RECENT VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING

⚓️ LURION BOATS

With no activity on social media for some time, we suspect this company may be dormant or in lean/pre-launch mode (the founders list the company as ongoing on LinkedIn).

But, they present an interesting design for an electric bass boat.

Lurion Boats presents a design named the iON 21, an all-electric model. The company positions the craft as a replacement for 250 hp gasoline rigs while removing fuel, oil, and exhaust from tournament days. The composite catamaran hull measures 23 ft 6 in and spans 8 ft 11 in at the beam, giving a 170 sq ft casting deck that supports four anglers without added platforms or pods. Dry weight sits at 2,200 lb and maximum hauling capacity reaches 1,800 lb, enough for crew, tackle, and batteries.

Planned propulsion comes from a 250 hp-equivalent electric inboard drawing from a 100 kWh lithium-ion pack. Lurion targets a 100 mph top speed and a 200 mi range in cruise mode. At limit throttle the pack sustains two hours of operation; at drift speeds the Garmin Force trolling system can fish for ten hours before recharge. Integrated helm screens feed diagnostic data, remaining range, and sonar to both consoles and the bow, tied to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for mapping and communications.

The deck hides 100 cu ft of dry storage plus twin livewells. A four-seat cockpit sits aft of a reinforced bulkhead that carries forward-facing sonar and twin power poles as standard fit. The hull draws 16 in, letting the boat work shallow timber or hydrilla flats where conventional glass rigs ground out. With a towing length of 27 ft 11 in, the iON 21 rides behind a half-ton pickup and clears standard garage doors on a low-profile trailer.

Lurion mentions the construction will use vacuum-infused carbon and E-glass around a foam core to damp vibration and boost stiffness. Ocean5 Naval Architects and Symmetrix Composites supported the structure and tooling, aiming for offshore-grade impact margins while trimming mass.

Read more on their website, here.

🌊 RECENT EV VENTURE FUNDING

ENVGO — Seed round (closed 10 Jun 2025): US $2 million raised, led by Two Small Fish Ventures with follow-on from Garage Capital and other angels. Capital will speed first NV1 hydrofoiling cruiser deliveries and launch an OEM licensing program for ENVGO’s modular electric-drive platform.

X Shore — SEK 50 million (~€4.5 m) top-up financing (11 Jun 2025): Existing and new investors supplied fresh runway so the Swedish builder can scale Eelex 8000 production and roll out the electric jet-drive X Shore PRO workboat ahead of its summer U.S. debut.

Pollentia — US $5 million Seed-plus round (opened 14–15 May 2025, in progress): Texas-based maker of 20-30 ft Ventus electric runabouts is seeking $5 m to fund tooling, first-run builds and a U.S. charging-dock network. Capital Factory and other sector VCs are evaluating the deal.

ePropulsion — 100 million CNY (≈US $15 m) Series B (Apr 2025): Round led by Shenzhen OCT Huaxin Equity Investment Management supports R&D and global rollout of the firm’s 1–9.9 kW outboards and integrated battery packs, responding to double-digit sales growth.

Investor appetite over the past quarter has concentrated on early-stage or bridge injections rather than large Series C+ bets, suggesting continued interest but greater scrutiny of capital needs.

ENVGO and X Shore framed their raises around scaling production capacity—evidence that the sector is shifting from prototype to revenue.

Government incentives (e.g., California CORE vouchers, EU emission rules) continue to underpin investor theses, even when they do not show up directly as equity rounds.

⚙️ UNMANNED SURFACE VESSELS

XOcean began in Ireland in 2017. It operates a fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) from bases in Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, Norway and Australia. The company employs more than 240 staff and maintains a virtual operations centre for global missions. Its mission is to collect ocean data in a way that is safe, scalable and low in carbon emissions.

XOcean charges clients by the data delivered rather than by time at sea. Its vessels operate offshore autonomously under pilot control via satellite. A secure cloud system known as CyberDeck enables real‑time data analytics and mission adjustments from shore.

The core USV, known as the XO‑450 or X‑16, is a 4.5 m wave‑piercing catamaran. It weighs 750 kg and carries up to 100 kg of sensors. It features two DC electric drives, differential steering and two bow thrusters to maintain position. Its hybrid power system includes a lithium‑ion battery pack, a solar‑panel deck and a micro diesel generator that provide a continuous electrical load of 3 kW.

At a cruising speed of 4 knots this USV can cross distances of up to 1 512 nmi and sustain missions for 18 days without human crew offshore. It travels over the horizon using dual redundant satellite communications and supports AIS, radar reflector, visible and thermal cameras, navigation lights and an audible sound signal. The vessel launches from trailers or shipping containers and supports mission safety via a robust sensor suite .

Its sensor payload supports multibeam echosounder, side‑scan sonar, sub‑bottom profiler, magnetometer and USBL positioning. A survey kit may include R2Sonic MBES, Innomar SBP, Applanix INS, Valeport SVP and QPS Qinsy software. In wind‑farm surveys the system used just 42 L of diesel over 3.5 days, with solar and batteries providing the rest of the power.

XOcean’s USVs have completed more than 1 000 missions, logged over 130 000 operating hours and travelled across 20 jurisdictions in four continents . Clients include BP, Shell, SSE Renewables, Equinor, Orsted and government agencies. The vessels yield ultra‑low emissions, emitting only about 0.1 % of equivalent crewed survey ship CO₂ output.

XOcean recently closed a funding round of €115 million, bringing total investment to over €150 million. That follows a prior €6.5 million round led by VentureWave Capital with backing from The Edge and Endeavor Catalyst. The company operates a fleet of thirty USVs and plans to increase to fifty within a year.

XOcean’s approach enables continuous data collection for seabed mapping, environmental monitoring, metocean survey and fisheries assessment, while eliminating crew exposure and cutting costs. The vessels are controlled from shore and can be redeployed rapidly in new regions via local trailers or shipping containers.

🌊SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK

When old meets new indeed.