Orca AI, an Israeli firm that creates technology for autonomous ships, has raised $23 million. The company has raised $40 million in total throughout its four funding rounds since its founding in 2018.
With participation from all present investors as well as new investors, including American funds Ankona Capital Partners and Santa Barbara Venture Partners, the current round was led by OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures. This round of funding comes after the company’s 2023 extension round, which was conducted at a little higher valuation.
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Dor Raviv (CTO) and Yarden Gross (CEO) founded Orca AI. Orca AI’s founders are both former Israeli Navy sailors, and the company currently collaborates with the Israeli Navy in addition to growing into the commercial maritime industry and the international governmental and military spheres.
With additional locations in the UK and Greece, it is unconnected to the cyber business Orca, employs 70 workers, the majority of whom are headquartered in its Tel Aviv offices. The company’s revenue is thought to have exceeded $10 million.
The goal of Orca AI’s technology is to increase the autonomy of ship navigation, much to Mobileye’s auto systems. The technology, which is already on board ships run by well-known corporations like MSC and Maersk, lowers the frequency of maritime mishaps, improves sailing, and consequently lowers fuel usage and air pollution.
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The system’s key component is an automatic watchkeeper that searches the maritime area for items (such as buoys, other ships, and marine life) and swiftly notifies the navigation team so they can take appropriate action, such as changing course.
The system is used for an annual charge, and the business model is based on SaaS. In addition to competition from other startups, automobile manufacturers like Hyundai are also making an entry into this sector, as mentioned by Gross.
To better serve clients who deploy its warning systems, Orca AI recently inked a partnership with maritime transport-focused insurance provider NorthStandard. There were more than 2,500 noteworthy marine occurrences in 2023. Working with the largest international shipping firms, such as MSC, NYK, Maersk, and Seaspan, during the same time frame. Over a 15 million nautical mile span, Orca AI decreased close encounters by 33% and crossing incidents by 40%.
The Orca AI system is semi-autonomous, and the business is developing full autonomy. In 2022, Orca AI technology facilitated the first autonomous merchant ship cruise, which travelled 400 kilometres near Tokyo with minimum human involvement in partnership with NYK. The business is building the second phase of a completely autonomous ship for 2025.
About Orca AI
Orca AI‘s real-time navigation safety platform makes wiser, data-driven decisions. Orca AI improves crew situational awareness, sensory overload, and navigation decisions by combining revolutionary computer vision and deep learning technology with onboard sensors.
