Insider Brief:
- Neptune Robotics announced it is investing $12 million in a new Singapore facility to scale its AI-powered robotic hull cleaning systems and expand manufacturing and R&D capabilities.
- The company said its systems target biofouling, which can increase fuel consumption by up to 30%, as operators look to reduce emissions and improve efficiency across maritime operations.
- Neptune Robotics said the expansion will increase cleaning capacity by 400% by 2026 and support up to 60 daily hull cleanings by 2027, following a $52 million Series B led by Granite Asia.
Neptune Robotics announced it is investing $12 million for new Singapore facility to scale its AI-powered robotic hull cleaning systems. Neptune Robotics said its systems can reduce emissions linked to biofouling, which can increase fuel consumption by up to 30%, while enabling continuous, automated operations in complex maritime environments.
“Our investment in Singapore is a strategic milestone that will enhance our service provision to clients and position us to meet their current and future needs,” co-founer and CEO Elizabeth Chan, Co-Founder said in the announcement. “With operators facing mounting fuel cost and emissions pressures, we’re scaling autonomous hull cleaning to help mitigate these issues and empower our clients to run more sustainable shipping operations.”
The company said the new facility will boost local autonomous cleaning capacity by 400% by the end of 2026 and support operations of up to 60 hull cleanings per day by 2027, as it expands across a network of 61 ports in Singapore and China.
The move follows a $52 million Series B round led by Granite Asia in September 2025 and is aimed at increasing capacity and advancing its computer vision and machine learning capabilities.
Image credit: Neptune Robotics
