Raising capital, cap tables and fundraising – founder tales
Hear from successful founders about their fundraising experiences from getting that first angel investment to growth rounds. We’ll learn about what has worked, what hasn’t and also gain some critical insights and learnings! We’ll be joined by Andy Yeoman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-yeoman-864469/) who has taken Concirrus through multiple investment rounds and has the scars to prove it, and Tony Hildrew (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyhildrew/) the founder of Ceto who have just raised their first seed round.
November 27th, 09.00-10.00 GMT
Pitch practice
Pitch challenges - peer to peer!
Join us - if you dare - to practice your pitches infront of one another and an expert panel. Each pitch will be 5minutes with 5minutes Q&A
Note that this is a community event; to join please contact us!
March
Calcarea
Accelerating the earth's natural solution to climate disruption
Calcarea’s technology helps reduce and remove carbon emissions by accelerating the Earth’s natural carbon cycle
Based on over a decade of research in leading oceanography and marine engineering laboratories at Caltech and USC, our team has developed a reactor based on the “Accelerated Weathering of Limestone”, which can be used to capture emissions from point sources and to safely store carbon captured from the atmosphere.
Calcarea’s technology is smaller, more efficient, and lower cost than today’s best available systems for Marine on-board carbon capture, and it eliminates the dependency on port infrastructure for handling of pure carbon dioxide.
Calcarea’s system takes captured carbon dioxide and converts it into oceanic bicarbonate which is stable, secure, and environmentally benign.
Official Website
https://calcarea.com/
The Captain’s Table 2025 Review
2025 marked a dynamic year for The Captains Table, reinforcing its reputation as a leading maritime tech venture platform. The organisation continued its mission to connect start-ups, corporates, and industry leaders, fostering innovation and collaboration in the maritime and logistics sectors.
Major Competitions and Events:
During the year we managed three events in London, Dubai and, of course, Hong Kong!
During London International Shipping Week we hosted an investment-focussed pitch competition alongside the UK Department for Transport and Department for Business & Trade. This prestigious event took place at the Mansion House and featured twelve start-ups at different levels of maturity and with different focus areas, from bio-based solutions to digital products and innovative new propulsion solutions. The winner was BioBright who are developing an integrated solution to address the challenge of pollution within ports (https://www.biobright.co.uk/).
The second event of the year marked our first foray into the Middle East with the Dubai Tech Demo day in early November. From five finalists, with solutions ranging from AI to optimisation focused innovations, Ensomatosys took the number one spot with their inline fuel monitoring system (https://ensomatosys.com/).
Also in November, the flagship Hong Kong start-up challenge returned for its seventh year. The week started with a bootcamp for the six founders, where we supported them develop their pitches and hosted a number of workshops around sales strategy, marketing and PR, finance and more. The whole week also included numerous opportunities for engagement with the local maritime community – a key part of the experience. The week culminated in the final itself, which was held at the HK stock exchange with over 250 attendees and another 900 online. The overall winner was Calcarea (https://calcarea.com/) with BioBright (from the London event) taking the People’s award.
Themes and Focus Areas:
This year’s competitions emphasised four key themes: environmental sustainability, social impact, governance and risk management, and digitised supply chains. Start-ups were encouraged to present solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting workforce transitions to zero-carbon operations, automating risk management and digitalising supply chains for greater efficiency. One thing this year’s winners had in common was that they demonstrated out-of-the-box thinking, with novel ideas not simple incremental innovations.
It will interesting to see whether this marks a new trend in maritime innovation, with founders being bolder in seeking solutions to the many challenges faced by the sector.
Community and Partnerships:
During the year The Captain’s Table launched the Kai Community, a platform to support our alumni as they continue their journey from start-up to scale-up and beyond. We now have over 70 members who get access to resources as well as events with guest speakers – so far we have covered fund raising (the founder’s perspective), social media marketing, coaching and, most recently, the role of class, flag and port state control. We will continue to expand the offering next year and potentially open the platform to non-alumni founders.
Thought Leadership and Media:
The organisation maintained a strong media presence, with interviews and podcasts featuring industry leaders like Tabitha Logan, who discussed fleet renewals, digitalisation, and sustainability-linked financing. These conversations highlighted The Captain’s Table’s role in bridging the gap between shipowners and start-ups, helping to drive digital transformation across the sector.
