The Ocean Race

What The Ocean Race does

The Ocean Race is a private, for-profit organization headquartered in Alicante, Spain, founded in 2009, that operates one of the world's premier international offshore sailing competition series. The organization runs two core products: The Ocean Race Round the World, its flagship crewed around-the-globe race, and The Ocean Race Atlantic, a transatlantic series with the next edition scheduled for 2026 followed by the next Round the World race starting from Alicante in 2027. The Ocean Race serves three customer segments: corporate sponsors seeking global brand exposure, professional sailing teams and individual sailors seeking access to premier racing events, and ocean research institutions collaborating on the Citizens of the Sea initiative.

Beyond the race operations, The Ocean Race has built a research platform called Citizens of the Sea that equips racing yachts with environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling kits to collect biodiversity data from remote ocean areas, including the understudied Southern Ocean, that traditional research vessels rarely reach. During the 2024 Vendée Globe, sailor Fabrice Amedeo collected eDNA samples over 114 days that identified approximately 4,000 taxa, including genetically unknown species. This research is conducted in partnership with the Citizens of the Sea initiative (led by Xavier Pochon) and the Vendée Globe.

The business model is event-driven, with revenue generated primarily through corporate sponsorships and commercial partnerships. The Ocean Race holds an Event of Exceptional Public Interest designation ahead of the 2027 race, which activates the maximum framework of tax incentives for sponsorship and strengthens the commercial proposition for corporate buyers. A secondary revenue stream is emerging from research data partnerships tied to the Citizens of the Sea initiative, enabling data-monetization opportunities with marine biology and climate research organizations. Pricing for sponsorship packages is not publicly disclosed, and no revenue, funding, or ownership data is available in the source material.

Name

The Ocean Race

Website

https://volvooceanrace.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ocean Race is a private, Alicante-based organizer of premier international offshore sailing competitions, including the Round the World and Atlantic race series. It serves corporate sponsors, professional sailing teams, and ocean research institutions through its racing events and the Citizens of the Sea eDNA research initiative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Offshore Sailing Competitions

SIC

Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails) (THAJAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks) (THAAAIAH), Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Offshore sailing races
• International yacht racing
• Ocean research initiatives
• Marine conservation events
• Sailing competition series

Headquarters

HQ city

Alicante

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Commercial Partnerships: The Ocean Race generates revenue through corporate sponsorships, with the Event of Exceptional Public Interest designation activating maximum tax incentives for sponsorship. Companies, sponsors, and institutions engage with the race through commercial partnerships.
2. Research Data Partnerships: Partnership with Citizens of the Sea initiative enables ocean research data collection, providing scientific value and potential data monetization opportunities through environmental research collaborations with organizations like Vendée Globe.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Ocean Race operates international offshore sailing competition series, including its flagship Round the World race and the Atlantic race, with the next editions planned for 2026 and 2027 starting in Alicante, Spain. The organization also runs the Citizens of the Sea research initiative, which equips racing yachts with environmental DNA (eDNA) kits to collect biodiversity data from remote ocean areas for marine research in partnership with initiatives like the Vendée Globe.

Product overview

The Ocean Race is an international sailing competition featuring its flagship Round the World race and the Atlantic race series. The organization also runs the Citizens of the Sea research initiative, which deploys racing yachts as floating laboratories to collect environmental DNA samples for ocean research, partnering with organizations like Vendée Globe. The race series and research initiative form the core offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Ocean Race Round the World
• The Ocean Race Atlantic
• Citizens of the Sea

Quantifiable outcome

• Identified approximately 4,000 taxa including genetically unknown species during a single 114-day race sampling period

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vendée GlobecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Ocean Race has partnered with Vendée Globe to deploy Citizens of the Sea eDNA kits on racing yachts. Sailors collect environmental DNA samples during races, enabling biodiversity research in remote ocean areas. During the 2024 Vendée Globe, sailor Fabrice Amedeo collected samples over 114 days.
• Citizens of the Sea (Xavier Pochon)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizens of the Sea initiative, led by Xavier Pochon, equips racing yachts with eDNA kits to gather biodiversity data from remote ocean areas. The initiative addresses the critical gap in real-time biological data needed to understand climate change impacts on marine ecosystems.
• Magnus Olsson FoundationminorOthersThe Magnus Olsson Foundation produces award videos and scholarships for offshore sailors. The Foundation created an award ceremony video for Charlie Dalin and announces scholarship recipients for The Ocean Race.
• Sailing Teams and Individual SailorscoreOthersProfessional sailing teams and individual sailors participate in The Ocean Race events. Notable sailors include Thomas Ruyant (unveiling fast monohulls), Swiss sailor Oliver Heer (2027 race), and Fabrice Amedeo (eDNA research collector).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vendée Globe: The Vendée Globe is a solo, non-stop, unassisted round-the-world sailing race and a direct strategic partner of The Ocean Race via the Citizens of the Sea eDNA initiative. It competes for the same sponsor pool, audience, and ocean-research narrative.
• SailGP: SailGP is a global, high-profile sailing league featuring national teams in identical foiling catamarans. It competes with The Ocean Race for corporate sponsors, broadcast deals, and global sailing audiences, but operates on a denser, multi-event annual calendar.
• America's Cup: The America's Cup is the oldest international sailing trophy and one of sailing's most prestigious events. It is a comparable premium sports property competing for top-tier corporate sponsorships and media rights, though it centers on match racing rather than ocean racing.
• Clipper Round the World Race: The Clipper Round the World Race is a crewed round-the-world sailing event that, like The Ocean Race, sells global sponsorship packages and offers amateur and professional sailors a multi-leg ocean race format, placing it in direct commercial competition.
• Route du Rhum: Route du Rhum is a major solo transatlantic sailing race between France and the Caribbean. It competes with The Ocean Race's Atlantic series for sponsors, French and European audiences, and offshore sailing prestige.
• Transat Jacques Vabre: The Transat Jacques Vabre is a two-handed transatlantic ocean race organized every two years. It overlaps with The Ocean Race in targeting offshore sailing sponsors, French/European audiences, and the professional IMOCA and Ocean 50 classes.
• Barcelona World Race: The Barcelona World Race is a two-handed, non-stop round-the-world race from Barcelona. It shares The Ocean Race's round-the-world format and Mediterranean/European sponsorship base, and historically served as a precursor-style event to The Ocean Race.

Broad incumbents

• World Sailing: World Sailing is the global governing body for the sport of sailing. While not a competing event property, it sets the regulatory and competitive context in which The Ocean Race operates and is a relevant stakeholder for sponsorship, athlete, and media frameworks.

Emerging players

• Saildrone: Saildrone builds autonomous wind- and solar-powered ocean research vessels that collect large-scale ocean and atmospheric data. It is an emerging alternative platform for the kind of remote-ocean biodiversity and climate research that The Ocean Race's eDNA initiative pursues via crewed yachts.

Others

• National Geographic Pristine Seas: National Geographic Pristine Seas is a marine conservation and exploration program that combines expeditions, media content, and scientific research. It is thematically adjacent as a high-profile platform for ocean biodiversity and conservation storytelling relevant to The Ocean Race's research narrative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theoceanrace
• Facebookfacebook.com/theoceanrace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 The Ocean Race