Hullbot, a Sydney-based robotics startup, has raised AUD $16 million in Series A funding to grow its business.
The funding round was led by U.S.-based Regeneration VC, with support from Climate Tech Partners, which made its first investment from a new fund focused on reducing emissions in industries that are hard to clean up. Other investors included Katapult Ocean, Folklore, Trinity Ventures, Rypples, NewSouth Innovations, and Bandera Capital.
The Sydney-based maritime startup recently won the Australian Good Design Award of the Year for its autonomous hull-cleaning robot.
The robot helps ships cut fuel use by 10–26% by cleaning biofouling—the buildup of plants, algae, barnacles, and molluscs on the ship’s hull—that creates drag and slows ships down.
Hullbot has already completed over 1,000 paid hull cleanings for ferry operators and small cruise ships around the world, helping prevent more than 3,600 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
The company was founded in 2014 by Tom Loefler (CEO) and Karl Watfern (CTO). It has taken part in programs like Startmate, the UNSW Founders 10x Defence Accelerator, and KPMG High Growth Ventures.
The new funding will help Hullbot increase production of its Australian-made robots, develop larger robotic models, and expand its service hubs internationally. One upcoming product, called BigBot, will be a larger version of the current robot that can travel with ships as they move.
Tom Loefler said Hullbot has proven fuel savings of cutting operating costs and emissions across existing fleets.
“Hullbot’s mission is to help shipping companies cut emissions, costs, and ocean impacts all at once,” said Tom Loefler, CEO of Hullbot.
“By scaling our service globally, we can deliver fuel savings and decarbonisation today while preparing the industry for stricter regulations tomorrow.”
Tom Kline, cofounder of Climate Tech Partners, said that Hullbot is well positioned to become a global leader in cutting shipping emissions.
“We see extraordinary potential for Hullbot to become the global standard in autonomous hull maintenance and maritime emissions reduction.
“Our model is built on working with corporates to deploy technologies at scale. Hullbot fits that perfectly — delivering significant emissions reductions while reducing operating costs. We’re forecasting that their system will become the reference for ferries and shipping operators globally.”
CEO Nell Payne said “Hullbot has delivered exceptional results for our fleet. We’ve seen a strong ROI through significant fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions.”
Read more- Popai Health raises $11 million funding led by Team8 and New Enterprise Associates
