VICTORIA, BC, December 3, 2021 – Open Ocean Robotics completed a $4M round of seed financing to advance its marine robotics and ocean data analytics platform. This included a $2.8M non-dilutive investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and $1.2M from a syndicate of international investors including Rhiza Capital and Cindicates.

This funding enables the company to accelerate the development of its solar powered autonomous uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) technology and ocean data analytics platform for maritime monitoring.

“Access to better and timely data is essential for understanding and protecting the ecosystems that comprise our oceans,” said Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of SDTC. “SDTC is proud to support Open Ocean Robotics in the development of their solar-powered, uncrewed surface vehicles. These emission-free vehicles offer decision makers the information they need as they look to conserve marine biodiversity and understand the impacts of climate change on oceans. As a graduate of SDTC’s Seed Fund, we are proud to continue our partnership with this Canadian cleantech company as they grow and take their operations to the next level.”

“We are delighted to have the support and recognition of SDTC and our investors for our technology to advance ocean monitoring,” said Julie Angus, CEO, Open Ocean Robotics.  “This will accelerate the development of our solar powered autonomous boats and real-time data analytics systems to help transform how we understand and protect our oceans.”

“We saw in Open Ocean Robotics an incredible opportunity to support an impact venture in British Columbia that had the potential and commitment to further a number of the Sustainable Development Goals both locally and internationally,” said John Sutherland, CEO of Rhiza Capital. “Further, we believe that the technology developed by Open Ocean Robotics will go a long way in improving our ability to safeguard the health of our oceans, which are vital to the wellbeing and prosperity of coastal communities such as ours. We are delighted to be partners in their journey as they continue to refine and scale their ocean monitoring technologies for the betterment of the world.”

Open Ocean Robotics’ proprietary USVs collect ocean data using a suite of advanced sensors and AI processing for months at a time, in remote ocean regions and extreme sea states.  This ocean monitoring is used by industry, governments and researchers for illegal fishing enforcement, environmental monitoring, marine mammal monitoring and security applications. Difficulties with current monitoring solutions lead to a range of environmental challenges which results in 30% of fish illegally caught every year costing $23 billion, marine mammal populations endangered by ship strikes and noise pollution, and fish stocks at the risk of collapse, jeopardizing our oceans and those who depend on it for sustenance. This technology will benefit the entire ocean ecosystem through protecting marine mammal populations, fish stocks and the ecosystem, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental risks from current monitoring solutions, which depend primarily on ships and aircrafts, by providing an emission-free monitoring solution.

About Sustainable Development Technology Canada
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) helps Canadian companies develop and deploy competitive, clean technology solutions, to help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil. By taking a cross-Canada approach, from seed to scale, and in partnership with best peers and experts, SDTC is the global benchmark for sustainable development innovation programming.

About Open Ocean Robotics
Open Ocean Robotics is a marine robotics and software company providing autonomous data collection and analytics as a subscription and service. Using uncrewed solar-powered boats, they deliver real-time data analytics necessary to monitor, protect and operate on our ocean. These autonomous boats stay on the ocean for months at a time continuously monitoring the environment for risks to marine life and maritime security. This provides a critical solution for safeguarding marine protected areas (MPAs), protecting marine mammals and securing waters from crime including illegal fishing, smuggling, human trafficking and threats to critical infrastructure. As a leader in marine robotics and data analytics with proprietary technology in autonomous vessel design, machine learning, and software development, as well as proprietary datasets of ocean conditions, sounds and images, Open Ocean Robotics is able to provide an unparalleled level of ocean insights.

For more information please contact:
Karoline Monkvik, Office Operations Manager at Open Ocean Robotics, info@openoceanrobotics.com or visit https://openoceanrobotics.com where you can find more resources on uncrewed surface vehicles.