What Bellamare does

Bellamare is a privately held oceanographic instrumentation company founded in 2004 and headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm designs, manufactures, and supports modular subsea systems used primarily by university, government, and independent marine-science research institutions to observe plankton, particles, and water-column properties in situ. Its product portfolio is organized around two anchor families: the ISIIS-DPI plankton imager line (P125, P100, P75, T424, and a Benchtop variant), which uses proprietary shadowgraph optics to image large water volumes non-invasively, and the SIDEKICK instrument hubs (Performance and Endurance models), which centralize power, control, and synchronized data logging for mixed sensor payloads. The line is rounded out by peripheral subsystems (PowerCore battery packs, Synchro power schedulers, MV-200 machine-vision enclosures) and custom engineering services for subsea housings rated beyond 4,000m and semi-custom towed vehicles. Underlying the hardware is the Sixclear JADE software platform, a plugin-based environment integrated across the SIDEKICK hubs that supports 30+ instrument types including Sea-Bird CTDs, Nortek ADCPs, RBR loggers, Basler cameras, and ECO fluorometers.

The company operates a consultative, engineer-driven go-to-market model with no public pricing, no standard catalog, and a quote-based sales motion in which customers describe research requirements and receive custom-engineered proposals. Revenue is generated through one-time hardware sales bundled with long-term engineering services and field deployment support. Distribution is exclusively direct from the San Diego facility, with no retail, reseller, or channel partner motion. Customer acquisition is powered by scientific credibility (80+ peer-reviewed publications and 70+ lifetime scientific missions supported by co-founder Cedric Guigand, the inventor of ISIIS-DPI technology) and word-of-mouth through the oceanographic research community.

Bellamare has remained bootstrapped since founding, with no disclosed external funding, no M&A activity, and no leadership changes. The firm employs 11-50 people and is led by founders Charles Cousin (subsea vehicle engineering) and Cedric Guigand (oceanography and imaging systems). Its named customers are concentrated in academic and government marine science, including Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center, the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Marine Reserves Program.

Name

Bellamare

Legal name

Bellamare

Website

https://bellamare-us.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bellamare is a privately held San Diego-based oceanographic instrumentation company that designs and manufactures modular subsea imaging systems, instrument hubs, and custom subsea hardware for university, government, and independent marine-science research customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oceanographic Instrumentation

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Ship and Boat Building (33661)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Manned Submersible & Deep-Sea Research Vehicle Manufacturing (IMAJAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Underwater Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (UWILD, Diving/ROV, In-water Cleaning) (IMAJAFAJ)

Keywords

• Oceanographic instrumentation
• Plankton imaging systems
• Subsea instrument hubs
• Marine research equipment
• Underwater engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

La Jolla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Oceanographic Instrumentation Hardware Sales: Sale of specialized oceanographic imaging systems (ISIIS-DPI family), instrument hubs (SIDEKICK), subsea housings, towed vehicles, and peripheral components. Products are custom-engineered to customer specifications and sold as complete deployable systems.
2. Engineering Services and Support: Hands-on engineering support during deployment, training, and ongoing system maintenance. Includes direct access to engineers for customization, troubleshooting, and consultation throughout the system lifecycle.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bellamare designs, manufactures, and sells specialized oceanographic instrumentation for in-situ marine observation, including the ISIIS-DPI family of plankton shadowgraph imaging cameras, the SIDEKICK family of modular instrument hubs, and complementary peripherals (PowerCore batteries, Synchro scheduler, MV-200 camera). It also provides custom engineering services for subsea pressure-rated housings and towed vehicles, with all systems integrated through the Sixclear JADE software platform for synchronized data collection and control.

