Sedna buys AI startup Bridge Labs to automate shipping workflows
What's the deal? Maritime technology company Sedna has acquired artificial intelligence startup Bridge LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to speed up its development of automated workflows for shipping and commodities transactions. Terms were not disclosed.
What does Bridge Labs do? Founded less than two years ago, the startup merged earlier this year with AI developer The Shipping Bot. It has deployed five commercial AI systems for operators including Louis Dreyfus, Glencore, MOL Chemical Tankers, Bunge, Oldendorff, and Fednav.
What changes? Bridge Labs founder Alex Crooks becomes Sedna's chief product officer. Sedna has also named Lucie Phillips, formerly of Zencargo and Deliveroo, as chief operating officer, and promoted Jacob Koch Blicher to vice president of customer success.
Why now? "Shipping teams won't change how they work for a product that isn't exceptional," said Sedna chief executive officer Bill Dobie. He said Bridge Labs showed that "AI, applied intelligently to how software is engineered, raises the bar on what a focused team can deliver."
What's the endgame? Sedna has shifted from a maritime email platform to a connected data platform with modules including Sedna Trade and Sedna Build, its AI developer toolkit. Its next phase moves from a system that captures context to one that reasons from it, keeping chartering, operations, and finance working from the same real-time picture.
The signal: The deal reflects how enterprise software firms are buying AI startups to embed automation directly into their platforms. "The combination of the customer base, the data, and the way we're building with AI makes this one of the most compelling opportunities in enterprise software," Phillips said.
Read more: smartmaritimenetwork.com
Image credit: John D Fielding
