Tanker pool manager Signal is taking a stake in the German venture capital fund Flagship Founders and will contribute data and APIs from its Signal Ocean platform to help accelerate new venture development
The partnership includes investment of €2.5M (US$2.8M) and complements the €3.5M (US$3.8M) funding round Flagship Founders closed earlier this year.
Athens, London and Singapore-based Signal runs commercial tanker pools, has developed an AI software platform and provides investment to early-stage ventures.
Its venture building and investment arm Signal Ventures has to date supported 15 start-ups in the shipping, supply chain and commodities space. AI analytics firm OilX, Signal’s first start-up incubated through its venture studio, was sold to Energy Aspects in January this year.
Berlin-based Flagship Founders is a leading European venture focusing on maritime technologies, logistics and shipping. Flagship has produced four successful start-ups since it was founded three years ago. Most recently, its venture zero44 announced a financing round with participation from Atlantic Labs.
“We are very excited about the partnership. Flagship Founders and Signal share the same view of the maritime economy and the success factors for building technology start-ups,” explained Flagship Founders co-founder and managing director Fabian Feldhaus.
Signal and Flagship Founders are combining their respective strengths. Signal Ocean’s data platform will play an important role in the development and scaling of ideas. The companies also expect the partnership to provide mutual support in the areas of regional network access, sector-specific expertise and talent acquisition.
Mr Feldhaus said, “We also complement each other perfectly: Signal is one of the most innovative maritime technology players and covers the whole spectrum from commercial and operational to VC investment and corporate venture building. Whereas we bring a start-up background, have proven our skills in building scalable business models with clear customer benefits, and are very well-connected in Germany. In combination, this results in a big win for both sides."
Signa vice president of ventures Nikolas Pyrgiotis added, “The maritime ecosystem is global, but start-up ecosystems are mostly local and tend to operate in silos. Coalitions like this are important to gain access to new investment opportunities and complement expertise and network reach. We believe the shipping and technology depth of Signal coupled with data from The Signal Ocean Platform will accelerate the development of Flagship Founders’ ventures and together we will advance venture building for maritime technology start-ups worldwide."
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