- Funding round said to be the largest ever for a marine robotics company globally
- Startup eyes expansion from ship-hull cleaning into offshore wind, subsea inspection and ocean AI models
Seahi Robotics (世航智能), a Chinese startup developing autonomous marine robots, has raised more than 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in a pre-Series A and follow-on Series A funding rounds, a deal reportedly marking the largest single financing ever completed in the global ocean robotics sector.
The round, reported by Chinese media on June 15, underscores growing investor appetite for embodied AI applications tied to clear industrial use cases, even as enthusiasm cools in some areas of humanoid robotics.
Founded just in May 2023, Seahi has now secured more than 1 billion yuan ($148 million) across multiple funding rounds.
New investors included River Motion Capital, Temasek-backed Vertex Growth, and Broad Ocean Motor, while existing backer GSR Ventures increased its stake for a fifth consecutive round.
Returning investors Vertex Ventures China, Meridian Capital and Long Capital also participated in the latest round.
Biofouling, a costly scourge of global shipping
The Suzhou-based company started out by tackling a costly but often overlooked problem facing the global shipping industry: biofouling.
Once vessels enter service, barnacles, mussels, algae and other marine organisms quickly accumulate on hull surfaces, increasing drag and fuel consumption.
Industry estimates show biofouling can raise fuel use by 30% to 50% annually. Even a thin slime layer can require about 11% more propulsion power to maintain speed, while severe hard fouling can cause power losses of as much as 86%.
Because fuel accounts for more than half of operating expenses for many shipping companies, maintaining clean hulls can generate substantial savings.
Data from Japan’s largest shipping company NYK Line suggests fuel savings from robotic hull cleaning can exceed cleaning costs by more than tenfold.
The environmental rationale
The environmental case is also significant. Industry estimates indicate global carbon emissions from shipping could be reduced by roughly one-fifth if vessel hulls were consistently kept clean.
The International Maritime Organization has identified biofouling management as an important factor in improving vessel carbon-intensity performance and is expected to introduce a binding regulatory framework before 2029.
Those trends have opened a growing market for underwater robotics. Traditional cleaning relies heavily on manual operation by divers, whose work can be costly, slow and hazardous.
At the same time, regulators are increasingly scrutinizing copper-based anti-fouling coatings because of their environmental impact.
According to media reports, Seahi initially built its business around robotic hull cleaning for oceangoing vessels, using real-world operating data to improve its technology.
Embodied model for marine applications
Drawing on previous experience and expertise, the firm has now branched out into offshore wind farms, marine solar installations and subsea pipeline inspection.
The company is also preparing to launch what it describes as the world’s first large-scale AI foundation model — called Ceorion — designed specifically for marine embodied intelligence.
Unlike conventional underwater robots that depend heavily on remote operators, the model integrates environmental perception, task planning and motion generation into a unified end-to-end architecture trained on more than one million hours of operational data.
In simulation tests, task completion rates and precision manipulation success rates exceeded 90%, while zero-shot adaptation performance surpassed 70%, the company said.
Seahi’s fundraising story also highlights a broader shift in venture capital priorities.
Continued backing
In March 2025, GSR Ventures founding partner Zhu Xiaohu (朱啸虎) — widely known as one of China’s shrewdest venture capitalists — publicly said he was exiting many humanoid robot investments, arguing that commercial demand remained unclear.
Yet he continued backing Seahi, citing what he viewed as genuine customer demand in shipping and offshore energy markets.
His remarks unleashed a torrent of criticism and insults from China’s humanoid robotics sector, with Zhao Tongyang (赵同阳), founder and chief executive of EngineAI (众擎机器人), publicly saying it would be “an insult” for a robotics startup to accept his investment.
Industry support keeps streaming in
Yet some shipping and maritime investors have quietly sided with Zhu, viewing Seahi’s business as a rare example of embodied AI with proven demand. Their support has extended beyond funding, providing the company with commercial deployments and customer access.
China Merchants Startup (招商启航), a private-equity arm of China Merchants Group, led an earlier angel+ round. One of the conglomerate’s shipping units has become a major customer, with Seahi’s robots already deployed across parts of its fleet.
The latest funding will support further expansion into maritime infrastructure and industrial applications as the company seeks to establish itself as a leading player in ocean-focused embodied AI.
