Zeaborn Group is poised to invest in digital maritime start-ups.
The German shipping group has emerged as a partner in TecPier, a Hamburg company that has identified around 150 potential investment targets.
Zeaborn will provide shipping know-how, while Cologne-based BitStone Capital will inject venture capital during the pre-seed and seed phases.
“TecPier will be one of the first pure maritime early-stage investors,” said Johannes Winkler, who founded TecPier after a career with MOL and Rickmers Reederei.
He said shipping is still far behind the finance and property sectors in terms of digitalisation. “That’s why we don’t want to just give capital. We want to give smart money.”
The amount to be invested in the first year has not been specified, but it appears to be limited in the initial months. “We think today it’s a bit too early to build up a proper venture capital fund only for maritime,” Winkler said.
