SIMIC

Lloyd’s Register and Stolt-Nielsen are among 10 new corporate backers of maritime venture capital fund Motion Ventures.

Singapore-based Motion Ventures said that with the 10 new names joining the fund it now had backing from 15 maritime corporates from across all major shipping geographies.

The 10 new backers are Lloyd’s Register, MarineTraffic, Meratus, Stolt-Nielsen, ShipsFocus, Jurni Capital, Taiship, Pangaea Logistics, Neptune Lines and Vineta Ventures.

“We’re operating in one of the most complex sectors for any founder to navigate – startups not only have to must win several siloes across the value chain even before being battle-tested by the market. It’s why we expanded our corporate consortium with capabilities that would support our portfolio companies to fuel the golden age of maritime supply chains,” said Shaun Hon, Founder and General Partner of Motion Ventures.

The fund said the new backers would introduce new industry capabilities and geographic scope for start-ups financed by the fund. Lloyd’s Register for example brings expertise in the areas of decarbonisation, safety, and seafarer well-being.

Chakib Abi-Saab, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Lloyd’s Register said: “Lloyd’s Register's participation in Motion Ventures highlights our ongoing commitment to digital transformation in the maritime industry. Joining the corporate consortium gives us yet another opportunity to support start-ups in a fresh way as they solve some of the biggest challenges, such as decarbonisation, increased safety, and improving the well-being of seafarers across the world.”

The 10 new names are joining five existing companies backing Motion Ventures - Wilhelmsen, HHLA Next, MOL PLUS, IMC Ventures and Signal Ventures. Motion Ventures claims highest participation by conglomerates of any maritime fund.

Start-ups that Motion Ventures have invested in include Freightify, Everimpact and Greywing.