The underwater drone developer, a spinout of University of Tsukuba, raised the funding in a Beyond Next Ventures-led round that included several corporates.
Ambient Intelligence Technology, a Japan-based spinout of University of Tsukuba that is developing unmanned underwater vehicles, has secured ¥190m ($1.7m) in funding, The Bridge has reported.
Venture capital firm Beyond Next Ventures led the round, which included corporate venturing units Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, SMBC Venture Capital and Freebit Investment.
Founded in 2014, Ambient Intelligence Technology is working on underwater drones that will be able to dive as far down as 300 metres, more than seven times the depth that a professional diver can typically reach.
Co-founder and chairman Yasushi Nakauchi began developing the technology at University of Tsukuba, where he is a professor in the Department of Intelligent Interaction Technologies.
The company’s first product will be a submarine drone called Spider which will have a battery capacity of roughly four hours and the capacity to operate despite strong currents. It is slated for release in 2018, and will be used to monitor underwater environments.
