Clear Robotics secures $1.75m to expand global autonomous vessel fleet

Yesterday 10:39

By: Dakir Madiha

Clear Robotics secures $1.75m to expand global autonomous vessel fleet

Clear Robotics, a maritime technology company based in Hong Kong, has closed a pre-series A funding round of $1.75 million. The capital is allocated to scale its fleet of autonomous surface vessels and expand operations across international waters. The company focuses on electric, AI-enabled systems designed for marine infrastructure tasks and environmental monitoring.

The funding round was led by Shipsfocus Ventures, with participation from Katapult Ocean, SGInnovate, M7 Holdings MGS Ventures, and other strategic investors. The company currently operates 26 unmanned surface vessels. These units run on electric power and use artificial intelligence systems to support navigation and task execution in marine environments. Use cases include pollution detection, data collection, and port surveillance.

The company’s leadership stated that the investment will support acceleration of deployment and fleet expansion. The cofounder and chief executive officer said the funding strengthens the path toward building a large-scale unmanned maritime operations network. Investors highlighted execution capacity and field deployment as key factors in backing the company’s strategy.

Founded in 2020 by graduates of the University of Hong Kong, Clear Robotics plans expansion into Southeast Asia, India, and parts of the Middle East. The company has already established operations in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Pilot vessels were recently showcased in a public maritime demonstration in the Philippines. The company also won the Pier71 Smart Port Challenge in 2024 and the Captain’s Table competition in 2022. Its systems rely on NVIDIA Jetson-based computing for autonomous navigation and ongoing development focuses on larger vessel classes and automated port inspection tools.