{
  "id": 2359031,
  "title": "Plymouth-based Oshen raises €4.27 million to scale robot swarms that act as the ocean’s “eyes and ears”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/plymouth-based-oshen-raises-4-27-million-to-scale-robot-swarms-that",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-21T10:14:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "EU-Startups",
    "slug": "eu-startups",
    "url": "https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/08/plymouth-based-oshen-raises-e4-27-million-to-scale-robot-swarms-that-act-as-the-oceans-eyes-and-ears/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Plymouth-based robotics firm Oshen has secured €4.27 million ($5 million) in a fresh funding round to triple its manufacturing rate and meet growing demand from navies, weather agencies, and ocean scientists. Led by Lunar Ventures, the round was joined by AlbionVC, Twin Track, Concept Ventures, and angel investors serving as advisors.\n\nCEO and co-founder Anahita Laverack explained that Oshen's mission is to create the ocean's eyes and ears—several thousand autonomous C-Star robots equipped for persistent, wide-area monitoring. These 1.2-meter, wind- and solar-powered robots cost only a few thousand dollars to produce, can be assembled by a single person, and operate in harsh conditions for months without maintenance.\n\nThe company's C-Star robots have already demonstrated their effectiveness in real-world applications. In September 2025, under contract with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), three C-Stars intercepted Hurricane Humberto north of St Thomas, penetrating the eyewall while the storm was rated Category 5. The data collected was integrated into the National Hurricane Centre's forecast discussion.\n\nBeyond weather forecasting and hurricane detection, Oshen's robots perform critical tasks such as persistent surveillance in waters where sanctioned oil moves, monitoring cables and pipelines, and protecting critical subsea infrastructure. The technology could also enhance seasonal and climate forecasting over time.\n\nWith its production capacity now capable of building 15 C-Stars every six weeks, Oshen is scaling up to meet the increasing demand from its customers and partners, which include the US Navy, the Royal Navy, NOAA, the Met Office, and VOTO, the Swedish ocean-monitoring body.\n\nThe company plans to expand into three areas: passive acoustic monitoring for ship detection, protection of critical subsea infrastructure, and anti-submarine warfare. Oshen's longest mission to date lasted eight months at sea, and its constellations have operated across six countries. The company currently offers its services in three models: data-as-a-service, vessel leases, and outright constellation sales. Laverack emphasized that the goal is to make the ocean's data widely accessible through thousands of affordable robots, transforming our understanding of the world's largest ecosystem.",
  "summary": "Oshen, a Plymouth-based robotics company building a persistent sensing layer for the world’s oceans, has secured €4.27 million ($5 million in a fresh funding round and is tripling its manufacturing rate to meet demand from navies, weather agencies and ocean scientists. The round was led by Lunar Ventures, with participation from AlbionVC, Twin Track and […] The post Plymouth-based Oshen raises…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}