Last year was undoubtedly pivotal on our path towards growth, as we made the shift from design & development to testing under real conditions & production. These efforts were rewarded by Lloyd’s Register awarding our Sealution Maritime Connectivity System an Approval in Principle (AiP) in October. A milestone in the, still young, history of our company and a landmark en route for Type Approval which is expected imminently.
This would not have been possible without the ever enthusiastic support of our investors (Miles Ahead, and Angelwise), our partners (Eastern Pacific Shipping, Kongsberg Digital, Schneider Electric and Seatrade), our prospects and our friends.
What a year it has been, judge by yourself.
February 2023 – Fund-raising round
Sealution completed a fund-raising round of € 1,315,000. Of that amount, €800,000 came from an equity round with venture studio Miles Ahead and investment fund Angelwise. €200,000 was raised through convertible loans from investment platform Techstars, and various business angels. An amount of €315,000 was collected in subsidies through Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) in September 2022.
March 2023 – Entrepreneurship World Cup
Back in 2022, Sealution won the Belgian preliminary round of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC). This gave us the opportunity to pitch this month at the international finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and placed us in the Top 100 of best young companies out of more than 30,000 entries for this prestigious entrepreneurial competition. A worthy representation of Belgium!
May 2023 – Flemish Port Day 2023
During the Flemish Port Day on May 7th, Sealution was present with a booth in the Port Day Village near the North Sea Port visitor center. One could find us in the dedicated space of the BlueBird tech cluster, an ecosystem that wants to bring together companies and people who work passionately around innovation, sustainability, digitalization and new technologies in the port and maritime industry.
May 2023 – Business Development trip to Singapore
In 2022, Voka – Chamber of Commerce Antwerp-Waasland selected nine Flemish tech start-ups who could participate in the Voka tech@venture Singapore. Sealution was privileged to be part of this intensive tech trip end of May to the entrepreneurial paradise of Singapore, the ideal base to conquer the (Southeast) Asian market. Two of our founders grabbed this opportunity to pack their already busy schedule with in-person meetings with prospective customers, generating new leads or intensifying existing contacts with various industry-leading shipping companies.
June 2023 – Plug and Play Maritime
On June 13th, the port and maritime community had the opportunity to meet and greet with Sealution during this year’s edition of the Plug and Play Maritime EXPO Day, organised in Antwerp at the Waagnatie event location. An EXPO Day is all about bringing the whole innovation ecosystem together and sharing the latest trends, insights and ideas with each other. Central theme of the edition was Charting New Waters – Innovating through collaborative partnerships in the maritime industry.
June 2023 – Thetius:Zero
After the final session in May, this month we got the wonderful news that Sealution was selected as one of the companies to be going through to the next stage of the prestigious Thetius:Zero programme. As a platform, in partnership with Seaspan Corporation, Inmarsat and Lloyd’s Register, Thetius:Zero aims to provide corporates with exposure to innovative technology companies. The purpose is to jointly explore novel solutions that have the potential to decrease emissions and help the maritime industry on its route to net zero without compromising safety.
June 2023 – Creative Destruction Lab
After an intensive acceleration programme, Sealution was excited to be announced by CDL-Atlantic as one of the 2022/23 graduating ventures of their specialized Oceans stream. During the CDL Supersession on June 13 & 14 in Toronto, Canada, the ventures were applauded in person for successfully graduating from CDL-Atlantic.
CDL-Atlantic is located in Halifax, Canada at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management. Dalhousie is a world-class research institute with expertise in ocean, clean, and environmental technology, as well as agri-food and bioproducts.
August 2023 – Standardised Data Innovation Challenge
Sealution was part of a group of eight maritime and logistics technology companies that were selected as finalists for the Standardised Data Innovation Challenge (SDIC), an initiative offering tech firms in the shipping space the opportunity to work with standardised data sets from some of Japan’s biggest maritime companies via the Internet of Ships Open Platform (IoS-OP).
The Challenge, run by Smart Maritime Network and ClassNK with the support of Japan’s ‘big three’ shipping companies ‘K’ Line, MOL and NYK, as well as other members of the IoS-OP consortium, received more than 60 applicants, offering a variety of technologies promising to deliver improvements in areas including decarbonisation, predictive maintenance, remote decision support and port call optimisation.
Following a thorough evaluation of all of the entries, the eight finalists were invited to take part in a live pitch session in front of the judging panel composed of industry experts.
