Berlin-based maritime tech company Lazzaro One has raised six-figure pre-seed funding from B#, the pre-seed fund managed by IBB Ventures. The funding will be used to develop HUAX, its maritime intelligence platform that seeks to identify shipping risks, monitor suspicious vessel activity and provide more precise insights into maritime operations.

Arsenio Longo’s Lazzaro One is developing a combined approach of mathematical modelling and behavioural psychology analysis. The former has been worked out with the contribution of co-founder Maria Grazia Del Prete. HUAX is not about simply gathering and analyzing ever-increasing volumes of shipping data. Instead, HUAX seeks to provide targeted intelligence that helps users understand the strategic implications of the way vessels move and behave.

One of the platform’s key priorities is to identify so-called shadow fleets – vessels that manipulate tracking systems and other technical signals to conceal their activities and evade sanctions. HUAX looks at technical anomalies and anomalous behaviors to expose suspicious patterns that may be hard for traditional monitoring systems to understand.

The technology is aimed at several segments of the maritime industry. Its intelligence capabilities could be used by security authorities, shipping companies and insurers to better assess and prevent risk. Its route analysis, including forecasts for maritime routes and sea conditions, is also valuable for commercial operators.

"Many systems can recognize unusual vessel behavior. “But only HUAX can explain clearly why,” said Longo, highlighting the company’s ambition to go beyond anomaly detection and offer explanations to support operational and strategic decisions.

Global attention on analysis of Hormuz Strait

One of the world's most strategically important shipping corridors, the Strait of Hormuz, has already been the subject of international recognition for its maritime route analysis by Lazzaro One.

The company’s work in the region has been profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and later cited in other media coverage. This exposure has helped to raise awareness of the potential of its intelligence technology to monitor complex and sensitive maritime domains.

Berlin and Naples to boost maritime intelligence capabilities

The new funding will allow Lazzaro One to grow its development team in Berlin and open a dedicated Maritime Intelligence Desk in Naples.

The operation in Naples should increase the company's monitoring capabilities in the Mediterranean, complementing its technology development activities in the German capital.

For IBB Ventures the investment is also part of a wider effort to reinforce European technological sovereignty. Enhancing maritime security and reducing reliance on external intelligence solutions is an important capability for independent vessel monitoring in the EU waters.

Platform development will go hand in hand with geographical expansion, with Lazzaro One looking to grow its presence in three key markets: commercial shipping, marine insurance and defense.

The investment is thus both a funding milestone for the young Berlin company and a step toward expanding Europe’s independent maritime-intelligence capabilities.