sources : https://www.sofarocean.com/

Despite covering over 70% of Earth’s surface, the world’s oceans remain vastly under-observed. Traditional marine weather systems are fragmented, expensive to maintain, and often fail to deliver the real-time, high-resolution data needed for modern maritime operations. This data gap leads to inefficiencies, increased fuel costs, avoidable carbon emissions, and compromised safety for vessels and coastal communities alike.

Sofar Ocean is a San Francisco based private company, founded in 2016. It operates the world’s largest privately owned network of real-time ocean sensors, delivering highly accurate marine weather intelligence to industries, governments, and researchers. Sofar Ocean addresses these challenges through a unique combination of ocean hardware and intelligent software. Its mission to “connect the world’s oceans to power a more sustainable future” is realized through its global Spotter buoy network and advanced modeling tools. These buoys collect real-time ocean data, including wave, wind, current, temperature, and acoustic signals, and feed it directly into proprietary forecasting models that power maritime decision-making and operational efficiency.

Sofar Ocean was founded by Tim Janssen, PhD (Co-Founder & CEO) and Evan Shapiro (Co-Founder & CTO). The company emerged in 2019 from a merger of Spoondrift (ocean wave sensors) and OpenROV (underwater drones), combining strengths in oceanography, engineering, and robotics.

sources : https://www.sofarocean.com/

Spotter Platform

• A modular buoy system that records real time ocean parameters (waves, currents, temperature, wind, acoustic signals) and streams data via satellite.
• Extensible with specialized modules: Spotter Sound (underwater acoustics), Spotter Water Quality, Water Level, and Temperature.

Wayfinder

• A voyage optimization software built on Spotter data and proprietary vessel performance models. It enables shipping operators to plot fuel-efficient routes, reducing emissions and operating costs.

Sofar’s early funding rounds were led by prominent venture capital firms, including Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, and True Ventures, alongside investors like In-Q-Tel, Ocean 14 Capital, Oceankind, and S2G Investments. These firms are primarily U.S. based but operate globally. In its Series B round in November 2021, Sofar raised approximately US $39 million. Sofar has had five total funding rounds, with the most recent undisclosed round closed on January 9, 2025, raising US $22.3 million. The cumulative total approaches roughly US $61 million to date.

In Q1 2025, Sofar Ocean’s Wayfinder voyage optimization software demonstrated significant operational benefits, delivering average fuel savings of approximately 5% on iron-ore shipping routes, specifically along the Baltic Dry Index C5 and C14 corridors. These efficiency gains also translated into up to 14 additional sailing days per vessel annually. Beyond commercial shipping, other customers have seen notable advantages from Sofar’s technology. The Brazilian Navy adopted Spotter buoys for operations in high-latitude regions with limited sunlight, leveraging real-time wave, temperature, and satellite-linked pressure data to enhance situational awareness. Similarly, a national meteorological institute in Eastern Europe deployed Spotter buoys for offshore wave monitoring as part of the MASRI project, citing the platform’s affordability, ease of deployment, and high-quality data as key strengths.

Sofar Ocean stands at the forefront of marine weather intelligence, leveraging its rapidly expanding global buoy network and software stack to advance climate resilience and maritime efficiency. With real-world results like measurable fuel savings and enhanced forecasting accuracy they are helping to decarbonize shipping, support ocean science, and improve safety at sea.

Reference

Sofar Ocean. (2025). Spotter Platform – Product Overview. https://www.sofarocean.com/products/spotter 

Xylem. (2025). Sofar Spotter Data Sheet. https://www.xylem.com/siteassets/brand/xylem/sofar-spotter/sofar-spotter-data-sheet.pdf 

Blue Oasis. (2024). Spotter Spec Sheet. https://blueoasis.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spotter-spec-sheet.pdf 

Sofar Ocean. (2025). Spotter Platform Spec Sheets – April 2025. https://5311899.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5311899/Spec%20Sheets%20April%202025/Spotter%20Platform%20Spec%20Sheets_20250407.pdf 

Sofar Ocean. (2021). Spotter User Guide. https://content.sofarocean.com/hubfs/Spotter%20product%20documentation%20page/Spotter%20User%20Guide%2005_11_21.pdf 

Contributor : Dyah Ayuning Tyas

Reviewer : Imam Buchari, David Ratner