AI-powered maritime safety startup ships $20.7 million Series A

New Zealand ocean security startup Starboard Maritime Intelligence (SMI) has banked a NZ$23 million (A$20.7m) Series A.

The round was co-led by SMI’s first backer, Kiwi VC Altered Capital, with new investors OIF Ventures and King River Capital, supported by Co:Act Capital, Icehouse Ventures, and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation.

The funding is for global expansion into North America, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, to strengthen its capabilities for classified and commercial maritime environments, and scale product innovation to meet rising demand for real-time threat prevention. The platform is already used by  governments, defence agencies, and commercial operators in more than 30 countries, and safeguards more than 840,000km of subsea cable infrastructure as well as monitors a significant share of the world’s commercial fleet traffic.

SMI’s platform analyses more than 1 billion maritime data points daily including shipping tracking, satellite imagery, radar, oceanographic, and autonomous sensors, to detect suspicious activity and issue real-time alerts.

Starboard Maritime Intelligence CEO Trent Fulcher said the platform strengthens maritime security by detecting adversarial behaviours, protecting subsea infrastructure, and supporting classified operations with real-time threat intervention, as well as safeguarding supply chains for commercial operators.

“Our mission is clear: to give nations and operators the intelligence edge needed to secure maritime borders, assets, and trade in a rapidly evolving threat environment,” he said.

“This investment enables us to extend that reach globally, set the benchmark for real-time maritime intelligence, and help our partners make faster, better-informed, and more secure decisions.”

Jonty Kelt from King River Capital and a former Palantir exec, as well as Vu Tran from OIF, cofounder of Go1, will join the SMI board.

“Starboard is addressing one of the world’s most urgent security challenges, of protecting oceans, trade, and critical infrastructure in real time,” said Kelt.

“Already trusted by government agencies and commercial operators across the Pacific, the company has the momentum and technology edge to become the global standard for ocean intelligence.”

In April 2024, the Wellington-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup raised $4.6 million in a Seed round. The business was founded in 2019.