Mirai Robotics lands $4.2M for maritime autonomy

Mirai Robotics, a European startup focused on AI and robotics for maritime operations, has secured $4.2 million in pre-seed funding. The investment will accelerate the development of autonomous systems designed to enhance safety, efficiency, and observability across the world's oceans.

The maritime sector, critical for global trade and connectivity, remains a largely undigitized domain plagued by high costs, limited visibility, and a growing shortage of skilled personnel. Mirai Robotics aims to provide the robotic infrastructure to address these challenges, making seas more governable and safe.

The company's systems are engineered for persistent surveillance, patrolling, and monitoring, reducing human risk and operational expenses. Mirai Robotics emphasizes a deep integration of autonomous vehicles, advanced sensing, and AI, treating autonomy as an industrial engineering challenge.

Mirai Robotics has already developed two autonomous vehicles for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and patrolling tasks in coastal and offshore settings. These vehicles feature advanced perception, autonomous navigation, and remote control capabilities, capable of operating individually or as part of a distributed network.

Beyond proprietary hardware, Mirai Robotics also offers autonomy, navigation, and control solutions for integration into third-party vessels. This approach allows existing fleets to adopt autonomous technologies without extensive redesign, aligning with a dual-use by design philosophy.

Founded deliberately in Italy, a nation with a strong heritage in shipbuilding and maritime engineering, Mirai Robotics leverages this industrial base alongside cutting-edge robotics and AI. The company positions itself as an AI robotics lab dedicated to developing physical autonomy for extreme, mission-critical environments.

The founding team includes CEO Luciano Belviso, formerly of aircraft manufacturer Blackshape; Luca Mascaro, founder of digital product studio Sketchin; and Davide Dattoli, founder of Talent Garden. They have assembled a pan-European team with expertise in AI, robotics, and complex systems.

The $4.2 million pre-seed round, one of Italy's largest in deep-tech robotics, was led by Primo Capital, Techshop, and 40Jemz Ventures, with participation from angel investors. This Mirai Robotics funding will support technology development, team expansion, and pilot projects.

"Autonomy is the key to finally making the oceans safe and usable, unlocking enormous resources and addressing critical security challenges," stated CEO Luciano Belviso. "This is a technological and industrial challenge that requires a true robotics-lab approach."

Gianluca Dettori, Partner at Primo Capital, noted the maritime domain's inflection point, citing operational model obsolescence and a critical human capital gap. "What Mirai Robotics is building isn't just automation; it's the fundamental infrastructure layer that will allow the blue economy to scale safely and efficiently," he said. This investment underscores the growing demand for solutions that blend advanced AI with robust engineering for challenging environments, similar to the focus seen in companies developing AI defence solutions and the broader push for autonomous maritime systems.