The funds raised will be used to support the platform’s growth across a range of blue economy sectors.
Louth-based ocean data delivery company Xocean has today (9 January) announced the closing of a funding round in which it raised €115m, with the support of S2G Ventures, Climate Investment, Morgan Stanley’s 1GT fund and an affiliate of the Crown Family’s CC Industries.
Founded in 2017 by James Ives, with locations in Ireland, the UK, Canada, Norway, Australia and the US, Xocean develops uncrewed surface vessels capable of remaining offshore for extended periods of time, mapping and monitoring the marine environment to collect large quantities of ocean data. This enables operators and analysts to connect with systems via satellite link, while remaining safely onshore.
This latest investment will support Xocean in its plans to expand the platform, with particular focus on emerging blue economy sectors, such as offshore energy and civil hydrography. The organisation predicts that, as the blue economy becomes a greater focus for capital deployment, ocean data services are going to be in high demand and should be delivered in an environmentally sensitive manner.
Commenting on the funding, Dr Francis O’ Sullivan the managing director for S2G said, “we believe this investment represents a distinct opportunity at the intersection of the energy and oceans sectors. Working with many of the world’s leading energy companies, Xocean has reimagined how the geophysical data central to unlocking the blue economy’s potential can be delivered.
“We are looking forward to partnering with James Ives and the outstanding X team as they continue to grow their business’s global operations.”
Vikram Raju, head of 1GT at Morgan Stanley and Climate Private Equity investing, also welcomed the announcement, expressing his excitement at the potential for creating a more sustainable industry.
“We are honoured to join James and the Xocean team in the next chapter of their journey to decarbonise maritime surveying and build a global leader in ocean data solutions. Access to high-quality data is critical to multiple players in the offshore-focused ecosystem and we believe Xocean’s differentiated capital efficient solution will remain at the forefront of the industry.”
“We look forward to bringing the totality of the Morgan Stanley platform to support the team in delivering low carbon energy in a low carbon way.”
Last June, Xocean also closed a €30m Series B funding round led by Venturewave Capital.
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