News from previous cohorts:
We’re proud to report that the majority of our alumni are continuing to develop and scale. Some highlights from the year:
123Carbon reported several major partnerships throughout the year with highlights including a partnership with Skymetrix for SAF management, an alliance with ZERO44 to link mandatory and voluntary carbon markets, and a partnership with Agendi to accelerate book-and-claim adoption in U.S. logistics.
Portcast gained industry recognition for its predictive visibility logistics platform, including the 2025 SDCE Supply Chain Award for predictive analytics empowering global food & beverage supply chains. In addition, they announced a collaboration with Siemens to develop AI enabled supply chain resilience.
Most recently, Hafnia has selected FrontM’s infotainment solutions – Loft Multiplex and Loft Kiosk – as part of a fleetwide upgrade designed to strengthen onboard communication, support safety culture and enhance crew wellbeing.
From a funding perspective a few notable achievements:
Everimpact secured significant strategic investment in 2025 from EIT Urban Mobility and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital to expand its real-time greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking network.
Back in march Kaiko Systems completed their series A round of €6 million led by Hi Inov and Flashpoint Venture Growth with participation from Motion Ventures.
Finally, hot off the press, GT Wings secured a significant new investment led by Grieg Kapital, with participation from Blackfinch Ventures, One Planet Capital and others, to scale its wind propulsion Jet Sail technology for commercial shipping decarbonisation.
Looking ahead:
Planning is already underway for 2026, with a focus on attracting the highest-potential founders to our events and creating a platform or launchpad for them, whether they are seeking investment or access to new markets. We will also be working closely with our sponsors to ensure that we continue to deliver value as we support maritime innovation in a sustainable, long-term way.
To learn more about our plans for 2026 and find out how you can get involved then please message us here: https://www.captainstable.hk/contact-us/
Calcarea wins in Hong Kong
Congratulations to Jess Adkins, Founder of Calcarea who won the best start-up award at this year's Captain's Table final in Hong Kong.
Calcarea are pioneering a new technology for onboard carbon capture with their first vessel trials planned for 2026.
The People's Vote was won by Vanessa Barzasi, from BioBright, who had won in London, although the vote was narrow with only a single vote separating the top two!!!!
Ensomatosys win in Dubai!
Congratulations to Dimitrios Chasampalis from Ensomatosys who delivered the winning pitch during the Captain’s Table Tech Demo Day in Dubai.
Ensomatosys have developed intelligent systems that deliver real-time measurement and analysis of fuel oil, empowering ship operators to accurately assess quality, optimize efficiency and make informed fuel decisions.
The judges selected Ensomatosys since they recognised that the problem was a significant one and that the team were attempting to address it in a truly unique and innovative way!
Captain's Table Competition in Hong Kong - Finalists Announced!
After sorting through the applications we are delighted to share the names of the six finalists who will be travelling to Hong Kong in November for the main event!
The finalists are:
BioBright (winners of the LISW event): https://www.biobright.co.uk/
Enki Marine: https://www.enkimarine.co.uk/
Amphritite: https://www.amphitrite.fr/
Calcarea: https://calcarea.com/
Zeal Industries: https://zealind.com/
Qualiteas: https://qualiteas.ca/
Watch this space to find out who comes out on top on November 20th!
BioBright wins the LISW Maritime Pitch Event
Congratulations to Vanessa Barzasi the co-founder of BioBright who delivered a passionate and compelling pitch during the Maritime Pitch Event during LISW.
Vanessa will now get the chance to go to Hong Kong for the main event in November!
Congratulations!!!
Captain's Table at LISW - Finalists Announced!
The Captain’s Table team are delighted to be hosting an exclusive start-up pitch competition on 16th September during London International Shipping Week.
The 12 finalists have now been selected:
Steamology https://www.steamology.co.uk/
Purifire https://purifire.com/
GT Wings https://gtwings.com/
HiLo https://hilomrm.com/
BioBright https://www.biobright.co.uk/
Elire https://www.elireinfra.tech/
Trade Harmonizer https://www.tradeharmonizer.co.uk/
Seabird https://seabird.tech/
Crewdentials https://www.crewdentials.com/
Signol https://www.signol.io/
HutanBio https://hutanbio.com/
Ensemble Analytics https://ensembleanalytics.co.uk/
To register and attend the event click here: Go to Eventbrite