XOCEAN Attracts Funds for Global Growth

Ocean data company XOCEAN announced the completion of a €7.9 million ($8.8 million) funding round, fully subscribed by existing shareholders, to support its international growth plans.

XOCEAN said it has set out to transform the way ocean data is collected by using unmanned surface vessels (USV) for services such as seabed mapping, subsea inspections and environmental monitoring.

XOCEAN’s Chief Financial Officer, Karen May, said, “It is a really exciting time for the business as we scale. This new investment allows us to accelerate our growth with expansion into new markets internationally.”

Having delivered projects for clients including BP, Equinor, PX Group and the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Irish-based XOCEAN currently has USVs in operation in the UK, Azerbaijan, Trinidad and Canada, with plans to build an additional 22 USVs over the next 12 months and recruit an additional 140 employees to service the market demand.

James Ives, CEO, XOCEAN, said, “We are experiencing very strong market demand for our services and this funding will support our ambitious scaling plans. XOCEAN’s USVs offer significant benefits as a means of collecting valuable ocean data – these include safety with operators remaining onshore, efficiency with 24/7 operations and environmental with ultra-low emissions which together lead to significant economic savings for our customers.”