Israeli maritime data and analytics company Windward has raised $10.8 million in a financing round led by Li Ka-shing's Horizons Ventures, with participation from Series A investor Alephand others. The funds will be used to build the largest, most comprehensive ever maritime data and analytics platform. It will also make those insights accessible for anyone with stakes at sea, with a solution for the financial sector scheduled to launch later in 2015.
Windward’s intelligence solution, MARINT, is already in wide use by Security, Intelligence and Law Enforcement agencies worldwide, who use Windward’s data and insights to preemptively identify threats before they reach their shores. The latest funding will allow Windward to expand its deep learning capabilities via its unique data platform - the Windward Mind - and to operationalize FORESEA, its finance solution. FORESEA is in beta testing as the first significant vertical extension of the Windward Mind and is providing traders, investors and analysts with access to unprecedented amounts of unstructured data, critical insights and untapped market opportunities.
Winward co-founder and CEO Ami Daniel said, “The Windward Mind, the world’s first maritime data platform, brings cross-vertical and industry visibility into ship activity worldwide that is critical given the economics at stake."
Horizons Ventures Jason Wong said, “Ship activity across the oceans fuels the global economy but is one of the last analog arenas. The Windward team is revolutionizing this archaic system and bringing visibility to this critically important domain, advancing the global ecosystem."
Additional investors include Tom Glocer, the former Thomson Reuters CEO, who will also be joining Windward’s Advisory Board and bringing his invaluable perspective from a world leader in delivering information to decision makers in professional markets. Ret. Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, the former IDF Chief of Staff is also joining Windward’s Advisory Board.
Glocer said, “Windward is a game changer because it is bringing a data sciences perspective to today’s maritime data and making it accessible and relevant for the entire ecosystem. Financial institutions, the next market for Windward’s unique data platform, are hungry for advanced data solutions that can provide valuable trading opportunities by extracting faint trading signals from noisy datasets such as maritime information.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 28, 2015
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