September 2023 – Nordic Startup Challenge
In the spring of 2023, the Belgisch-Luxemburgs-Duitse Kamer van Koophandel selected a few promising startups from Belgium, including Sealution, to be nominated for a brand-new event, the “Nordic Startup Challenge” in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. With Hamburg being one of the essential maritime capitals in the world and Europe’s third biggest port, this was certainly an offer we could not refuse … followed by an application which we completed successfully.
The Nordic Startup Challenge aims to enable a new network for innovation between the Northern European countries. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce invites 10 start-ups from 10 countries (Scandinavia, Baltic Countries, Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium) to Hamburg for a three-day programme during which the start-ups can meet all the major companies from their industry and gain a foothold in Hamburg’s innovative ecosystem.
October 2023 – Leuven Slush’D
Not one, but two pitching opportunities! On Thursday October 12th, the startup event Slush – often referred to as the “Tomorrowland of startup festivals”, did come to Belgium for the very first time, in the form of Leuven Slush’D, with the ambition to light a spark in the Belgian ecosystem.
Besides having secured an own booth at the event, and after an intensive selection procedure, Sealution was also retained as one of the 10 finalists for the pitching competition on the Founders Stage, competing for the desirable title “nextGEM 2023”.
It was an exhilarating experience to share the stage of the “BYND HardTech Startup Competition”, a new hardware-focused pitching contest introduced by our partner Voxdale. After a fierce battle, we were thrilled to share the podium as the co-winners together with the ladies of Paris based Studio Twins.
November 2023 – Tech Tour Blue Economy
On November 7th and 8th, Sealution presented at the Tech Tour Tomorrow.Blue Economy 2023 which took place in Barcelona. This event in the sustainability sector featured a programme designed to help 30 selected EU based start-ups developing sustainable solutions in the broad area of Oceans & Climate, Maritime Supply Chain and Smart Ports, boosting their investment readiness as well as building relations with investors.
November 2023 – Europort
This year it was the port city of Rotterdam to be hosting the 2023 edition of Europort. Europort is, beyond question, one of the most important international shipping and maritime events in the world. A key event known as the international maritime meeting place for innovative technology and complex shipbuilding. With innovation being one of the main topics of the exhibition, Europort also offers an area fully dedicated to young companies that can present smarter, innovative, and sharper solutions. Following an assessment based on the 4 parameters and selection criteria Growth Potential, Innovation, Sustainability and the Team behind, the organisation was convinced that Sealution has the potential to contribute to a smarter, cleaner, and safer maritime industry, and rewarded us with an enviable spot as Rising Star in the Rising Stars Pavilion.
November 2023 – Hong Kong Captain's Table
Our recent journey to Hong Kong for the Maritime Week was nothing short of extraordinary. The highlight of the week was undoubtedly our participation in The Captain’s Table competition. This unique event, set amidst the backdrop of Hong Kong Maritime Week, is a renowned platform where startups like us, operating in the maritime and logistics sector, pitch groundbreaking ideas to a panel of esteemed industry experts.
Our technology, designed for easy integration with existing infrastructures, promises to revolutionize maritime safety, operational efficiency, and crew welfare. Our efforts and vision were rewarded as we secured second place in the competition. This achievement is a testament to our team’s hard work and the innovative spirit that drives us.
December 2023 – ZEBOX Community and Accelerate Program
Great news: Sealution – Connectivity Below Deck has been selected to join ZEBOX! Created by Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, ZEBOX connects innovative startups with 20+ large corporate partners across its 6 hubs around the world (US, France, Caribbean, Singapore, UK, West Africa). A real fast track for the business.
We look forward to working hand-in-hand with ZEBOX’s team, partners and startups, becoming part of a truly international network.
As we bid farewell to an eventful 2023 at Sealution, our gaze is firmly set on the horizon of 2024. This past year has been a testament to our resilience, innovation, and commitment to revolutionizing maritime connectivity. We navigated through challenges, celebrated milestones, and forged ahead with our groundbreaking solutions.
Looking forward to 2024, we’re brimming with optimism and excitement. With our eyes set on new goals and adventures, we’re ready to steer Sealution into uncharted waters, driven by our passion for enhancing maritime safety and operational efficiency. We invite you to join us on this exhilarating journey as we chart a course toward an even more innovative and connected maritime future.
Here’s to making waves in 2024 – together!
