Eight Knot

• Operating use

  2024-03-05 - Eight Knot reported its WAKKA tourist-boat installation as the second AI CAPTAIN deployment on a non-company vessel. - Cumulative AI CAPTAIN deployments aboard vessels not owned by Eight Knot as of 5 March 2024 - Omishima / Seto Inland Sea

  Source

• 2026-09-16 - Series A First Close - $2.9M - Eight Knot raises JPY450M in Series A first close

  Eight Knot raised JPY 450 million in the first close of its Series A to productize and expand its AI CAPTAIN autonomous-vessel platform. - source: 8kt.jp

• Ikeda Senshu Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-09-16
• ITOCHU Technology Ventures and Nissay Capital - Lead - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-09-16
• NCB Venture Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-09-16
• QB Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-09-16

• Tomoaki Yokoyama - Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder
• Yujin Kimura - Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder - Leads Eight Knot and its AI CAPTAIN vessel-intelligence business.

Events

• 2026-09-16 - Funding - Eight Knot raises JPY450M in Series A first close

  ITOCHU Technology Ventures and Nissay Capital led the first close. The capital will support productization, scalable deployment and expansion in North America and Southeast Asia. The amount refers specifically to the first close, not the full eventual Series A.

  Source
• 2025-07-30 - Partnership - Eight Knot and E-Force Marine launch U.S. AI CAPTAIN pilot

  The engineering teams planned hardware installation, calibration, data acquisition and user-interface validation. E-Force Marine develops electric and hybrid propulsion systems and vessel conversions. The pilot supports Eight Knot plans to expand AI CAPTAIN into North America.

  Source
• 2024-03-05 - Deployment - Eight Knot installs AI CAPTAIN on WAKKA tourist boat

  The installation was the first deployment of the platform on a tourism-dedicated vessel. The vessel supports WAKKA sea-taxi and Sunset Cruise services around Omishima. Eight Knot and WAKKA held public ride demonstrations in Imabari on February 27 and 28, 2024.

  Source
• 2023-07-31 - Partnership - Eight Knot forms capital and business alliance with Seika Daiya Engine

  Seika Daiya Engine operates a marine-engine sales and service network across 25 locations in Japan. The companies planned to combine Eight Knot autonomous-navigation technology with Seika Daiya Engine sales, servicing and commercial-vessel customer coverage. The alliance targeted fishing boats, industrial vessels and passenger ships facing safety and crew-shortage pressures.

  Source
• 2022-02-14 - Funding - Eight Knot raises JPY100M seed round

  DRONE FUND, 15th Rock Ventures and Real Tech Fund invested through the J-KISS method. The round brought cumulative financing to JPY 150 million. Eight Knot planned to expand its robotics and AI engineering team, business development and commercialisation trials.

  Source

Relationships

• WAKKA Inc.

  Deployment Partner - Eight Knot installed AI CAPTAIN on a WAKKA tourist sea taxi after earlier autonomous-electric-boat trials under the Triangle Ehime programme.

• E-Force Marine Inc.

  Partner - Eight Knot and E-Force Marine agreed to pilot AI CAPTAIN on an electric boat at a Florida test site.

Comparable profiles

• Mirai Robotics

  comparable profile - Maritime Autonomy Platform

• Robosys Automation

  comparable profile - Maritime Autonomy Platform

• Greensea IQ

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• Aquatonomy

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• MarineAI

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• Hefring Marine

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• Mythos AI

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• Bearing AI

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• StrateSea Technology

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

• MAPS Messaging

  stack adjacency - Marine Autonomy Software

Shared workflows

• Seasats

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• Saronic

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• Saildrone

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• Clear Robotics

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• XOCEAN

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• Ocean Infinity

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• Blue Ops

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

• ORCA UBOAT

  workflow adjacency - Autonomous Surface Vessel Operations

Context tags

• Marine autonomy-software stack - Stack Layer - https://8kt.jp/en - exact reviewed source supports this bounded company context.
• Maritime autonomy platform - Peer Group - https://8kt.jp/en - exact reviewed source supports this bounded company context.
• Autonomous surface vessel operations - Workflow - https://8kt.jp/news/1qal1cn2ef - exact reviewed source supports this bounded company context.