingly dedicated team, provides a strong foundation for expansion into new markets.
Niklas Holck, Partner at Tradeworks.vc
Shipping is a high-consequence industry traditionally governed by vast amounts of fragmented, unstructured data. By choosing the more rigorous, multi-model path, Spot Ship has developed a unique capability to extract the intelligence buried in these communications with definitive reliability. It is a technical feat that creates a deeply defensible moat, and I am delighted to continue supporting the team as they turn this structural advantage into a new global standard.
Herman Narula, Angel Investor
