SEEDS Capital and six partners to invest S$50m in maritime startups

ENTERPRISE Singapore investment arm SEEDS Capital, together with six appointed co-investment partners, will pump a combined S$50 million into more than 50 maritime technology startups in Singapore.

The co-investment partners are: Innoport, the corporate venture arm of family-owned ship owner and manager Schulte Group; KSL Maritime Ventures, the venture capital (VC) unit of the Kuok family's investment-holding company Kuok (Singapore) Limited; PSA unboXed, the external innovation and VC arm of port operator PSA International; corporate innovation and venture development firm Rainmaking; ShipsFocus-Quest Ventures, a collaboration between maritime innovation firm ShipsFocus and VC firm Quest Ventures; and TecPier, a VC investor in early-stage maritime and supply chain startups.

The co-investment initiative is supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. SEEDS Capital and the appointed partners will invest in startups that develop solutions to improve operational efficiency and safety across the different segments of the maritime sector.

Enterprise Singapore said that strengthening the capability of the maritime sector will in turn enhance the resilience of key economic pillars such as the logistics, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors, which are reliant on smooth and efficient global supply chain routes.

Each co-investment partner will help the startups to fast-track their commercialisation of solutions. Innoport will allow startups to conduct pilot tests within Schulte Group's business units, while PSA unboXed will potentially deploy some solutions in PSA International's operations if proven successful.

KSL Martime Ventures will focus on renewables, fintech and vessel technologies, and ShipsFocus-Quest Ventures will focus broadly on solutions in digitalisation, sustainability and deep tech for maritime commerce.

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Meanwhile, TecPier will partner startups developing data-driven solutions for areas such as ship operations and maintenance, port management, and supply chain. Rainmaking will work with its corporate partners in the next two to three years to drive the growth of more than 100 startups, with solutions focusing on decarbonisation, supply chain resilience, artificial intelligence and deep tech.