Victoria-based MarineLabs, a leader in cutting edge maritime weather intelligence technology, proudly announces the successful completion of a historic $4.5 million seed funding round, marking the largest investment of its kind in Canadian history for an ocean tech company, which will directly benefit Canada’s marine industry.
The funding was led by BDC Capital’s Sustainability Venture Fund with participation from Seaspan Shipyards, a leader in Canada’s ship design, engineering, building and ship repair industry.
This substantial investment will propel MarineLabs’ forward as it continues to revolutionize the maritime industry with its flagship product, CoastAware. The latter is a real-time weather intelligence solution that enhances safety, efficiency, and sustainability in maritime operations by providing users with detailed, actionable, real-time, and historical weather conditions data for informed decision-making.
“The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) continues to grow and present new and exciting opportunities for Canada’s marine industry. As part of this growth, it is important that the maritime sector has the ability to adapt to climate change,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This investment will enable MarineLabs to accelerate product development and expand market reach of its real-time weather intelligence solution, while contributing to building a strong sustainable marine Industry in BC and Canada.”
Dr. Scott Beatty, CEO of MarineLabs, expressed immense gratitude for the support from BDC Capital and Seaspan Shipyards. “This significant investment is a testament to the confidence our esteemed partners have in our vision and the transformative impact of CoastAware on the maritime sector. Providing reliable real-time data enables sound decision-making within the maritime industry, while equipping governments and coastal communities around the globe to respond to volatile weather and build climate resilience. We are thrilled to embark on this next phase of our exciting journey with BDC Capital and Seaspan by our side.”
CoastAware is a coastal intelligence platform that lights up coastlines with a vast increase in weather awareness by combining real-time data from a MarineLabs’ continent-wide fleet of coastal sensor units with advanced data processing. With CoastAware, MarineLabs empowers Ports, Vessel Pilots, and Maritime operations to make informed safety critical decisions, reduce operational costs, and minimize environmental impact.
“BDC Capital is deeply committed to supporting Canada’s most innovative startups, and we are thrilled to be a part of MarineLabs’ journey,” said Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President, BDC Capital. “The company’s potential to revolutionize worldwide maritime operations aligns seamlessly with our mission to invest in high-potential, solution-driven businesses that have the ambition to help the world adapt to climate change and build a more sustainable and safer future.”
Seaspan Shipyards made the strategic investment in this funding round as part of Seaspan’s Value Proposition commitments under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. “MarineLabs’ innovated-in-BC technology aligns with Seaspan’s vision to build a sustained, long-term marine industry in BC and Canada,” said Dave Hargreaves, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Development and Communications at Seaspan.
(Photos from MarineLab of CoastAware intelligence platform and of CEO Scott Beatty holding sensor unit with advanced data processing.)
