The ocean covers more than 70 percent of Earth and yet more than 80 percent of it remains unexplored. This data gap can limit scientists’ ability to accurately forecast ocean processes, surface weather, climate dynamics and more. In a rapidly warming world, this lack of information also represents a very real threat. San Francisco-based company Sofar Ocean is collecting data on our oceans to help bridge that gap and the company just received a fresh investment to help.
Sofar announced Monday that it raised $39 million in a Series B co-led by Union Square Ventures and the Foundry Group. The wave of fresh financing will support the company as it continues to scale and expand its international market reach.
Sofar collects ocean data via its IoT-enabled “Spotter” buoys. The buoys collect a wide range of information and can be used to track metrics like wave size, wind, barometric pressure, water temperature and currents. Scientists on the Sofar platform can then access this data to monitor rising sea levels or determine the ideal location for a clean energy site, for example. Sofar has distributed thousands of buoys across each one of the big five oceans — the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern.
“Unlike other companies, our focus is on scale. If we want to get meaningfully better at predicting the future state of weather and climate over our oceans, then data density is critical,” Tim Janssen, founder and CEO of Sofar, said to Built In. “A single data sensor platform, no matter how accurate and complete it is, won’t make a difference on a planetary scale. We’re generally much better off if we have thousands of noisier measurements, than one ‘exquisite’ data point.”
All told, the sensor buoys have racked up more than five million hours on the water and deliver more than 100,000 ocean data points everyday, according to the company.
“Oceans drive our weather and climate, which impacts everyone: every human, every industry, and every country,” Janssen continued. “Large-scale global ocean intelligence means a more sustainable future for humanity.”
Today, more than 200 scientists from Japan, France, Australia, Ireland and the United States use Sofar as their go-to source for ocean data. In addition to scientists, more than a dozen global shipping carriers and government agencies have also signed on to the platform.
“Given that the oceans cover 70 percent of our planet, we still have much more ground, or rather, water, to cover here,” Janssen said.
Following the latest raise, Sofar plans to further product development and expand its global team. For now, the company is hiring for a dozen in-person and remote tech roles at its San Francisco office. Available roles span the company’s engineering, product and sales teams, to name a few.
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