US-based autonomous sea vessel developer Saildrone completed a $100m series C round backed by marine vessel owner and operator Crowley Maritime Corporation on Monday, taking its total funding to $190m.
The round was led by Bond and included Standard Investments, a vehicle for industrial manufacturer Standard Industries, as well as XN, Emerson Collective, Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund, Social Capital, Lux Capital and Tribe Capital.
Saildrone develops autonomous sailing vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence technology to explore and monitor the ocean, collecting data to inform work in areas such as climate, weather forecasting, marine wildlife and counter-narcotics.
The funding will be used to scale the company’s go-to-market capabilities and grow its data insights team. Its 2018 series B round was led by $60m from Horizon Ventures and included Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Social Capital, Lux Capital and Schmidt Family Foundation.
Social Capital had previously led the company’s $14m series A round in 2016, investing with Lux Capital and Capricorn.
Richard Jenkins, Saildrone’s founder and chief executive, said: “We are honoured to have the Bond team and our new investors join our journey.
“The combination of the most tried and tested autonomous ocean technology with the partnership of some of the most experienced venture capitalists in the world consolidates our industry leadership and enables our rapid growth path to meet the needs of our customers.”
