What D-ICE Engineering does

D-ICE Engineering is a Nantes-based deeptech maritime software company founded in 2015 that develops navigation, routing, and vessel performance systems for commercial shipping, offshore energy, and ocean racing. The firm combines expertise in hydrodynamics, applied mathematics, robotics, and AI on top of its proprietary FRyDoM digital twin framework, delivering an integrated product suite that includes OCEANiCS (unified navigation), TACTiCS (route optimization), MAPPiCS (ECDIS), AUTOMATiCS (dynamic positioning), ANALYTiCS, SATORI, BLADiCS (floating wind), and SIBIS (ice engineering), as well as the consumer-grade SquidX application for offshore sailors. Multiple products are MED (Maritime Equipment Directive) certified and conform to SOLAS, IEC, and IHO standards.

The company monetizes through enterprise software licensing and co-development contracts with shipyards, energy majors, and engineering consultancies, alongside a B2C subscription stream via SquidX. Named enterprise customers include Piriou, Neoline, Mauric, PONANT EXPLORATIONS, Sodebo, TotalEnergies (5+ year relationship), EDF, Multiconsult (SIBIS co-development with Equinor), Beyond The Sea, and Louis Dreyfus; SquidX serves 7,000+ users. D-ICE reports 90+ enterprise clients, 45+ equipped ships, 280+ deployed projects, 100+ years of accumulated R&D, and 35+ scientific publications. In July 2024 the company closed its first major external round, a €6M Series A led by SWEN Capital Partners' Blue Ocean fund, earmarked for international expansion and product scaling.

Name

D-ICE Engineering

Legal name

D-ICE Engineering SAS

Website

https://dice-engineering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nantes-based deeptech maritime software company developing navigation, routing, and vessel performance systems for commercial shipping, offshore energy, and ocean racing; serves 90+ enterprise clients including TotalEnergies, EDF, PONANT, and Piriou, plus 7,000+ SquidX sailors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Navigation Software

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Navigation, Communications & Integrated Bridge Systems Engineering (IMAJAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE), Dynamic Positioning (DP) Systems (IMAJAJAD), Offshore Wind Substructures & Marine Engineering (Monopiles, Jackets, Floating) (EUAMACAE)

Keywords

• Maritime navigation systems
• Weather routing software
• Dynamic positioning systems
• Digital twin simulation
• Floating wind control

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Subscriptions: Subscription-based licensing of navigation, routing, and analysis software (OCEANiCS, TACTiCS, SquidX). Auto-renewing subscriptions with monthly or annual billing cycles.
2. Professional Services: Engineering studies, consulting, and technical support services for vessel design, performance analysis, and operational optimization
3. Certified Products: Revenue from certified maritime equipment (ECDIS) governed by specific commercial contracts for professional clients

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

D-ICE Engineering develops and sells integrated maritime navigation, routing, and control software built on its proprietary FRyDoM multiphysics digital twin framework. The flagship OCEANiCS platform unifies certified ECDIS (MAPPiCS), AI-powered weather routing (TACTiCS), autopilot and dynamic positioning (DOGMATiCS, AUTOMATiCS), and continuous performance analytics (ANALYTiCS). Complementary products include SquidX for recreational sailing, SATORI and SHIPLIFY for performance/route analysis, BOLTS for boat landing simulation, BLADiCS for floating wind turbine control, SIBIS for ice-structure interaction, and HELIOS hydrodynamic solver.

Product overview

D-ICE Engineering is a maritime deeptech company founded in 2015 in Nantes, France, specializing in advanced navigation systems, digital twins, and AI-powered solutions for maritime and offshore decarbonization. The core product is the OCEANiCS platform — a unified, modular navigation system based on AI and digital twin technology. OCEANiCS integrates five interconnected modules: MAPPiCS (certified ECDIS for chart planning), TACTiCS (weather routing and optimization), DOGMATiCS (autopilot), AUTOMATiCS (autopilot and dynamic positioning for DP-0/1/2 vessels), and ANALYTiCS (performance monitoring). Beyond OCEANiCS, D-ICE offers Squid X for recreational and racing sailing (weather routing), SHIPLIFY (velocity prediction), SATORI (statistical routing from historical data), BOLTS (boat landing simulation), BLADiCS (floating wind turbine control), and SIBIS (ice-structure simulation). The company also develops HELIOS (hydrodynamic solver) and SHIPKEBAB (station-keeping capability). All products are built on the proprietary FRyDoM multiphysics digital twin framework. D-ICE serves maritime, offshore wind, sailing, and ice engineering sectors with approximately 45 engineers and PhDs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OCEANiCS: Next-generation unified navigation system based on AI and digital twins, including modules for planning (MAPPiCS ECDIS), optimization (TACTiCS routing), execution (DOGMATiCS, AUTOMATiCS autopilot and DP), and analysis (ANALYTiCS).
• TACTiCS
• MAPPiCS
• DOGMATiCS
• AUTOMATiCS
• ANALYTiCS
• SHIPLIFY
• SATORI
• BOLTS
• BLADiCS
• FRyDoM
• Squid X
• ShipKEBAB
• Helios
• SIBIS

