If you believed autonomous driving was reserved for cars, it’s time to reconsider. The autonomous navigation market—where AI guides self-steering ships to achieve fuel and time savings—is projected to expand from $4.46 billion in 2023 to $5.33 billion in 2024.
Orca AI, a startup based in London, claims to have facilitated the world’s first autonomous commercial ship voyage in congested waters. The company has recently secured $23 million in new funding, led by OCV Partners and MizMaa Ventures. This funding round, straddling between Series A and B, brings Orca AI’s total funding to nearly $40 million.
Founded at the end of 2018 by Israeli naval technology experts Yarden Gross and Dor Raviv, Orca AI launched its commercial AI navigation technology in 2021, coinciding with a $13 million Series A raise. The latest funding will be directed towards scaling operations, expanding product offerings by leveraging client data, and growing its engineering team, as disclosed to TechCrunch.
Orca AI’s platform, utilizing multiple sources of visual information, ensures ships navigate safely while allowing the crew to focus on various other voyage aspects, such as thwarting drone attacks and piracy in increasingly unstable geopolitical climates.
According to results from a 2023 trial, Orca AI’s system demonstrated its precision by reducing “close encounters in open waters” by 33% and “crossing events” by 40% over 15 million nautical miles. To contextualize, the European Maritime Safety Agency reported over 2,500 significant marine incidents in 2022.
Furthermore, the system purportedly provides annual fuel savings of $100,000 to $300,000 per vessel, cutting fuel consumption by 3-5%. Orca AI also claims its technology led to a CO2 reduction of 72,716 tonnes across 1,000 vessels last year.
The shipping industry faces mounting pressure to lower its carbon footprint, paving the way for entrepreneurs to implement AI and other tech innovations to enhance efficiency. Harsh and hazardous working conditions, coupled with a spectrum of threats on global shipping routes, are pushing the industry towards greater automation.
In a discussion with TechCrunch, Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI, stated, “When you talk about ocean-going vessels, we’re going to see, in the near future, vessels sailing without any crew. Meanwhile, many voyage aspects can be optimized and automated, decreasing workload and reducing crew numbers. Fuel consumption emissions, ETA [estimated time of arrival], and safety can all be enhanced. We’re building a platform that serves the ship itself.”
Gross elaborated that Orca’s platform uploads all data to the cloud, equipping fleet managers with monitoring tools and capabilities. “This allows them to operate not just a single vessel, but an entire fleet. Think of it as an operational platform for a semi-autonomous fleet.”
Hemi Zucker, managing partner at OCV, commented, “Maritime transport is the lifeblood of international trade and the global economy. Over 80% of the volume of international goods trade is carried by sea, a $2 trillion market. While planes, trains, and automobiles have made sizable advancements in autopilot and collision avoidance, the shipping industry remains ripe for innovation, presenting a category-defining opportunity in autonomous ships.”
Orca AI collaborates with global shipping giants including MSC, NYK, Maersk, and Seaspan. Other notable companies working on autonomous sea navigation include Avikus, a Hyundai HD subsidiary, and Sea Machines.
