Trondheim-based Maritime Robotics has secured a €28 million (about $32.5 million) growth investment to scale its uncrewed surface vessel (USV) manufacturing as autonomous maritime systems move from pilots to fleet-level deployment. The round, announced on 12 June 2026 from London and Trondheim, was led by Mustard Seed + Partners (MS+PARTNERS), joined by existing investors EnvisionTech, Nysnø Climate Investment and Umoe alongside the company's founders, employees and early backers.
From experimentation to fleet-level deployment
Founded in 2005, Maritime Robotics is one of Europe's longest-running providers of autonomous maritime systems. The company's portfolio combines purpose-built sea drones — including the 2-metre electric Otter and the 6-metre Mariner — with the SEACONTROL Autonomous Navigation System used on both crewed and uncrewed platforms. CEO and co-founder Vegard Evjen Hovstein said the company is now "past the experimentation phase," with customers across commercial and defence markets shifting "from pilot projects to fleet-level deployment strategies."
Revenue has grown nearly five-fold over the past five years and more than doubled in the last two, reflecting structural demand for low-emission, lower-risk maritime operations in offshore energy, hydrography, environmental monitoring, fisheries management and maritime security. The new capital will fund manufacturing scale-up and product portfolio expansion to keep pace with that demand.
An impact-focused European growth investor
MS+PARTNERS is a London-based thematic growth private equity firm co-founded by Stanislas de Joussineau, formerly head of KKR's Impact Fund in Europe. Joussineau called Maritime Robotics' combination of "modular platform architecture, reliable autonomous navigation, and a strong operational track record" a "scalable foundation for international expansion." The investment lands as European governments and offshore operators race to add unmanned surveillance and survey capacity in the wake of subsea-infrastructure incidents and an intensified focus on dual-use maritime tech.
Where the money goes
According to the company, capital will flow to three priorities: scaling production of the Otter and Mariner USV families, expanding the SEACONTROL navigation stack into new payload-and-platform configurations, and accelerating international go-to-market in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. EnvisionTech's Jonas Myklebost said MS+PARTNERS will bring experience "scaling industrial technology businesses internationally."
The round comes against a backdrop of record funding for autonomous maritime systems globally. Earlier this year US rival Saronic raised $1.75 billion Series D at a $9.25 billion valuation, and the US Navy launched its MUSV marketplace bringing Saronic, Leidos, HII and Sea Machines together for live demos. Anduril, meanwhile, secured a $5 billion Series H last month for autonomous defence platforms.
Reporting based on coverage from Maritime Robotics, Smart Maritime Network, MS+PARTNERS and Ocean News.