Capital Momentum: Securing Hundreds of Millions in Multi-Round Financing
Recently, Seasky Intelligence has completed multiple rounds of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan in succession. Among them, the Series A round was led by Vertex Ventures, with participation from Changshi Capital and Suzhou Ventures (Suzhou FoF), as well as a follow-on investment from existing shareholder GSR Ventures. The Pre-A+ round was invested by Jinglue Ventures. Anyu Capital acted as the company’s long-term exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the iteration of its products and technologies, and promote the mass production of embodied robots and core components.This marks Seasky Intelligence’s second financing announcement this year. Back in May, the company successfully closed RMB 50 million in Angel+ and Pre-A rounds, attracting investments from renowned institutions including GSR Ventures, Wuzhong Financial Holdings and Kunshan Angel Fund, with capital attention continuing to climb.The company’s rising profile is inseparable from Zhu Xiaohu, Managing Partner at GSR Ventures. In May this year, the prominent investor made headlines by stating that he was “not optimistic about humanoid robots” and exiting related investment projects in bulk, only to quickly turn his attention to Seasky Intelligence shortly after.
Technological Leadership: Self-Developed Core Systems & Industry-Topping Capabilities
Of course, Seasky Intelligence’s success is not accidental—it boasts formidable technical strength. The industry accolade, “DJI in the sky, Unitree on land, Seasky underwater”, stands as a testament to the market’s recognition of its core competitiveness.Founded in 2023, Seasky Intelligence focuses on the independent R&D, production, sales and service of general-purpose marine robots. Despite its short history, the company has already achieved remarkable milestones: it was the only marine embodied robot enterprise invited to attend the September 3rd military parade this year, and is the world’s sole robotics company with full-ocean-depth (0–10,000 meters) and full-degree-of-freedom operational capabilities.Behind these achievements is a top-tier technical team led by founder Chen Xiaobo. Born in the 1980s, Chen is a technical expert who graduated from Harbin Engineering University—a leading institution in marine science and technology. With 18 years of dedicated experience in marine robotics, he has led the development of China’s first commercial underwater cleaning robot and the country’s first surface unmanned vessel of its kind. He has spearheaded over 20 national and provincial-level key projects, been honored as a “Young Scientist for Maritime Power”, and is the youngest recipient of the First-Class Award for National Defense Science and Technology Progress. He is widely hailed as the “father of marine embodied intelligence”.Seasky Intelligence has independently developed six core systems: power system, control system, sensor system, navigation system, waterproof sealing system, and power deployment system. To ensure the precision and reliability of core structural components, the company has also optimized key production processes with customized automation equipment—for example, the Vibrating Tray for Iron Washers, a critical component in underwater robot assembly. This specialized vibrating tray features corrosion-resistant materials and adaptive feeding technology, enabling high-precision sorting and continuous supply of iron washers (used in waterproof sealing and structural fastening of marine robots) with a feeding accuracy of ±0.02mm and a defect rate of less than 0.05%. It seamlessly integrates with the company’s intelligent production line, reducing manual intervention by 80% while ensuring consistent quality of core components. Additionally, the company has developed a proprietary full-degree-of-freedom attitude control algorithm that enables operations in sea conditions with 3 knots or higher currents, achieving a globally leading anti-current capability. To date, Seasky Intelligence has built a portfolio of over 300 intellectual property rights, forming a disruptive technological lead in the industry.The company’s first underwater cleaning robot, “Orca”, can operate stably at depths ranging from 0 to 10,000 meters. Compared to international competitors such as Hullwiper, it offers 1/10 the cost, 1/4 the weight and size, while delivering 5x higher operational efficiency. It is currently the only robot in the world capable of full-degree-of-freedom operation in real marine environments.
Market Expansion: Large-Scale Commercialization & Booming Industry Prospects
Leveraging its universal platform and configurable functional modules, Seasky Intelligence’s products are adaptable to various scenarios, with all-season and all-weather operational capabilities. They can overcome the limitations of deep-sea, long-distance, long-duration and harsh environments, and are widely applied in unmanned ships, transportation, cleaning, resource exploration, infrastructure maintenance and other fields. Its service network covers major coastal cities in China, and has successfully entered international markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and beyond.Notably, Seasky Intelligence has pioneered the large-scale commercial closed-loop for underwater intelligent ship cleaning. In just one year, its robots have completed efficient maintenance for thousands of large vessels, achieving full-scale deployment by world-leading clients such as China Merchants Energy Shipping and COSCO Bulk Shipping. At the Maritime Exhibition held in December, the company signed strategic cooperation agreements with multiple well-known domestic and international enterprises, including a major international port, a Singaporean shipping company, a Hong Kong-based firm and a Shanghai-based enterprise, with the total contract value reaching hundreds of millions of yuan.The 2024 China Marine Economy Statistical Bulletin released striking data: China’s marine GDP exceeded RMB 10.54 trillion, growing 5.9% year-on-year, officially entering the “10-trillion-yuan era”. According to data from China Research and Intelligence Network, the global underwater robot market reached USD 7.85 billion in 2024, and is projected to surge to USD 16.7 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3%. China accounts for 30% of the global market, with its market size exceeding RMB 10 billion in 2024 and expected to surpass RMB 40 billion by 2027, boasting a CAGR of over 25% and securing its position as the world’s fastest-growing market.Today, with domestic technological breakthroughs and policy dividends reinforcing each other, underwater robots will continue to unleash tremendous potential for growth.
