Clear Robotics Raises $1.75M to Protect Waterways With Zero-Emission Autonomous Vessels

Clear Robotics, a Singapore-based maritime technology company building all-electric autonomous vessels, has raised $1.75 million in Pre-Series A funding to expand its fleet of AI-enabled unmanned surface vessels across global markets.

The round was led by Shipsfocus Ventures, a maritime-focused venture firm, with follow-on participation from Katapult Ocean, SGInnovate, M7 Holdings, MGS Ventures, and other strategic partners.

Founded in 2020 by Sidhant Gupta and Utkarsh Goel, Clear Robotics is developing autonomous, zero-emission vessel technology for critical maritime infrastructure operations. Its unmanned surface vessels are designed to support use cases such as pollution recovery, marine surveillance, port operations, and future AI-driven surveying.

The company currently operates a fleet of 26 all-electric, AI-optimized unmanned surface vessels. Its technology combines autonomous navigation, data analytics, and commercial retrofit capabilities to help maritime operators improve efficiency while reducing emissions and dependence on manual vessel operations.

The new funding will support Clear Robotics’ expansion into Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East. The company also plans to use the capital to grow its engineering team, develop larger unmanned vessel classes, advance R&D for automated port surveying, and scale its retrofit technology for broader commercial deployment.

“This funding is a critical catalyst, accelerating our path toward becoming a comprehensive solution for operations and creating the world’s largest fleet of unmanned ships,” said Sidhant Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Clear Robotics.

“This new capital allows us to expand our engineering team, accelerate our R&D into automated port surveying, and build the next generation of larger vessel classes,” said Utkarsh Goel, Co-Founder and CTO of Clear Robotics.

The raise follows a period of commercial momentum for Clear Robotics. The company won the PIER71 Smart Port Challenge in 2024 and The Captain’s Table in 2022, two programs focused on maritime innovation and startup commercialization. Over the past year, Clear Robotics has also expanded into markets including Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, where its pilot vessels were recently launched as part of a major waterfront inauguration.

For the maritime sector, Clear Robotics is addressing a practical gap between full-scale autonomous shipping and the day-to-day infrastructure work that ports, coastal cities, industrial operators, and marine agencies need to manage. Rather than focusing only on long-distance autonomous cargo movement, the company is building vessels for operational tasks that can be automated, electrified, and deployed in real-world environments today.

“Clear Robotics is building a reliable, scalable operating system for the essential middle of the maritime sector,” said Chye Poh Chua, Managing Partner at Shipsfocus Ventures. “Sidhant and his team prioritize practical deployment over lab demos, iterating in real-world conditions. Execution is their true moat, and we led this round because they are building the infrastructure for the next era of maritime work.”

Clear Robotics’ approach sits at the intersection of maritime decarbonization, robotics, AI, and infrastructure modernization. As ports and coastal economies look for ways to reduce emissions, improve safety, and automate repetitive or hazardous marine operations, autonomous electric vessels could become a key part of the next generation of maritime infrastructure.

With fresh capital and growing commercial validation, Clear Robotics is positioning itself to scale beyond pilot deployments and build one of the largest fleets of unmanned, zero-emission vessels in the sector.

About Clear Robotics

Clear Robotics is a Singapore-headquartered maritime technology company pioneering integrated, all-electric unmanned vessel technology and autonomous retrofit solutions. The company provides autonomous, zero-emission solutions for critical infrastructure needs, including pollution recovery and marine surveillance, with AI-driven surveying technology in development. Clear Robotics was founded in 2020 by Sidhant Gupta and Utkarsh Goel.