Hefring Marine

What Hefring Marine does

Hefring Marine ehf. is an Icelandic deep-tech company founded in 2018/2019 that develops the IMAS (Intelligent Marine Assistance System) platform — an AI-driven maritime intelligence system combining edge AI hardware, real-time on-board decision support, and cloud-based fleet-wide analytics. The company's proprietary technology originated from research conducted with Icelandic boat builder Rafnar and the University of Iceland into wave slam events on high-speed vessels, yielding the world's first patented wave slam monitoring system. The IMAS platform includes three core components: IMAS Helm (onboard AI speed guidance with G-force monitoring, impact detection, and SafetySpeed/EcoSpeed modes, integrating with Garmin OneHelm, Raymarine LightHouse OS, Simrad, and Furuno chart plotters); IMAS Console (cloud-based fleet management with real-time tracking, analytics, and trip playback); and the Hefring Mobile companion app. Additional features include Intelligent Impact Analysis, Whole Body Vibration monitoring for Workboat Code 3 compliance, predictive maintenance, and USV/autonomous vessel support.

Hefring generates revenue through a hardware-enabled SaaS subscription model with annual billing, plus enterprise licensing for fleet-wide deployments. Pricing is quote-based and varies with fleet size and feature scope; hardware procurement is separate from subscription fees. The company serves four primary verticals — Defense & Naval, Civil Security (search and rescue, coast guard, law enforcement), Commercial Maritime (crew transfer vessels, fishing, pilotage, commercial shipping), and Offshore Energy — with named customers including ICE-SAR, Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (Redningsselskapet), KNRM, Loodswezen (Dutch Pilots' Corporation), Italian Coast Guard, SAFE Boats International, Archipelago Yachts, Diverse Marine, TM Insurance, and Whale Safari.

The go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with an OEM-led channel strategy embedding IMAS as standard or optional equipment in vessel manufacturers' offerings, supported by event presence at European and US maritime trade shows. The company raised a €2.2 million seed round in May 2024 led by Faber Ventures and was selected for the NATO DIANA 2026 cohort (one of 15 maritime-domain companies from over 3,600 applicants), reflecting its push into defense and autonomous vessel applications. Headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland, the company operates with approximately 15-20 employees and has active commercial presence in Iceland, Norway, Netherlands, UK, Italy, and the USA.

Name

Hefring Marine

Legal name

Hefring ehf.

Website

https://hefringmarine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hefring Marine is an Icelandic deep-tech company that builds the IMAS platform — an edge-AI-powered maritime intelligence system combining onboard speed guidance, impact detection, and cloud-based fleet analytics — for defense, search-and-rescue, commercial, and leisure vessel operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Intelligence Software

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAJAJAI

Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Marine & Shipbuilding/Marine Electrical, Automation & Navigation Systems

SECONDARYIMAJAJAE

Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Marine & Shipbuilding/Marine Electrical, Automation & Navigation Systems

SECONDARYHDAAAIAH

Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs)

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning/Robotics & Autonomous Systems

SECONDARYIMABAIAE

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing/Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones) & Autonomous Platforms

Keywords

• Maritime intelligence platform
• Marine vessel monitoring
• Edge AI hardware
• Fleet management software
• Predictive maintenance marine

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IMAS SaaS Subscription: Hardware-enabled software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model. Customers purchase edge AI hardware units and pay recurring subscription fees for platform access, real-time monitoring, analytics, and decision support features.
2. Hardware Sales: Sale of proprietary edge AI hardware including sensors, processing units, and integration equipment for on-board installation.
3. Enterprise Licensing: Fleet-wide enterprise licensing for large operators requiring multiple vessel deployments with centralized fleet management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hefring Marine sells IMAS (Intelligent Marine Assistance System), an AI-driven maritime intelligence platform that combines edge AI hardware, real-time on-board guidance, and cloud-based fleet-wide analytics. The platform delivers AI speed optimization, impact and collision detection, predictive maintenance, and operational analytics across crewed and uncrewed vessels, serving defense, civil security, commercial, and leisure maritime operators.

Product overview

Hefring Marine's product portfolio is built around the IMAS (Intelligent Marine Assistance System) platform, a unified maritime intelligence system that combines edge AI hardware, real-time onboard decision support, and cloud-based fleet-wide analytics. The platform consists of two primary sub-products: IMAS Console (shore-based fleet management and analytics platform) and IMAS Helm (onboard AI speed guidance system integrated with chart plotters), plus the Hefring Mobile companion app. The Impact Report feature provides advanced vessel impact analysis. The overall system delivers real-time intelligence across defense, civil security, commercial, and leisure maritime sectors, with documented outcomes including up to 20% fuel savings, up to 87% reduction in wave slamming impacts, and up to 20% reduction in insurance premiums.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMAS (Intelligent Marine Assistance System): AI-driven maritime intelligence platform that combines edge AI hardware, real-time on-board guidance, and fleet-wide analytics for vessel safety, efficiency, and operational intelligence.

