Underwater robotics startup BeeX raises $2M

Singapore's autonomous underwater robot producer, BeeX, has successfully raised a significant investment of $2M.

• Participating Investors: This funding round was co-headed by Earth Venture Capital and ShipsFocus Ventures, and it also included contributions from SeedS Capital, NUS Technology Holdings, and Infinita VC.

• BeeX Background: Founded in 2018 by Grace Chia and Goh Eng Wei, both researchers at the National University of Singapore, BeeX is at the forefront of developing innovative underwater robotics solutions. Their technology is primarily aimed at infrastructure maintenance and compliance monitoring within the maritime, energy, and defense sectors.

• Product Offer: Their groundbreaking product is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) named A. Ikanbilis. This name is a clever combination of the words 'autonomous' and 'ikan bilis', a type of local fish. The AUV's autopilot system operates on real-time processed data from cameras and underwater acoustics.

BeeX has ambitious plans for the future. By the end of 2024, they aim to introduce the next-generation AUV, the Betta, in response to the growing demand for offshore wind inspection services.

The recent funding will accelerate their go-to-market efforts, particularly targeting autonomous offshore wind farm inspections in Europe.