BeeX, an autonomous robotics startup in Singapore, has secured an undisclosed “seven-figure” USD in a seed investment round.
Cap Vista, the strategic investment arm of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency, led this round. It also saw participation from Quest Ventures-Maritime Fund, IMC Ventures, SEEDS Capital, and the National University of Singapore.
With the money, BeeX will expand its team to accelerate the development of autonomous capabilities across more diverse and critical environments, it said in a note on its website.
It will also commission a more powerful hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV) used for harsher conditions in offshore wind. It represents a unique opportunity for rapid growth in underwater infrastructure as the world adopts renewable energy at an unprecedented rate to achieve net-zero.
Founded by Grace and Eng Wei, BeeX is a deeptech engineering spin-off from the National University of Singapore, with a decade of R&D. It designs and builds vehicles to redefine how underwater work can be done. BeeX has a multi-disciplinary team with experiences in marine robotics, autonomous self-driving, electronic design, and naval architecture.
While autonomous robotics has impacted how work is done on land, air, and even outer space, the underwater world has stayed the same. Humans are still working in dangerous environments — be it physically diving or being mobilised on multi-billion-dollar large vessels — to deploy human-controlled remotely operated vehicles.
Also Read: BeeX wins Singapore’s Smart Port Challenge 2020 for its innovative autonomous maritime solutions
BeeX believes that Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (HAUVs) independent of these big boats can provide a sustainable way of large-scale underwater inspections. This will become a fundamental building block in ensuring the safety of coastal cities and accelerating the shift towards renewables, such as floating solar and offshore wind, by significantly reducing their operations and maintenance costs.
BeeX claims its HAUV — A.IKANBILIS –performs repetitive tasks efficiently with advanced autonomy, enabling better data and insights into critical large scale infrastructure like offshore wind, floating solar and aquaculture farms. It excels operationally in high currents and low visibility, with its custom propulsion, electronics, and sensor fusion techniques.
“BeeX’s marine autonomy technology will revolutionise underwater inspections and disrupt the maritime sector, and contribute to applications in sustainability and defence,” said Chng Zhen Hao, CEO of Cap Vista.
James Ong of IMC Ventures, commented: “The best validation of BeeX’s solution is demonstrated through the demand for their product in the maritime industry. BeeX has shown the commercial ability to sell its solutions on commercial terms, and it validates that the technology works and the pricing is viable. IMC hopes to help BeeX scale by utilising IMC’s broad network across Asia Pacific”.
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