Products and services

• IMAS (Intelligent Marine Assistance System) Unified maritime intelligence platform combining edge AI hardware, real-time onboard guidance, and fleet-wide analytics. Provides AI-driven speed optimization, impact detection, predictive maintenance, and operational analytics across both crewed and uncrewed vessels for defense, civil security, commercial, and leisure operators.
• IMAS Console Shore-based cloud platform providing fleet-wide intelligence, real-time vessel tracking, advanced analytics, and maintenance monitoring for shore-based managers. Provides interactive maps, trip playback, and data-driven reporting tools.
• IMAS Helm Onboard AI speed guidance system integrated with chart plotters, providing real-time G-force monitoring, impact detection, and situational awareness at the helm. Processes data at the edge with no internet dependency. Features Safety Mode, Eco Mode, real-time alerts, and geofencing. Integrates with Garmin OneHelm, Raymarine LightHouse OS, Simrad, and Furuno chart plotters.
• Hefring Mobile Mobile app for iOS and Android delivering vessel status, trip data, and real-time alerts to fleet managers, marina operators, charter coordinators, and owners, enabling remote fleet monitoring without a desk-bound console.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 20% fuel use and CO2 emissions reduction
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core partnership, strategic, exclusive partnership and pilot partner.

• Marine AIcore partnershipTechnology or Integration · 23 April 2026Integration of IMAS with Marine AI's GuardianAI autonomy suite for enhanced autonomous maritime operations. IMAS will be available as OEM-supported module within GuardianAI, providing real-time sea condition insights and optimized vessel operations for crewed and uncrewed vessels.
• SEA.AIcore partnershipTechnology or Integration · 17 December 2025Strategic partnership combining IMAS platform with SEA.AI's machine vision technology for AI-driven collision avoidance and comprehensive maritime safety solutions.
• Tocaro BluestrategicTechnology or Integration · 6 August 2025Integration of Tocaro Blue's Radar perception technology with IMAS vessel decision-making system for intelligent speed recommendations and collision avoidance.
• SeaBot Maritimecore partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2025MoU partnership to integrate IMAS into high-speed uncrewed surface vessel (USV) operations. Joint development of AI-enabled USV operator training programs with SeaBot Maritime leading training content development.
• Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (Redningsselskapet)core partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2025Fleet-wide IMAS deployment following rigorous two-year competitive selection. Expansion from 8 current vessels to complete fleet over 2025-2026.
• Loodswezen (Dutch Pilots' Corporation)core partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2024Strategic partnership to install IMAS on Dutch pilotage operations. Stemmed from PoC project October 2023 - January 2024. Features developed include 'comfort mode' for pilot operations.
• SAFE Boats Internationalcore partnershipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 8 April 2024Partnership to provide IMAS decision support tools for SAFE Boats' range of professional vessels (2,500+ boats in service across 70+ countries), enhancing crew welfare, efficiency, and vessel insights.
• Diverse Marineexclusive partnershipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 2 April 2024Exclusive integration of IMAS as standard feature in all new offshore wind crew transfer vessels built in the UK. Strategic alliance grants exclusivity for this sector.
• Archipelago Yachtscore partnershipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 March 2024IMAS Helm integrated as standard across all Archipelago expedition yachts, providing comfort-led guidance, fuel reduction, and navigation support for ocean-going vessels.
• ICE-SAR (Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue)core partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2024Commercial partnership to equip all new ICE-SAR rescue vessels with IMAS system. Follows successful pilot on rescue vessel Þór. Fleet-wide standardization across all 13 rescue ships.
• TM Insurancecore partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 August 2023Partnership to offer data-verified insurance premium discounts based on IMAS safety data. Established premium reduction programs for customers demonstrating reduced risk through IMAS telemetry.
• KNRM (Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution)pilot partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2022Initial trials of IMAS system on KNRM vessels for operational validation and feedback. Positive responses from captains and operators.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ABB Marine & Ports: Global supplier of marine automation, electric propulsion, and autonomous ship solutions; competes with Hefring on autonomous vessel decision support and bridge intelligence at the system-integration level.
• Kongsberg Maritime: Major marine systems integrator offering automation, bridge systems, and condition monitoring across commercial and naval fleets; a broad incumbent that could bundle AI guidance functionality into its integrated solutions.
• StormGeo: Established fleet intelligence and weather-routing platform serving global shipping with voyage optimization; a broader incumbent whose routing and operational analytics compete with IMAS Console at the fleet-wide layer.
• Wärtsilä SmartShip: Provides fleet optimization, voyage analytics, and vessel performance services to commercial shipping; overlaps with IMAS Console's analytics and EcoSpeed value proposition at the fleet-wide optimization level.

Direct peers

• Orca AI: Computer-vision AI platform for maritime situational awareness, collision avoidance, and autonomous operations on commercial vessels; directly competes for the AI-guided navigation and fleet safety budget across similar commercial and defense segments.
• Awake.AI: Maritime AI vendor applying AI to smart ports, vessel traffic, and fleet intelligence; overlaps with IMAS Console's fleet analytics layer and shares the same AI-for-maritime positioning.
• SEA.AI: Offers machine-vision-based maritime collision avoidance and object detection; a current Hefring integration partner competing for the same AI-powered onboard safety and situational-awareness budget across leisure and professional fleets.
• Tocaro Blue: Provides radar-perception and intelligent speed recommendation technology for crewed and uncrewed vessels; closely comparable to IMAS's onboard guidance layer and a current technology integration partner.
• Marine AI: Provides the GuardianAI autonomy suite for unmanned surface vessels; already a Hefring technology integration partner, making it a directly comparable autonomous maritime AI platform with overlapping customer profile in defense and commercial USV markets.
• Captain's Eye: AI-based onboard video and behavior monitoring for maritime safety and incident detection; competes with Hefring's situational awareness and impact detection capabilities in the commercial fleet safety segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hefringmarine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hefringmarine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hefring Marine