Harbor Lab funding news – Greece-based Harbor Lab Secures €14.7 Million in Series A Round Funding

The financing follows a €6.1 million seed round and brings the total funding for the Greek business to about $22.5 million. Participating investors include Endeavour Catalyst and maritime VC TMV, in addition to current investors Notion Capital, Venture Friends, SpeedInvest, and The Dock. Ben Blume, a partner at Atomico, will join the board.

The shipping industry has a long-standing bottleneck at its core: a collection of antiquated, primarily manual accounting techniques that many shipping companies continue to use to manage the intricate web of costs resulting from their vessel's port calls. These costs are the second-largest expense for commercial vessels after fuel, amounting to almost $2.2 million annually per vessel.

This results in inefficiencies, increased operating expenses, and a high frequency of disagreements and payment delays. Cargo transportation is becoming more complex, risky, and unpredictable due to new environmental regulations and growing geopolitical conflicts.

Read also - AimHi Earth funding news – Climate and Sustainability Training Provider AimHi Earth secures £1Million in Funding

Shipping businesses find it challenging to estimate port costs and forecast the cost of the next journey due to the lack of uniformity and openness among ports globally.

Because every "terminal" and "berth" in the port has its own pricing policy and disbursements are subject to frequent fluctuations affected by local politics and economics, fluctuations in currency and exchange rates, and the state of the global economy, expenses for the same vessel in the same port can vary significantly.

Harbour Lab streamlines the way shipping firms manage these port-related expenses, allowing one person to manage payments for up to 50 boats—a substantial increase over the prior ratio of one to six vessels.

Furthermore, the technology reduces the margin of error from 20% to just 3% each port call by cross-referencing port call expenditures with real-time official port tariffs from worldwide port authorities. This helps to prevent invoicing mistakes and overpayments. Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification is one of the helpful services that Harbour Lab provides, improving security and compliance in their dealings with local agents.

Harbor Lab founder Antonis Malaxianakis said, “By demystifying disbursement accounting, we’re not just streamlining operations; we’re fostering a culture of trust and innovation across the maritime ecosystem,”.

Atomico partner Ben Blume added: “Harbor Lab’s platform gives peace of mind to shipping companies by enabling them to run critical parts of their operations in a more seamless, transparent and efficient way. It is already helping businesses around the world – including shipping giants Great Eastern Shipping and Oldendorff – and has significant opportunity to expand globally.”

Harbour Lab has strategically partnered with other maritime pioneers Veson Nautical & 90POE to provide clients a cohesive, cohesive solution. With the help of this cash, Harbour Lab will be able to expand its workforce, which now numbers 70, and invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to further improve its services.

About Harbor Lab

An independent marine technology business called Harbour Lab provides a reliable, end-to-end platform for disbursements analysis. A good solution that can be tailored to the demands of the customer and is effectively controlling port charges, providing accurate and timely estimates, guaranteeing the trustworthy confirmation of real costs, enabling prompt payments, and streamlining the claims procedure.