Quartermaster Raises $140M Series B to Expand Maritime Intelligence Network

Quartermaster, an Arlington, Virginia-based maritime intelligence startup, has raised $140 million in Series B financing just months after closing a $43 million Series A. The company is expanding a network of ship-mounted sensors that collect real-time data about maritime activity.

Founder and CEO Neil Sobin said software-focused venture firm Insight Partners preempted the round. He said recent geopolitical events and disruption to global shipping have strengthened the company’s conviction that better maritime awareness is needed.

“I think we’ve gained huge amounts of conviction in the core thesis,” Sobin said, adding that world events have increased the urgency around Quartermaster’s technology.

Quartermaster combines equity funding with debt

About $100 million of the Series B came from Insight Partners, new investor Overmatch Ventures and existing backers including First Round Capital. The remaining $40 million came from a debt facility from investment bank Stifel.

Insight Partners Managing Director Nick Sinai said Quartermaster is building a distributed ocean network at a time when reliable, real-time maritime data remains difficult to obtain. He cited customer demand and the company’s execution as reasons for leading the investment.

SmartMast collects real-time maritime data

Quartermaster’s SmartMast combines cameras and radios in a package mounted on a vessel’s mast. It captures and relays real-time information for governments, shipping companies and insurance providers.

The system provides more detailed maritime awareness than the Automatic Identification System, or AIS, which primarily transmits vessel location information.

Quartermaster describes the ocean as the “largest blind spot on Earth”. SmartMast data can help ships avoid collisions, monitor congestion in shipping lanes, and assist searches for missing mariners.

Sobin said each SmartMast generates tens of gigabytes of data per day. Quartermaster and its customers are continuing to identify new uses for that information as the company develops maritime AI applications using data collected by its own hardware.

“There isn’t a lot of prior art in maritime AI, and so it’s been exciting to, one, have our own source of data,” Sobin said. He added that the company has found numerous opportunities to build tools that deliver value to customers.

More than 650 vessels now use SmartMast

More than 650 vessels across 25 countries are equipped with SmartMast, according to Sobin, while Quartermaster has shipped more than 800 units. The difference partly reflects upcoming deployments across entire fleets.

Quartermaster also works with people across the maritime industry to understand how they want to use the technology. Sobin said mariners often bring the company ideas for additional applications.

Growing demand has pushed Quartermaster to double its manufacturing capacity while continuing to refine SmartMast so it can produce hardware faster. The new financing gives the company additional capital to expand production and deploy its maritime data network across more commercial fleets.