Clearbot raises $1.75M pre-series A to scale its autonomous electric ship fleet
What's the deal? Clear Robotics, a Hong Kong-founded maritime technology company, has closed a $1.75M pre-series A round to scale its fleet of AI-enabled autonomous vessels globally. The round was led by maritime-focused Shipsfocus Ventures, with follow-on investments from Katapult OceanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, SGInnovateDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, M7 Holdings, MGS VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and other strategic partners.
The company operates 26 all-electric, AI-optimised unmanned surface vessels (USVs) that tackle maritime infrastructure challenges like pollution recovery and marine surveillance. It plans to use the funds to expand into Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East, develop larger vessel classes, and advance R&D for automated port surveying.
Why now? Clear Robotics has built momentum through 2025, expanding into Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines — where President Marcos launched its pilot vessels for a major waterfront inauguration. The company also won the Pier71 Smart Port Challenge in 2024 and the Captain's Table in 2022, establishing credibility in the sector.
"This funding is a critical catalyst, accelerating our path toward becoming a comprehensive solution for operations and creating the world's largest fleet of unmanned ships," said co-founder and chief executive officer Sidhant Gupta.
What could go wrong? Autonomous maritime technology faces significant regulatory hurdles across different jurisdictions. Scaling from harbour-scale USVs to open-ocean operations — a stated goal — is a massive technical leap. And $1.75M is a modest war chest for a company pursuing global expansion across three regions simultaneously.
The signal: The investor mix here is telling — Katapult Ocean, a dedicated ocean-impact fund, and SGInnovate, Singapore's deep-tech investment arm, both doubled down alongside a maritime-specialist lead in Shipsfocus Ventures. That convergence of climate, deep-tech, and industry-specific capital around a pre-series A company with 26 deployed vessels suggests the autonomous maritime sector is moving from proof-of-concept to commercial scaling, even if the round size reflects how early the broader market remains.
Read more: PR Newswire
