The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies ACUA Ocean: 1 model, 2 deployments across 2 regions, $7.1M raised. 3 sources back the record.
CategoryMaritime
Overview
ACUA Ocean is a Plymouth, UK-based maritime cleantech company developing hydrogen-powered uncrewed surface vessels (H-USVs) for open ocean monitoring and data collection. Founded in 2020 by brothers Neil and Mike Tinmouth, the company's Pioneer-class H-USV became the first remotely operated hydrogen-powered vessel certified under the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Workboat Code Edition 3. ACUA Ocean's vessels serve defence, offshore energy, and marine conservation sectors with up to 40 days of endurance on hydrogen-electric power.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
Company-claimedPriced roundGrant post-money
Key facts
Product
Milestone
CFO
Key investor
Certification
Pioneer uncrewed surface vessel
Modular payload integration
Data & sources
Web sources
3
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company ACUA Ocean has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1HII1× joint
- 2Robosys Automation1× joint
- 3Serco1× joint
Most recent
- HII x ACUA Ocean USV2026-06-15with HIIjust announced
- ACUA Ocean x Serco (Uncrewed Maritime)2025-09-09with Sercojust announced
- ACUA Ocean x Robosys Automation2024-12-19with Robosys Automationoperating
ACUA Ocean on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 2 regions, newest verified Dec 2024. Explore where ACUA Ocean's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full ACUA Ocean deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (3)
- Neil Tinmouth Founder & CEOsecondary-verified
- Mike Tinmouth Founder & COOsecondary-verified
- Oli Mulcahy MBE CTOsecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Mike Tinmouthcofounderno longer at company
- Puneet Chhabracofounderno longer at company
Former / Previously (1)
- Puneet Chhabra Co-foundersecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for ACUA Ocean.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- ACUA Ocean2 deployments
Recent coverage
ACUA Ocean in third-party press
Peers
8 peers across 1 segment. Every ACUA Ocean competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
usv(8)
2 companies in this segment · highly_concentrated (HHI 5766.949001814165) · leader Kraken Technology Group at 6958%
- Babcock Internationaldirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Havocdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Kraken Technology Groupdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Rekise Marinedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Saronic Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Ulyssesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $7.1M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
3 total · 1 operating · 2 just announced
Every company ACUA Ocean has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- HII x ACUA Ocean USV2026-06-15with HIIjust announced
- ACUA Ocean x Serco (Uncrewed Maritime)2025-09-09with Sercojust announced
- ACUA Ocean x Robosys Automation2024-12-19with Robosys Automationoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1HII1× joint
- 2Robosys Automation1× joint
- 3Serco1× joint
All 3 partnerships
open in the atlas →- HII x ACUA Ocean USVwithHIItechnology2026-06-15just announced
- ACUA Ocean x Robosys AutomationwithRobosys Automationtechnology2024-12-19operating
- deployment2025-09-09announcedjust announced
Funding rounds (2)
ACUA Ocean’s 2 disclosed rounds, $7M in total, oldest to newest.
- Grant2024-12-10
$5M(reported) · $25M post
Investors: DEFRA (lead), Department for Transport (co_lead)
- Pre-Seed2023-01-01
$2M(reported) · $6M post
Investors: StealthPoint, Britbots
Timeline
Every recorded move in ACUA Ocean’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipHII x ACUA Ocean USV
2026-06-15HII executives toured Breaux Bridge and unveiled a new autonomous unmanned surface vessel (USV) developed in partnership with ACUA Ocean, expanding HII's unmanned maritime capabilities.
PartnershipACUA Ocean x Serco (Uncrewed Maritime)
2025-09-09Serco and ACUA Ocean signed an MoU at DSEI UK to collaborate on end-to-end uncrewed vessel operations and data service provision for defence and offshore sectors.
PartnershipACUA Ocean x Robosys Automation
2024-12-19ACUA Ocean signed a commercial contract to integrate Robosys Automation's Voyager AI vessel control systems with its hydrogen-powered H-USV. The integration provides autonomous navigation, collision avoidance, and remote control capabilities for the Pioneer-class USV.
