Italy’s emerging deeptech ecosystem continues to attract investor attention as robotics innovation expands beyond land and air into maritime environments. In a move that highlights growing interest in autonomous ocean technologies, Italian startup Mirai Robotics has raised $4.2 million in a pre-seed funding round to develop intelligent robotic systems designed to operate in some of the most complex and least digitised environments on the planet.
The round, described as one of the largest pre-seed investments in Italy’s robotics and deeptech sector, was led by Primo Ventures, Techshop and 40Jemz Ventures. Several Italian and international angel investors also participated. The funding will support the development of autonomous maritime systems designed to improve safety, monitoring and operational efficiency across ocean infrastructure.
Addressing challenges in the maritime domain
The global maritime environment is a critical backbone of the modern economy. More than 80 percent of global trade moves by sea, while over 90 percent of Europe’s foreign trade depends on maritime routes. At the same time, roughly 95 percent of international internet traffic travels through subsea cables that lie beneath the ocean floor.
Despite its importance, the maritime sector remains one of the least digitised industrial domains. Operations at sea are often expensive and difficult to monitor continuously, and they expose personnel to significant risks. Maritime operations also depend heavily on human operators who manage navigation, monitoring and safety tasks in challenging environments.
Another structural issue facing the sector is a growing shortage of qualified professionals. Thousands of operational roles remain unfilled while the average age of ship captains and maritime operators continues to rise. As maritime infrastructure expands and operational demands increase, a fully human driven system is becoming harder to sustain.
Mirai Robotics aims to address these challenges by building autonomous robotic systems that can operate continuously in maritime environments. By combining robotics, advanced sensing technologies and artificial intelligence, the company aims to improve maritime monitoring while reducing operational costs and risk exposure.
Building autonomous maritime systems
Mirai Robotics focuses on developing a robotic infrastructure capable of persistent surveillance, patrolling and monitoring of coastal and offshore environments. The company integrates autonomous vehicles with artificial intelligence powered perception systems and navigation technologies designed to operate in demanding maritime conditions.
The company’s approach treats autonomy primarily as an engineering and industrial challenge rather than purely a software problem. Its systems combine robotics hardware, advanced sensors, navigation algorithms and remote control capabilities to create vehicles capable of operating independently or as part of coordinated distributed networks.
From a product perspective, Mirai Robotics has already developed two autonomous vehicles tailored for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as maritime patrolling operations. These systems are designed to function in coastal areas and offshore environments where persistent monitoring is required.
The vehicles incorporate advanced perception technologies, autonomous navigation and safety features that allow them to operate either as standalone platforms or as coordinated systems working together across larger maritime areas.
Supporting existing maritime fleets
In addition to building its own robotic platforms, Mirai Robotics is also developing autonomy and navigation technologies that can be integrated into third party vehicles. This approach allows industrial operators and government institutions to adopt autonomous capabilities without fully redesigning their existing fleets.
The company describes this strategy as a dual use approach designed to support both civil and institutional applications. Autonomous maritime systems could potentially be used for activities such as infrastructure monitoring, environmental observation, security patrols and offshore asset inspection.
Founding team and industrial background
Mirai Robotics was founded by Luciano Belviso, Luca Mascaro and Davide Dattoli, entrepreneurs with experience across aerospace, digital innovation and technology ecosystems.
Chief executive Luciano Belviso previously led Blackshape, an aircraft design and manufacturing company later acquired by Angel Holding. Chief Product and Technology Officer Luca Mascaro founded digital design company Sketchin, which was later acquired by the BIP Group where he served as Chief Innovation Officer. Davide Dattoli is the founder of Talent Garden and an investor active in Europe’s technology and education ecosystem.
The company draws inspiration from Italy’s long standing leadership in maritime engineering and shipbuilding while combining this industrial heritage with advances in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Expanding development and pilot projects
Mirai Robotics plans to use the newly raised capital to accelerate its technology development and expand its engineering team. The company also intends to launch pilot programmes with industrial and institutional partners to test its systems in real world maritime environments.
As global maritime infrastructure continues to expand, the company believes autonomous robotic systems will become an essential layer enabling safer, more efficient and more observable operations across the world’s oceans.