Product overview

Bellamare is an oceanographic instrumentation company that designs and manufactures a modular portfolio of products for in-situ marine observation. The core offering comprises two main product families: the ISIIS-DPI plankton imager family (P125, P100, P75, T424, and Benchtop P75) for high-resolution shadowgraph imaging of plankton and marine particles, and the SIDEKICK instrument hub family (Performance and Endurance models) for centralized power, control, and data logging of sensor payloads. These platforms are complemented by peripheral accessories including PowerCore subsea battery packs, Synchro scheduling modules, and MV-200 machine-vision cameras, all integrated through the Sixclear JADE software ecosystem. Bellamare also provides custom engineering services for subsea housings and towed vehicles, enabling end-to-end deployment solutions for oceanographic research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISIIS-DPI P125 Workhorse ISIIS-DPI plankton shadowgraph camera designed for high-speed, large-volume in-situ imaging of plankton 1mm and larger, supporting both area-scan and line-scan configurations with up to ~80 liters per second volumetric sampling and tow speeds up to 6 knots. Targeted at oceanographic research institutions conducting ecosystem-scale surveys.
• ISIIS-DPI P100 Mid-size ISIIS-DPI plankton shadowgraph camera balancing sampled volume with mesoplankton resolution, optimized for organisms approximately 500 micrometers and larger with 0.74 liters per frame and tow speeds up to 3.25 knots. Aimed at oceanographic researchers needing mesoplankton resolution.
• ISIIS-DPI P75 ISIIS-DPI plankton shadowgraph camera designed for mesoplankton-scale imaging of organisms approximately 300 micrometers and larger, optimized for copepods, larval stages, aggregates, and gelatinous organisms, with 60m or 1,000m depth-rated housing options. Built for mesoplankton-focused oceanographic research.
• ISIIS-DPI T424 Specialized ISIIS-DPI plankton shadowgraph camera with 0.424 magnification designed to resolve large phytoplankton chains such as diatoms that are difficult to classify in standard in-situ imagery, with a 1,000m depth rating. For phytoplankton-focused research applications.
• ISIIS-DPI Benchtop P75 Laboratory imaging system for controlled plankton observation and building high-quality reference image libraries, using the same optical scale as the in-situ P75. For taxonomy, methods development, and training.
• SIDEKICK Performance High-capacity instrument hub for powering, controlling, and synchronizing mixed sensor and imaging payloads in demanding oceanographic deployments, supporting up to 5 serial instruments, Ethernet-based machine-vision cameras, and 4-channel relay control with onboard storage up to 4TB. For research institutions building integrated multi-sensor payloads.
• SIDEKICK Endurance Low-power instrument hub designed for long-duration, sensor-focused deployments where efficiency and autonomy are primary constraints, supporting up to 3 serial instruments with available titanium 3,500m or PEEK 200m depth-rated configurations. For long-duration autonomous oceanographic missions.
• PowerCore Modular subsea battery pack providing safe, flexible, mission-adaptable power for oceanographic systems, supporting D-cell alkaline, AGM lead-acid, and LiFePO4 configurations in a 2,500m-rated hard-anodized aluminum housing. Sold as a peripheral for Bellamare oceanographic systems.
• Synchro Low-power scheduling module that eliminates idle drain and extends battery-powered deployment duration by acting as a hard power gate, using a real-time clock with coin cell, high-side MOSFET switching, and Arduino-compatible programmable windows. Sold as a peripheral for oceanographic deployments.
• MV-200 Machine-Vision Camera Subsea machine-vision camera enclosure designed for scientific imaging with GigE machine-vision cameras (Basler ace series) with C-mount optics, raw data capture, tight synchronization with other instruments, and native JADE software integration. Sold as a peripheral for integrated oceanographic imaging systems.
• Subsea Housing Engineering Services Custom subsea enclosure engineering service designed for extreme depth, long deployments, and real-world handling, with dual sealing strategies, pressure ratings beyond 4,000m, synthetic sapphire viewports, and serviceable-by-design hardware in plastics, aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium. Sold as a custom engineering service to research institutions and subsea equipment customers.
• Towed Vehicle Engineering Services Semi-custom towed vehicle engineering service bridging ROV and AUV capabilities, delivering turn-key systems including vehicle, tether, winch, and topside control station, with active flight control, depth ratings to 1,000m, and tow speeds up to 5 knots. Sold as a custom engineering service to oceanographic research institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80 liters of water sampled per second per camera, enabling high-throughput, statistically robust plankton surveys
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration33 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SixclearcoreTechnology or IntegrationSixclear provides JADE, the software platform that powers Bellamare's instruments. Jassem Shahrani (Jazz) from Sixclear works with Bellamare to provide the software ecosystem enabling sensor integration, data collection, and system control across the SIDEKICK instrument hub family. The partnership combines Bellamare's hardware expertise with Sixclear's software engineering capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kongsberg Maritime: Kongsberg Maritime supplies a wide range of subsea sensors, sonar, and oceanographic instrumentation through its discovery/observation business. It is a broad incumbent serving oceanographic research and offshore markets and competes for large-scale research and survey program contracts that Bellamare's instruments support.
• Teledyne Marine: Teledyne Marine is a broad portfolio of subsea imaging, instrumentation, and acoustic brands (including RD Instruments, RESON, Bowtech). As a large incumbent, it offers integrated marine sensing solutions that overlap with Bellamare's towed-vehicle and instrument-hub offerings, often as a procurement option for large research programs.
• Exail (formerly iXblue): Exail manufactures a broad portfolio of marine autonomous systems, inertial navigation, and oceanographic instrumentation. Its subsea positioning and sensor products overlap with parts of Bellamare's offering, and it competes for large oceanographic survey and offshore monitoring contracts.

Direct peers

• Rockland Scientific: Rockland Scientific manufactures oceanographic turbulence measurement instruments, including turbulence profilers and shear probes used in marine research. It serves the same academic oceanographic research segment and operates at a similar scale of high-mix custom-engineered oceanographic instrumentation.
• Sea-Bird Scientific: Sea-Bird Scientific is the leading manufacturer of oceanographic sensors (CTDs, water sampling) used widely aboard research vessels. It directly competes in the same oceanographic instrumentation category as Bellamare's SIDEKICK-integrated sensors, serving the same academic and government research buyers. Acquired by Danaher, it serves as a clear comparable and likely acquirer archetype.
• RBR Ltd: RBR designs and manufactures oceanographic instruments including CTDs, multi-parameter loggers, and tide gauges used in coastal and deep-ocean research. It serves the same academic and government research market as Bellamare with complementary sensor offerings, and its products are supported via the JADE plugin ecosystem (RBRcoda³, RBRmaestro³).
• Turner Designs: Turner Designs manufactures fluorometers and optical sensors for in vivo and extracted chlorophyll measurement, frequently deployed in oceanographic and freshwater research. Its products overlap with Bellamare's optical/fluorescence measurement offerings and address the same research and monitoring buyers.
• Chelsea Technologies Group: Chelsea Technologies designs and manufactures oceanographic and water quality sensors including fluorometers, turbidity meters, and spectrophotometers. Its products overlap with Bellamare's plankton/fluorometer integration offerings and serve the same marine research market.
• NKE Instrumentation: NKE Instrumentation designs oceanographic sensors and autonomous platforms for marine monitoring. It serves coastal oceanographic research and environmental monitoring customers and competes in the broader scientific ocean instrumentation category with Bellamare.
• SonTek: SonTek (a Xylem brand) manufactures acoustic Doppler instruments for oceanographic and hydrological flow measurement. Its current meters and profilers are integrated into the JADE plugin ecosystem (e.g., Sontek Model 803 Flowmeter) and serve overlapping research and environmental monitoring buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bellamarellc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Bellamare