Orca AI raises $23 million and partners with NorthStandard

AI-based operational platform for ships Orca AI has raised $23 million in new funding, led by OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures, with participation by Ankona Capital Partners and Santa Barbara Venture Partners, Playfair Capital and strategic investors. Since its inception in 2018, the Tel-Aviv-based company has raised $38.6 million.

Founded by Yarden Gross and Dor Raviv, Orca AI’s platform “maximizes voyage safety, operational efficiency, and sustainability for ships and fleets.” It features a fully automated watchkeeper that processes multiple sources of visual information during navigation at sea, mimicking and enhancing human watchkeeping at the most complex marine traffic situations in real-time. By detecting and alerting crew to high-risk marine targets, Orca AI optimizes operations to avoid unnecessary maneuvers and speed drops, reducing fuel burn and emissions. The improved navigational decisions enabled by Orca AI resulted in an average $100 – 300k saving in fuel per vessel per year (3-5%) and 172,716 tonnes of CO2 reduction last year. Orca AI also enables proactive threat mitigation from diverse threats such as drone attacks and piracy by empowering personnel of vessels, to anticipate and counteract these risks, bolstering vessel security and protecting crews and sensitive cargo.

“Innovations in high-speed, low cost, global connectivity, such as with Elon Musk’s Starlink have opened the door for advanced technologies such as AI on board vessels to improve operational efficiency and safety. It’s a welcomed pivotal moment, as despite the majority of global cargo transported by sea, the maritime industry has lagged behind industries such as aviation when it comes to keeping up with technological innovations. Ships deal with increasingly congested waterways, severe weather, and low-visibility conditions creating difficult navigation experiences with often expensive cargo. We’ve recently proven forward-thinking companies that adopt our technology have seen huge operational improvements from year to year, in creating a safer and more efficient shipping industry. These Improvements are crucial for shipping companies in meeting corporate sustainability targets, but importantly the benefits are far-reaching beyond just the customers.” – Yarden Gross, CEO, and Co-founder at Orca AI.

“Maritime transport is the lifeblood of international trade and the global economy. Over 80% of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, a two trillion-dollar market by some estimates. While planes, trains, and automobiles have seen tremendous progress and investment in regards to autopilot and collision prevention, we believe that the shipping industry is still up for grabs and there is a category-defining opportunity in autonomous ships – ships that captain themselves.” – Hemi Zucker, Managing Partner at OCV.

“It’s clear that AI has a crucial role in advancing the maritime sector and I’m excited to see Orca AI pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in shipping. Making smarter navigation choices not only boosts safety but also cuts down on fuel use and CO2 emissions. That’s what makes the Orca AI platform stand out and be trusted by the leading shipping companies in the world.” – Catherine Leung, Co-Founder & Partner at MizMaa Ventures.

The company also recently announced a partnership with global marine insurer NorthStandard – the partnership will include the AI-based solution among NorthStandard’s new Get SET! suite of resources and risk-reduction tools to protect members, their crews and assets. NorthStandard will also incentivize members to adopt the Orca AI solution by subsidizing their investments.

“Having seen how Orca AI supports the bridge team by improving their situational awareness we are confident that it reduces the number of close quarters situations. By extension this must reduce the number of collisions, so it was an easy decision to partner with them to support NorthStandard members in enhancing the safety of their operations. NorthStandard envisages members making significant savings as a result of using Orca AI’s advanced solution, with reduced bridge workload driving safer decisions and fewer human errors. The Orca AI platform is already used by leading shipping companies worldwide and we believe it will quickly deliver safety and operational benefits to those of our members who choose to deploy it.” – Colin Gillespie, Global Head of Loss Prevention at NorthStandard.

The Orca AI platform features two operational modules, the SeaPod automated navigational assistant and the FleetView application for shore offices.

• SeaPod acts as a digital watchkeeper. Leveraging AI and computer vision technology, it processes multiple sources of information to detect, track and classify targets at sea, flagging potential risks to the vessel and providing real-time alerts and predictive insights to the crew.
• FleetView enables fleet managers ashore to monitor and improve operational metrics, such as the number of near-miss and close-encounter events, sharp turns and sudden drops in speed under various COLREG situations.