Funding roundGrant funding round
2024-12-10Grant raising $5060000
Funding roundPre-Seed funding round
2023-01-01Pre-Seed raising $2000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 6, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedDec 1, 2024
Pioneer-class H-USV at Plymouth, United Kingdom
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2023
Pioneer-class H-USV at Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Sources (3)
Common questions
What is ACUA Ocean?
What does ACUA Ocean make?
Is ACUA Ocean publicly traded?
Who competes with ACUA Ocean?
Who is the CEO of ACUA Ocean?
How can I invest in ACUA Ocean?
Where is ACUA Ocean headquartered?
How much funding has ACUA Ocean raised?
Who owns ACUA Ocean?
Where does ACUA Ocean operate robots?
How many robots has ACUA Ocean deployed?
Is ACUA Ocean a top robotics company?
Is ACUA Ocean safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-09-29
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-09-29
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for ACUA Ocean.Peer companies
- Saildrone4 models
- Saronic Technologies4 models
- BAE Systems3 models
- Kongsberg Maritime3 models
- Rekise Marine3 models
- L3Harris2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning ACUA Ocean from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
ACUA Ocean, Forssea Robotics Conduct ROV–USV Integration
ACUA Ocean, a provider of uncrewed surface vessel (USV) technology for maritime defense and offshore energy applications, and Forssea Robotics, a developer of remotely operated…
ACUA, Forssea Complete Remote ROV-USV Trials
ACUA Ocean and Forssea Robotics have completed trials combining an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for fully remote subsea inspection and…
ACUA Ocean, Teledyne FLIR Defense Complete UAS, USV Demos
ACUA Ocean and Teledyne FLIR Defense have successfully completed two days of demonstrations to the UK MOD and offshore industry partners, having been awarded funding by UK Defence…
ACUA Ocean Hydrogen-Powered USV Completes 24-Hour Sea Trial
ACUA Ocean's Pioneer USV completes world's first continuous, remote 24-hour offshore operation on zero emissions, powered by hydrogen-electric systems.
ACUA Ocean and Robosys Automation Make Waves: Global Partnership to Integrate Voyager AI Systems with ACUA's Hydrogen-Powered USV
ACUA Ocean signs commercial contract with Robosys Automation to integrate Voyager AI vessel control systems with its hydrogen-powered H-USV platform.
USV Developer Closes New Funding Round
ACUA Ocean closes £1.5M Pre-Seed round co-led by StealthPoint and Britbots, plus £4M in UK government grants for hydrogen-powered USV development.
USV developer secures £5.5M funding prior to sea trials
ACUA Ocean co-founders Mike and Neil Tinmouth secure £5.5M to develop and test the Pioneer USV, including £1.5M Pre-Seed investment and £4M in government grants.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/acua-ocean.md
- RSS feed: /companies/acua-ocean/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/e0dd3cde-6bec-4264-b181-71b07068e36c
- Revision history: /companies/acua-ocean/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Saildrone4 models
- Saronic Technologies4 models
- BAE Systems3 models
- Kongsberg Maritime3 models
- Rekise Marine3 models
- L3Harris2 models
Video
ACUA Ocean: Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition winner, funded by Department for Transport delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. SUBSCRIBE: to the In
The two-story facility features a high-bay staging area with a 4500-cubic-foot freshwater tank and a 10-ton crane. Stay in the know with WPRI 12 News. Local ne
Lloyd’s Register (LR) has issued the UK’s first certification for a remotely operated and unmanned vessel (ROUV) under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA
Open Ocean Robotics, a Chamber member based in Greater Victoria, does fascinating ocean research and data collection. Their equipment monitors seismic activity,
Autonomy and the future of rapid force augmentation Whether it is the workplace or the battlefield; enhanced risks, a shrinking talent pool and increased cost
In this conversation, Mike Tinmouth, COO and co-founder of Acua Ocean, discusses the innovative approaches to ocean monitoring and robotics. He explains the cha
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
ACUA Ocean draws attention at the 50th percentile but verifies reality at the 57th percentile among maritime_surface robots. Hype Gap -6.8, 12th widest among maritime_surface robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 4, 2026