Nautica Technologies receives 4 million US dollars

The Swiss robotics start-up Nautica Technologies has closed a seed financing round of 4 million US dollars. The round was led by venture capitalist b2venture and also includes Partners in Clime, Prequel Ventures, Rethink Ventures and several angel investors with a background in robotics and maritime technology.

Fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness through autonomous cleaning

Nautica develops autonomous underwater robots that regularly clean and inspect ship hulls. The proactive removal of biofouling (marine growth on ship hulls) is intended to reduce fuel consumption, cut emissions and save costs. The system works automatically and continuously, which is an alternative to traditional, time-consuming cleaning methods using divers or chemical coatings.

Nautica's technology addresses a key problem in the global shipping industry and meets a growing need for automation and sustainability

Jan-Hendrik Bürk, Partner at b2venture

Biofouling as an underestimated efficiency problem

According to estimates, biofouling can increase a ship's fuel consumption by up to 35%. At the same time, regulatory pressure is increasing: requirements such as the IMO Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) or the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for shipping, which has been in force since the beginning of 2024, are increasingly calling on operators to reduce CO₂ emissions. Proactive maintenance solutions such as those from Nautica could play a decisive role here.

Robotic solution replaces manual procedures

The technology developed by Nautica is based on a swarm of autonomous underwater vehicles that clean and inspect the hull in a coordinated manner. The aim is to prevent biofouling before it affects the ship's performance. According to the company, the technology is used without any significant interruption to ship operations and with less environmental impact than conventional methods.

The investor b2venture sees great potential in vertical robotics applications such as Nautica's - both economically and ecologically. The company plans to use the fresh capital to commercialize the technology, enter customer fleets and scale up production. Initial pilot projects are already underway with international partners.

Founding team with deep tech experience

Nautica Technologies was founded in 2024 by a team of robotics experts with roots at ETH Zurich and EPFL. CEO Cédric Portmann sees the combination of automation, sustainability and cost-effectiveness as a viable model for the future:"Our aim is to turn a reactive, cost-intensive process into a continuous, automated solution that is both economically and ecologically convincing."