Quartermaster has secured $140 million in new financing to expand its maritime data network, including a $100 million Series B led by Insight Partners and a $40 million venture debt facility from Stifel.
The Series B also includes new participation from Overmatch Ventures and continued investment from First Round Capital, Quiet Capital, Steel Atlas and TMV Logistics. The financing follows a $43 million Series A completed by the company in May.
Quartermaster says it has deployed its SmartMast technology on more than 650 working vessels across 25 countries, with the network having covered almost 46 million sq km to date.
The company provides real-time data and visual awareness of maritime activity, with the network intended to support navigation in congested waters and ports, identification of potential hazards and emergency response.
“The impact of geopolitics on strategic waterways, such as the Strait of Hormuz, is an economic problem as much as a military one,” said Neil Sobin, co-founder and CEO, Quartermaster.
“When insurers stopped covering the Strait of Hormuz it led to a massive drop in commercial traffic through the Strait and increased cost to shippers, because when risk can’t be assessed, cargo doesn’t move.”
Quartermaster says the network footprint has increased by 77 percent since May, with the latest funding to be used to expand coverage, engineering headcount and data infrastructure, as well as commercial partnerships.
