Quartermaster is building an artificial intelligence network for the maritime fleet

Although oceans cover a vast area, it remains difficult for governments and shipping companies to accurately monitor what is happening at sea today. Many modern ships are still equipped with outdated technology. Virginia-based startup Quartermaster has developed a special system called SmartMast to solve this problem. It is a set of weather-resistant cameras and sensors mounted on a ship's mast that allows for real-time data transmission. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .

According to Quartermaster founder Neil Sobin, SmartMast is far more advanced than the current industry standard, AIS (Automatic Identification System). The AIS system is very simple and prone to fraud, as smugglers or those bypassing sanctions can easily turn it off or input false information. SmartMast, combined with an analytical platform, acts as a "hive mind" for millions of ships and prevents data falsification.

This innovative project has been highly valued by investors, and the company recently raised $43 million in a Series A funding round led by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital. Investors noted that Quartermaster has overcome the hardware cost barriers in ocean data collection, giving the system the potential to scale globally.

Currently, more than 600 ships equipped with SmartMast cover over 10 million square miles of ocean territory. The system is used not only for security and logistics but also for scientific research and maritime rescue operations. For example, more than 20 sailors have been rescued so far using this technology. The company's goal is to create a unified data infrastructure that is useful and incentivizing for all mariners.