In a move that signals a new era in maritime operations and insurance, Ceto, a data-driven technology platform transforming how commercial shipping is insured and managed, has raised $4.8 million in a funding round. The round was led by Dynamo Ventures, with participation from Howden Ventures, Signal Ventures, and Motion Ventures.
With this fresh capital, Ceto plans to accelerate its global footprint, expanding both its product and team, including engineering, operations, and sales. The company is focusing on onboarding more international fleets, building new data capabilities, and enhancing the predictive AI powering its tools.
The idea behind Ceto
Ceto was founded in 2020 by Tony Hildrew in the UK after identifying a clear gap in the maritime industry: while commercial ships generate vast amounts of data, much of it remains unused or siloed. He recognised that by capturing and analysing high-frequency data, they could unlock powerful insights to reduce risk, prevent machinery failures, and improve sustainability. Drawing on backgrounds in shipping, insurance, and data science, he set out to build a connected platform that could make maritime operations smarter and more efficient. Ceto emerged as a solution to bridge the disconnect between ship performance and insurance, creating a new standard for the industry.
Smart data for safer, greener, and cheaper shipping
Ceto’s technology captures high-frequency data from commercial vessels and transforms it into actionable insights. This intelligence is delivered through a user-friendly dashboard that monitors everything from machinery health and route efficiency to fuel consumption and emissions. This data is then linked directly to insurance products, allowing better-performing ships to receive lower premiums and more favorable coverage.
Ceto’s platform is already in use across a wide range of shipping fleets, including a major Japanese shipping operator, a mid-sized Singapore-based firm, and a UK shipowner managing a fleet of eight vessels. These fleets vary in size from a handful of ships to over 440 vessels, showcasing the platform’s scalability and broad appeal.
Products powering smarter maritime operations
Ceto’s vision is supported by three integrated tools, each designed to streamline different aspects of ship operation:
- Watchkeeper: This AI-powered solution delivers real-time monitoring of ship operations. It identifies early warning signs of machinery issues, tracks performance, and ensures safer fleet management.
- CarbonID: Focused on emissions and fuel usage, this tool helps ships comply with tightening global environmental regulations. It also enables shipping companies to cut pollution and save fuel costs, aligning operational goals with sustainability mandates.
- Connected Insurance: This is Ceto’s standout innovation—a first-of-its-kind insurance product that adjusts premiums and terms based on actual ship performance. The more efficient and reliable the ship, the more favorable the insurance terms. It’s a win-win for insurers and operators alike.
Rapid onboarding, real-time results
Unlike traditional maritime systems that can take weeks to integrate, Ceto boasts one of the fastest onboarding timelines in the industry. For companies starting from scratch, the platform can be live within 1–2 days. For those with existing data infrastructure, the company can connect their entire fleet in just 2–4 hours, an unmatched speed that allows for immediate insights and value.
This rapid deployment enables ship owners to gain operational clarity and performance tracking in near real-time, helping them stay ahead of breakdowns, avoid costly delays, and operate more efficiently.
A game-changer for maritime
The company stands at the intersection of maritime innovation, insurance, and sustainability. By leveraging ship-level data and transforming it into meaningful operational and financial insights, it is not just helping fleets run better, it’s reshaping how risk is measured and managed at sea. As shipping continues to digitise and decarbonise, Ceto is positioned to lead this transformation with its unique combination of AI, emissions tracking, and insurance integration.
In a world where smarter, greener, and safer shipping is no longer optional, Ceto is building the tech stack that makes it possible.
“For as long as humans have existed, so has our desire to sail the open water. It’s no surprise then that maritime—one of the world’s oldest industries—still relies on some outdated practices,” said Tony Hildrew, CEO and Founder of Ceto. “At Ceto, we aim to unite the power of AI with the indispensable human expertise at the heart of maritime. This kind of technology plays a critical role in identifying risk and improving decision-making, ushering in a smarter era for shipping and finance.”
“Maritime operations are the backbone of industry, with 80% of global trade by volume taking place over sea,” said Santosh Sankar, Managing Partner of Dynamo Ventures. “An industry with this much global reliance is insured using analog practices that are a hundred years old. Ceto’s quest to reshape the future of maritime insurance is not just inspirational – it’s necessary. Our world won’t move forward if our supply chain is stuck in the past, and Dynamo is excited to be supporting Ceto as they embark on this journey to improve how these assets are monitored, maintained, and insured.”
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