by Subdron has received venture capital investments, including Portuguese Faber, to revolutionize the underwater inspection industry.
The Austrian Subdron GmbH has just announced the raising of 1.3 million euros as part of a “pre-seed” round table (very early), which will make it possible to expand the team of engineers of this startup of four new recruits, to accelerate the development and implementation of its technology and to open a subsidiary in Porto.
“With this round of investment, four people will be hired: three engineers, including two for the Porto subsidiary, and a ‘business development’,” an official Subdron source told Negócios, without specifying either the place or the date. of taking office. installation in the city Invicta.
Specializing in autonomous underwater navigation and data processing for advanced inspections, Subdron, which “currently employs six people”, says its technology “has the potential to revolutionize the way underwater structures are inspected for ‘biofouling and structural integrity’.
As for the choice of Invicta, Subdron explains that “the presence of the team and the facilities in a coastal city like Porto, with access to a relevant port like Leixões, will be strategic for the company to establish collaborations with centers research centers in marine robotics, establish contacts with shipping companies and start selling their services”.
In a press release, the Austrian startup guarantees that the solution it has developed “allows to take advantage of autonomous underwater vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art technology and artificial intelligence to carry out autonomous inspections in underwater infrastructures. marine assets, such as port facilities and ship hulls”.
More: “This technology has the potential to significantly decarbonize the shipping industry and revolutionize the maintenance and monitoring of critical underwater assets, reducing costs by up to 50% and improving safety in several sectors” , guarantees the startup.
“We were impressed with Subdron’s innovative technology and vision”
The investment round was led by xista science ventures, an Austrian science-focused venture capital fund, and Portugal’s Faber, through its ocean-related climate technology fund, with participation from Austrian investor Saber GmbH.
“We are delighted to announce the success of our first financing round”, begins Thomas Vonach, founder and CEO of Subdron GmbH.
“This substantial investment will advance our mission to revolutionize the underwater inspection industry, bringing about transformative changes that increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve the overall sustainability of underwater infrastructure management,” Vonach promises.
“We have been impressed with the innovative technology and vision of Subdron GmbH, as their innovative approach to underwater inspections has the potential to revolutionize many industries, from maritime and transportation to energy and gas monitoring. environment,” says Bernhard Petermeier, partner at xista science ventures.
“We are proud to support their mission and look forward to seeing their autonomous vehicles have a significant impact on decarbonizing a traditionally labor and carbon intensive industry.”
Carlos Esteban, partner of Faber, points out that “despite being more efficient than land or air transport, maritime transport is responsible for around 3% of global CO2 emissions”, arguing that “biofouling on the hull of the vessel can significantly increase fuel consumption and CO2”. broadcasts”.
“Thus, cheaper, faster and more accurate biofouling data, as the sub-drone system will provide, would lead to optimized hull cleaning plans, leading to savings in fuel consumption and emissions. of CO2″, concludes Esteban.
