Autonomous ship startup Kraken raises $175M at $1B valuation
Kraken Technology Group Ltd., a British defense startup that makes autonomous ships, has raised $175 million in funding.
Private equity firm DTCP led the Series B deal. It was joined by the UK government’s British Business Bank, the NATO Innovation Fund and more than a half dozen others. Kraken disclosed in its announcement of the round today that its valuation has increased to $1 billion.
Kraken’s most advanced vessel is a 36-feet-long ship called the K5 Kraken that operates without a crew. It has a top speed of 50 knots, which corresponds to about 57 miles per second. Kraken says that it can stay at sea for up to a month at a time and cover 1,000 nautical miles.
Customers can pilot the K5 remotely or entrust navigation to an onboard autonomy system. The system makes steering decisions based on data collected by radar and sonar sensors built into the K5. Sonar technology, which uses soundwaves to map out the environment, enables ships to track underwater objects.
