Motion Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm targeting the maritime industry, has made a first close on its debut fund, with corporate limited partners including shipping network Wilhelmsen and logistics provider HHLA.
Motion is targeting S$30m ($22.8m) for the fund, which is run by Rainmaking, a venture building and investment firm that operates accelerator initiative Startupbootcamp and the Ocean Ventures Alliance, which includes more than 40 companies.
The fund will jointly invest in startups with Seeds Capital, the investment unit for government agency Enterprise Singapore that said in June 2020 it planned to invest S$50m in maritime startups.
Shaun Hon, general partner at Motion Ventures and director at Rainmaking, told TechCrunch the fund will invest in about 20 early-stage startups focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation.
Hon added: “We have got our eyes on some of the maritime value chain’s biggest challenges including decarbonisation, supply chain resilience and improving safety.”
