Maritime technology venture studios Flagship Founders and Studio 30 50 have announced plans to merge operations, combining their future venture-building activities under the Flagship Founders brand.
The aim of the collaboration is to create an extended international partner network with teams based in Berlin and Singapore that can assist in building out new maritime technology companies in Europe and Southeast Asia.
As venture studios the two organisations are involved in building companies from scratch, validating ideas for business models and finding the right founders to create startups that can be spun off but still be provided with ongoing support.
Launched in Berlin in 2020, Flagship Founders has successfully built five companies operating in areas such as emissions management, crew planning and ship inspections. Studio 30 50 was launched in 2023 as a collaboration between Hafnia, DNV, IMC Ventures, Microsoft and Wilhelmsen.
While Studio 30 50 has operated a programme-based approach under which startups are founded in batches, Flagship Founders has pursued a more individual strategy. The goal of the new partnership is to combine both methods in the future.
Shanker Pillai, Director of Studio 30 50, will join the Flagship Founders management team following the move, leading the company alongside Fabian Feldhaus and Malte Cherdron of Flagship Founders. Studio 30 50 will continue to offer consultancy services to maritime corporates and manage its existing portfolio of companies under the Studio 30 50 brand.
“The shipping industry continues to have a great need for innovation,’ said Fabian Feldhaus, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Flagship Founders.
“It has always been our ambition as Flagship Founders to decisively drive digitalisation in our industry and deliver real value. We are already doing this in Europe, and Southeast Asia is the next logical step.”
Shanker Pillai, Director at Studio 30 50, also commented: “Studio 30 50 has always followed an agile venture building methodology which enabled us to launch ventures at scale in multiple geographies.”
“With the expertise of Flagship Founders and their strong venture building track record, the new partnership will focus on building the best maritime-tech ventures in our industry by giving them access to our combined networks, funding opportunities and validation partners in some of the key maritime geographies.”