Products and services

• OCEANiCS
• TACTiCS
• MAPPiCS
• AUTOMATiCS
• Squid X
• SHIPLIFY
• SATORI
• BLADiCS
• BOLTS
• SIBIS
• SHIPKEBAB
• HELIOS
• DOGMATiCS
• ANALYTiCS
• FRyDoM
• PANORAMiCS

Quantifiable outcome

• 15-20% CO2 emissions reduction for equipped ships
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• NeolinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking closely since 2017 on Neoliner project for wind-powered cargo ship. D-ICE provides OCEANiCS navigation system for innovative sail-assisted vessel.
• TotalEnergiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner5+ year collaboration on performance prediction and maritime routing for wind-assisted propulsion systems. Joint R&D to optimize wind propulsion technologies.
• MulticonsultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration since 2017 on SIBIS software development for ice-structure interaction simulation. D-ICE plays key role in multiphysics simulation development.
• Beyond The SeasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial partnership for SeaKite wind propulsion system evaluation. D-ICE provides methodology for performance assessment and commercialization support.
• EquinorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for SIBIS ice simulation software. Equinor owns SIBIS and collaborated with D-ICE and Multiconsult for development.
• PirioucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration since 2016 for vessel design with high added value. D-ICE provides technical expertise and solutions for complex naval architecture challenges.
• MauriccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration since 2016 for ambitious ship design projects. Technical partnership for innovative vessel development.
• ActimarsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaborated on Vendée Globe weather model evaluation module for SquidX. Provides specialized weather data integration.
• Copernicus Marine ServicesupportingTechnology or IntegrationSATORI program funded by Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service for historical weather data.
• BpifrancesupportingOthersFrench public investment bank supporting innovative French companies in their growth and international development.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kongsberg Maritime: Norwegian supplier of dynamic positioning systems, integrated bridge systems, and navigation hardware for commercial and offshore vessels. Direct overlap with D-ICE's AUTOMATiCS DP product, OCEANiCS integrated bridge vision, and maritime ECDIS-adjacent workflows.
• PredictWind: New Zealand-based weather routing and forecasting provider for sailing, superyacht and commercial users. Directly competes with D-ICE's SquidX and TACTiCS routing products on user experience and route optimization quality.
• Adrena: French sailing navigation and routing software vendor serving racing and offshore sailors, including IMOCA teams. Most direct head-to-head competitor to SquidX in the ocean racing and Vendée Globe community.

Broad incumbents

• Wärtsilä Voyage: Marine technology division of Wärtsilä offering ECDIS, navigation, route optimization and fleet operations software as part of a much broader engine and ship systems portfolio. Comparable to D-ICE's MAPPiCS and TACTiCS but embedded in a global, full-stack vendor.
• Sperry Marine (Northrop Grumman): Established marine navigation and bridge systems manufacturer serving naval and commercial markets with gyrocompasses, radars, ECDIS and integrated bridges. Competes with D-ICE's MED-certified navigation stack at the hardware-integration level.
• Raytheon Anschütz: German manufacturer of integrated bridge systems, ECDIS, radars and autopilot solutions for commercial shipping and naval customers. Closely comparable to D-ICE's OCEANiCS/MAPPiCS/DOGMATiCS offering on the bridge electronics side.
• B&G (Navico): Sailing-focused marine electronics brand within Navico offering chartplotters, instruments and routing for cruising and racing sailors. Competes with D-ICE SquidX at the onboard hardware/software level for the recreational segment.
• Navionics (Garmin): Marine charting and routing platform owned by Garmin, supplying electronic charts and mobile routing apps to recreational and light-commercial boaters. Adjacent competitor to D-ICE SquidX/PANORAMiCS in chart and route planning UX.

Others

• DNV: Maritime classification society and digital assurance provider that defines standards (including DNV ST-0111 referenced by D-ICE's SHIPKEBAB) and increasingly offers digital twin and verification services for ship performance, overlapping with FRyDoM-enabled workflows.
• Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore: Classification society active in maritime decarbonization, alternative propulsion and digital twin verification, often partnering with shipyards and tech vendors like D-ICE. Relevant as an ecosystem participant that validates the standards D-ICE's certified products must meet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQfqgvAc7sTk8q-YuW1kVzA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/d-ice-engineering
• Xx.com/D_ICE_eng

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 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 D-ICE Engineering