Singapore robotics startup BeeX scores seed investment

Singaporean autonomous robotics startup BeeX announced an undisclosed seven-figure USD in a seed investment round led by Cap Vista.

Also participating in the round were Quest Ventures-Maritime Fund, IMC Ventures, SEEDS Capital, and the National University of Singapore.

With this funding, the robotics startup company said it will expand its team to accelerate the development of autonomous capabilities across more diverse and critical environments.

It also seeks to commission a more powerful hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV) used for harsher conditions in offshore wind.

This represents a unique opportunity for rapid growth in underwater infrastructure as the world adopts renewable energy at an unprecedented rate to achieve net-zero.

BeeX, founded by Grace Ciha and Goh Eng Wei, is a deeptech engineering spin-off from the National University of Singapore, with a decade of R&D.

Their work involved designing and building vehicles to redefine how underwater work can be done. It has a multi-disciplinary team with experiences in marine robotics, autonomous self-driving, electronic design, and naval architecture.

Chng Zhen Hao, CEO of Cap Vista, said the company’s marine autonomy technology “will revolutionise underwater inspections and disrupt the maritime sector, and contribute to applications in sustainability and defence.

James Ong of IMC Ventures, said BeeX’s best validation of their solution is demonstrated through the demand for their product in the maritime industry.

“BeeX has shown the commercial ability to sell its solutions on commercial terms, and it validates that the technology works and the pricing is viable,” Ong added.

IMC Ventures hopes to help BeeX scale by “utilising IMC’s broad network across Asia Pacific”.

BeeX believes its HAUVs can provide a sustainable way of large-scale underwater inspections. It claims that its HAUV – A.IKANBILIS – performs repetitive tasks efficiently with advanced autonomy, enabling better data and insights into critical large-scale infrastructure like offshore wind, floating solar, and aquaculture farms.