Digital innovations and solutions are used more and more in the marine industry, with the marine and marine management software market projected to be worth almost €2.5 billion by 2026. While Greece is a global maritime superpower and is ranked fourth in the world by the number of ships, other countries in our region such as Croatia are emerging as significant players in the marine industry.
Here is a list of 6 marine tech startups and companies, founded in the SEE region to watch out for in 2022:
- Molo – a Serbian startup whose cloud-based management software supports marinas in organizing their clients, berths, and handling of boats. The company’s technology helps marine businesses decrease administrative burdens while increasing their revenue. Founded in 2019, Molo is one of South Central Venture’s portfolio companies.Recently, the startup was acquired by Storable, a Texas-based self-storage software and technology provider. Molo’s future plans include leveraging the Storable model to build a powerful suite of products in the marine industry.
- Seafair – the Greek maritime recruitment platform is another exciting startup from the region, launched last year with the mission to pair crew members and vessels by using matching algorithms. The startup’s maritime crewing tool combines data, technology and operations on the ground across the world maritime. This month Seafair announced that it raised €5M in an investment round led by US-based VC General Catalyst. According to the company’s founder Agapitos Diakogiannis, living and working in Greece, one of the global shipping superpowers, perhaps had the biggest influence for getting into the maritime industry.
- Marina Master, is a Slovenia-based company that provides all-in-one marina management solutions for creating a more efficient and profitable marina. The company has more than 29 years of experience and its cloud-based platforms are used by marina owners, managers, staff and boaters alike. Primarily focused on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the company’s software core functions include customer correspondence tools, automated contract renewals and graphical overviews of past, current and future marina occupancy.Over the past decade the company has been developing its cloud-based software products and has been present on the US market since 2017, becoming one of the major vendors in marine and marine management software.
- Marinacloud is a Croatia-based software company founded in 1998, developing marina management software with the goal of modernizing marina business and adapting it to new market trends. The company’s products not only provide management and monitoring of marina usage but also provide marinas with the tools to interact with their customers.The Croatian company uses Oracle Cloud technology to deliver a reliable software service that helps users to run their marina with more efficiency at lower costs. Its products are used by major marinas across Croatia, Montenegro and France.
- DeepSea Technologies is another marine startup coming from Greece, founded in 2017. The startup develops AI software as a service (SaaS) platform that monitors ships and provides real-time operational data for ship owners.The AI technology provides further insights into improving various aspects of the ship’s performance. In July 2021, the company announced that it raised €5M in funding round from both existing and new investors. The company plans to use the funds and to further develop its product, as well as to focus on expansion, primarily in Asia. The last investment round was led by Japan’s Nabtesco Technology Venture, while last year, DeepSea Technologies also managed to raise €3M in a Series A round led by UK-based investment fund ETF Partners.
- ShipReality is а Greek tech startup, whose mixed reality (MR) design automation software facilitates a greener energy transition, automated assisted operations, and optimized ship design. The company’s solutions have helped ship owners’ reduce costs by 50% and facilitated remote training and control during the pandemic. The Greek startup also plans to develop an app for its 3D pathfinding algorithm, and explore other sectors, such as the offshore marine.
