Rekise Marine Secures $9.7 Million in Seed Funding
Rekise Marine, a marine robotics startup, has successfully secured $9.7 million in a seed funding round that was co-led by Accel and NKSquared. Additional support came from Sameer Brij Verma, Sandeep Singhal, Industrial47, Singularity AMC, the founders, and various family offices. Previously, the startup raised $4.72 million from Singularity AMC and other investors.
Utilisation of Funds for Enhancements
The proceeds from this funding will be directed towards the completion and execution of sea trials for Jalkapi, enhancing its in-house autonomy software capabilities, and significantly expanding its engineering workforce across domains such as robotics, AI/ML, embedded systems, platform systems integration, and naval architecture, as stated in a press release from Rekise.
About Rekise Marine
Founded in 2017 by Maitrai Maka and Shekhar, Rekise Marine is a pioneering marine robotics organisation dedicated to creating autonomous ships and submarines. The company develops its own autonomy software and takes charge of the design, construction, and integration of its vessels, collaborating with India’s top shipyards.
Innovative Marine Platforms
Rekise’s platforms, including Jalkapi, which is recognised as India’s first extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle developed under the Indian Navy’s iDEX ADITI programme, cater to various missions including naval, coast guard, and commercial maritime operations. The Bengaluru-based startup mentions that its software platform is capable of empowering vessels of all classes, ranging from small, man-portable vehicles to large submarines, which allows for deployment across different platforms with minimal reconfiguration.
Vessel Construction Partnerships
Rekise is committed to building and integrating its vessels in-house while collaborating with prestigious shipyards such as Goa Shipyard Limited and GRSE Limited. Their portfolio encompasses both surface and subsurface platforms which include Jaldoot, an autonomous surface vessel already delivered to clients; Swadheen, an autonomous survey vessel that has successfully completed fully autonomous open sea trials; and a man-portable autonomous underwater vehicle that is currently in the trial phase.
Competitive Landscape
Other notable startups in the marine robotics industry include Coratia Technologies from Odisha, Planys, Eyerov, and Sagar Defence, all contributing to the advancement of this field.