Gothenburg-based startup Cetasol has closed a €2.3 million seed funding round, led by BackingMinds and Shift4Good, with participation from existing investor Sarsia. The company develops iHelm, an AI-driven decision support platform aimed at helping small- and mid-sized vessels optimize fuel use and reduce emissions. The new funding will be used to expand commercial operations, grow its presence in key maritime markets, and continue developing its AI and digital twin technology for operational insights, predictive maintenance, and performance tracking.
Cetasol develops AI-driven decision support solutions for the maritime industry. Its platform, iHelm, uses real-time vessel data and digital twin technology to provide operational insights, fuel optimization, and predictive maintenance for small- and mid-sized vessels. The company focuses on enabling more efficient and sustainable maritime operations through data-driven tools and analytics.
“This investment confirms that our approach to AI-driven decision support and maritime sustainability is both needed and trusted. With this support, we are scaling faster and wider — delivering intelligent solutions to maritime operations globally,” says Ethan Faghani, CEO and Founder of Cetasol.
Shipping is responsible for about 3% of global CO₂ emissions. While innovation and investment have largely focused on electrification and large vessels, small and mid-sized vessels, which make up nearly 90% of the global fleet, offer the fastest and most scalable path to significant climate impact.
This is where fuel optimization, driven by real vessel data, comes in. By leveraging both real-time and historical data, operators can make informed decisions to optimize performance and reduce costs and GHG emissions. That is why Cetasol developed iHelm — to reduce emissions from today’s vessels using real operational data.
Cetasol’s core solution is iHelm — a decision support solution for individual vessels and the entire fleet. iHelm helps save fuel, track vessel performance, stay compliant, and maximise uptime – with real-time decision support and data-driven insights.
The system continuously gathers data directly from the vessel and through Cetasol’s digital twin technology of vessel and engine, enabling real-time recommendations to the captain via edge computing. All operational data is also transmitted to a cloud-based dashboard, giving fleet managers and business owners access to both real-time and historical performance metrics, AI-driven decision support and predictive maintenance capabilities.
“Cetasol is tackling one of the maritime industry’s biggest blind spots. While most solutions target the largest vessels, nearly 90% of the global fleet consists of small- and medium-sized ships that are underserved and often lack access to affordable optimization tools. By combining edge computing with AI-driven analytics, it addresses critical challenges such as fuel optimization, real-time decision support, and emissions tracking. We are proud to back Cetasol’s talented team, led by Ethan, and to support their journey as they scale globally,” comments Niclas Wijkström, CFO & Investment Director at BackingMinds.
“Cetasol has developed a solution that delivers measurable impact and ROI from day one — it’s already proven, easy to deploy across a wide range of vessels, and highly relevant for fleet managers. What’s more, the platform lays the groundwork for the future of optimized maritime operations through predictive maintenance — a domain we already know well from our investments in road mobility. We see strong complementarity, both in terms of expertise and market presence, especially in Southeast Asia where we’re very active. We’ve also been impressed by Ethan’s deep domain knowledge, bold vision, and relentless drive,” states Matthieu de Chanville, Managing Partner at Shift4Good.
”Cetasol has continued to strengthen its AI-driven fuel saving solution over the last year, and is now the clear No.1 provider in the mid-size vessel market. There is a lot of opportunities and a lot of fuel to save. Over the last year the customer base has been growing fast, and Sarsia strongly believes in the team and are happy to continue to support the journey,“ says Jon-Kåre Hansen, Partner at Sarsia.
With this new investment, Cetasol will focus on scaling the business and strengthening its commercial operations. The company aims to expand its presence in key maritime markets, deepen customer relationships, and further develop its partner network. A central goal is to accelerate the adoption of iHelm across a broader range of vessel types and geographies, ensuring measurable impact on energy efficiency and GHG emissions reduction. Cetasol will also continue to invest in product development, enhancing its intelligent platform to meet the evolving needs of the maritime industry and support more data-driven and sustainable operations globally.
Click to read more funding news.
Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/cetasol-raises-e2-3-million-seed/
