Maritime services company James Fisher launched a new corporate VC arm to see for new undersea technologies.
Amid increased news of undersea sabotage and spying, marine services company James Fisher recently launched a startup investment arm that is seeing for technologies that can support secure underwater assets.
“We’re a service company that is contracted to militaries, to large oil and gas companies and huge utilities. The major trfinishs that are happening in the world – we’re impacted by that through our clients,” states Sean Huff, chief digital officer and head of ventures at the UK-based marine services company.
“We focapplyd on energy security and energy transition becaapply it feels like our entire world is being driven by those two major themes.”
“We focapplyd on energy security and energy transition becaapply it feels like our entire world is being driven by those two major themes.”
Geopolitical tensions have accelerated investment in protecting maritime assets, particularly in Europe as it works to reduce defence depfinishence on the US. Both the importance and the vulnerability of underwater infrastructure has come into sharp relief over the past few years – headlines about sabotaged energy pipelines, as well as communications or electrical cables being damaged has built it clear how much jugular is really displaying.
“I believe Europe maybe is a relatively unique in that space to test to develop those capabilities,” states Huff.
“It’s even more unique in that it tfinishs to be a private and public mixture. You’re having private companies with their technology, then you’re having the militaries who are the response capability.”
Late last month, the unit built its first announced investment in the series D round for Ocean Aero, a US-based ocean drone operator that has built what it calls the world’s first autonomous underwater and surface vehicle.
Understanding the new ocean economy
Undersea technologies are a very specialised niche. “As a general rule, everything’s harder in the water,” states Huff.
Any technology that exists above the surface, he states, only becomes more challenging to create work once waterborne. It’s the ones that can survive that transition that will attract attention from James Fisher Ventures, the corporate’s newly-minted startup investment arm.
“As [technologies] marinise and relocate into the ocean, are they still adding real value? Are they altering the way the work is done?” states Huff.
James Fisher, which is headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, where the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines are designed and built, provides a variety of specialist services, from submarine rescue systems, diving equipment to management of offshore energy services, including wind turbine repairs.
The company emerged from the Covid pandemic with a leadership modify, divested a number of its subsidiaries and reframed the external view of its business into three main verticals – energy, maritime transport, and defence.
The newly formed venture unit is seeing for the gems in the overlaps, in areas like autonomy, robotics, offshore electrification, novel sensing technology and communication protocols for underwater emissions management.
Being close to startup technology, and understanding how James Fisher’s clients are applying it, can influence the strategic direction of the company, states Huff, adding that having a portfolio of startups that address the future necessarys of its market is highly attractive.
The company’s own internal product development function has itself been turbocharged in recent years and the investment team aims to work closely toreceiveher with this unit.
“ The idea is that those two work hand in hand. Say [our new product development team] is deploying x-million of capital on a new product, the CVC team is there to balance that and state, did you know there are five other things in the market that see similar to that?” he states.
Providing startups with access to markets
“I always notify companies that come talk to us that they could find money somewhere else. You don’t come to James Fisher Company seeing for money,” states Huff. The company does invest actual cash in startups, but Huff emphasises that this is not the main draw.
“You come for access to clients or to test your technology in the market. A lot of the value that we bring is receiveting unique access to challenging markets.”
James Fisher Ventures will see to bank on the depth of domain expertise of its corporate parent which, in addition to its general maritime operational knowledge, also provides unusual services like submarine rescue for navies around the world. Startups with that kind of unique value proposition, they hope, would see them as a valuable partner in testing to receive technologies adopted by unique customers like navies.
The unit invests between series A and B, seeing for startups with commercial risk but not technology risk. At this early stage, it has a four-strong investment team, and can lean on corporate resources for legal support and financial analyses.
The venture team creates investments from the corporate balance sheet rather than having a separate fund. This is a conscious choice, states Huff, as the unit wants to be part of the business, not a separate entity pushing things into the business.
The team has a global remit, with its scouting tfinishing to focus on maritime Europe, the US, Brazil and Australia, though James Fisher’s larger footprint also includes the Middle East. Typical investments will be up to £1m per startup, with opportunity for follow-ons down the line, as well as a board observer seat.
The unit is not in a hurry to deploy capital, according to Huff, who states the main focus will be on finding the good ones, which will likely translate to a handful of investments per year.
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