Sydney, Australia – [Nov 2025] – Australian ocean robotics company Hullbot has raised
AUD $16 million in Series A round led by Regeneration.VC, with participation from
Katapult Ocean, Climate Tech Partners, Folklore Ventures, Trinity Ventures, Rypples,
NewSouth Innovations, Artesian, and Impact Ventures/Ocean Impact Collective to
grow production capacity, evolve larger robotic systems, and establish more
international service hubs.
Hullbot has been awarded the Australian Good Design Award of the Year—the nation’s
highest design honour—beating global giants such as Tesla, Hyundai, and Polestar. In
addition to the top award, Hullbot secured Gold and Best in Class Awards for
Commercial & Industrial Product Design, underscoring its industry-leading innovation,
scalability, and environmental impact.
Founded in Sydney, Hullbot designs, builds, and deploys autonomous underwater
robots that proactively clean and inspect ship hulls. By enabling frequent cleaning,
Hullbot delivers proven fuel savings on average 15% and up to 26%. This helps fleets
cut operational costs while preventing pollution and reducing emissions. Hullbot’s
service has cleaned over 82 vessels across the US, EU, and APAC.
“We are committed to showing how Australian innovation can take on one of the
world’s hardest-to-abate sectors.” Tom Loefler, Cofounder and CEO of Hullbot.
“Hullbot sits at the intersection of shipping efficiency, decarbonisation, and ocean
health. This raise allows us to take that impact to the next level.”
Shipping accounts for around 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year, and even a
thin layer of biofouling (marine organisms on vessel hulls) on a ship’s hull can drive fuel
overconsumption by more than 20%.
“Tom Loefler struck us as someone uniquely placed to address this unsolved problem,
alongside the highly technical team he has assembled. Folklore is proud to partner with
Tom and the Hullbot team, as they continue to see strong traction with major marine
customers globally.” Alister Coleman, Partner at Folklore Ventures.
“I’m blown away by this team of mariners, roboticists, and software engineers,”
shared Regeneration.VC Principal, Destana Herring. “This is ingenious technology
ripe with commercial proof at a critical inflection point for international maritime.
We see a validated multibillion-dollar opportunity to decarbonise world-leading
fleets.”
Hullbot has already completed over 1000 cleans globally, across ferry, commercial
shipping and fishing operations. Customers include Sydney’s own Sydney Ferries.
Currently, Hullbot has established operations in the US, Mexico, Europe, Singapore
and local markets.
“Hullbot has a unique value proposition which leverages the strengths of their robotics
with a laser focus on their customer’s problem,” General Partner Katapult Ocean, Ross
Brooks.
With demand for proactive hull cleaning rapidly increasing, Hullbot is now entering a
major growth phase. The company plans to use the proceeds of this financial growth
to scale manufacturing, strengthen its global service network, and expand its
next-generation robotic systems to accommodate larger vessel classes, positioning
Hullbot as a key player in shipping’s decarbonisation transition.
