Eight Knot Raises JPY 450 Million in First Close of Series A Funding

Eight Knot Inc. (headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan; Representative Director: Yujin Kimura; hereinafter “Eight Knot”), a developer of vessel intelligence technologies, is pleased to announce that it has raised JPY 450 million through a third-party allotment of new shares in the first close of its Series A funding round.

The lead investors for this round are:
•  ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Inc., through Technology Ventures Ⅵ Venture Capital Investment Limited Partnership
•  Nissay Capital Co., Ltd., through Nissay Capital No. 15 Investment Limited Partnership
Additional investors include:
•  QB Capital, LLC and NCB Venture Capital Co., Ltd., through QB Fund II
•  Ikeda Senshu Capital Co., Ltd., through Kansai Innovation Network No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership
Nissay Capital is participating as a new investor in Eight Knot, while ITOCHU Technology Ventures, QB Capital / NCB Venture Capital, and Ikeda Senshu Capital are making follow-on investments after participating in previous funding rounds.

Purpose and Use of Proceeds

The primary purpose of this financing is to accelerate the productization and overseas expansion of its vessel intelligence technology, Eight Knot AI CAPTAIN.
Eight Knot has been advancing the deployment of the Eight Knot AI CAPTAIN System, an autonomous navigation system that can be retrofitted to existing vessels, while also developing the Eight Knot AI CAPTAIN Module, which enables individual functions—including vessel control, localization, real-time route generation, detection of other vessels and obstacles, and safety decision-making—to be deployed across marine equipment and vessels on a modular basis.
The newly raised funds will be used to further advance the productization and scalable deployment of Eight Knot AI CAPTAIN, including continued technology development. Eight Knot will also accelerate business development in overseas markets, particularly North America and Southeast Asia, with the aim of achieving product adoption and commercialization through partnerships with local companies.
In addition, Eight Knot will strengthen its organization and recruitment efforts, particularly for engineering and business development talent, to support the Company’s continued growth.

Recruitment Information (Japanese only)

https://herp.careers/v1/eightknot