Neptune Robotics raises $52mln for global push

Shipping companies are under pressure to make their vessels more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, spurring demand for Neptune’s services

Neptune Robotics, which makes robots that clean the underside of giant ships, raised $52 million to accelerate its artificial intelligence-fuelled global expansion.

The funding round is a step toward a planned initial public offering (IPO) in the US as soon as 2027, Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Chan said in an interview. It will help the Singapore-based company expand its reach to as many as 30 countries as it targets the world’s biggest container-ship fleets.

Shipping companies are under pressure to make their vessels more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, spurring demand for Neptune’s services. The six-year-old startup’s 500-kilogram robots scour a ship’s hull, getting rid of barnacles, algae and other organisms that add weight and hinder its speed.

Chan founded Neptune with two friends in Hong Kong and moved the headquarters to Singapore this year. Sequoia Capital was an early backer, and the latest round is led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Granite Asia. Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen KK is also a strategic investor.

Neptune declined to disclose its valuation or key customers beyond Nippon Yusen, but said it serves the world’s top five bulk-carrier and container-ship fleets. Neptune has outpaced rivals such as Australia’s Hullbot and Norway’s Ecosubsea in fundraising, according to Pitchbook.

Neptune provides services in 60 Chinese locations, and Chan said its priority now is to expand in Singapore, one of the world’s biggest ports and the busiest refuelling stop for ships. A refuelling stop is also an opportunity to clean the hull, and shipowners want to do it in as little time as possible.

Neptune’s robots can clean giant Capesize vessels — those too large for the Panama Canal — in strong currents and murky waters in under 24 hours. The traditional method of using divers takes more time and can be more dangerous.

For the Singapore market, we are just scratching the surface, said Chan, adding the hull-cleaning demand for the city-state is equivalent to at least 10 regular ports combined.