Ceto raises $4.8 million

Ceto, a predictive analytics company for the maritime industry, announced a $4.8 million funding round led by Dynamo Ventures, with participation from Howden Ventures, Signal Ventures, and Motion Ventures.

Founded in 2020, Ceto captures and analyzes high-frequency data from commercial ships to improve insurance risk selection, reduce machinery failures, and enhance fuel efficiency. The startup offers several solutions: Watchkeeper, a predictive maintenance tool that analyses high-frequency sensor data to anticipate machinery failures before they occur; CarbonID, which handles emissions and fuel tracking; and Connected Insurance, which ties a ship’s performance data to its insurance, rewarding safer and more efficient operations with better terms and lower premiums.

“For as long as humans have existed, so has our desire to sail the open water. It’s no surprise then that maritime—one of the world’s oldest industries—still relies on some outdated practices. At Ceto, we aim to unite the power of AI with the indispensable human expertise at the heart of maritime. This kind of technology plays a critical role in identifying risk and improving decision-making, ushering in a smarter era for shipping and finance.” – Tony Hildrew, CEO and Founder of Ceto.

“Maritime operations are the backbone of industry, with 80% of global trade by volume taking place over sea. An industry with this much global reliance is insured using analog practices that are a hundred years old. Ceto’s quest to reshape the future of maritime insurance is not just inspirational – it’s necessary. Our world won’t move forward if our supply chain is stuck in the past, and Dynamo is excited to be supporting Ceto as they embark on this journey to improve how these assets are monitored, maintained, and insured.” – Santosh Sankar, Managing Partner of Dynamo Ventures.