CADDEN

What CADDEN does

CADDEN is a privately held French specialist founded in 1999 and headquartered in Nantes that supplies, integrates, and manufactures precision positioning and data-acquisition systems for geosciences, hydrography, marine navigation, and remote sensing. The company's portfolio centers on its proprietary GEOD® sub-brand — manufactured in France by an in-house R&D team — including the BALI single/bi-frequency bathymetric echosounder, the USV100 and USV200 unmanned surface vehicles for autonomous bathymetric surveys, the G-NAV centimeter-level RTK GNSS smart antenna, and the BlueBat Bluetooth echosounder. CADDEN also integrates third-party sensors from partner manufacturers (R2Sonic multibeam sounders, SBG Systems inertial navigation units, Hesai Lidar, Sonardyne SPRINT-Nav, CHASING ROVs, Voyis, Flasheye, Obscape) into turnkey hydrographic and 3D-mapping systems, supported by software compatibility with Qinertia PPK and QINSY survey packages.

The business model combines direct enterprise sales, an international distributor network (ASB Systems in India, Hoskin Scientific in Canada), an extensive rental fleet, and recurring professional services including installation, calibration, training, and demonstrations. Customers span French public-sector hydrographic and defense buyers (SHOM, the Marine Nationale, multiple Grand Ports such as La Rochelle, Marseille, Bordeaux and Dunkerque, DGAC), major infrastructure and energy contractors (EDF, Eiffage, Bouygues Énergies et Services, Colas, Menard, Chantiers Atlantique), and specialized survey firms (Acti-Geo, WSB AG, ID OCEAN, Instadrone), with the company claiming deployments in 50+ countries and over 100 BALI units sold. Marketing centers on annual Technical Days (OCEANS and ROBOTICS), major trade-show presence (Seanergy, Oceanology International, Intergeo, SIDO, IMPA), and direct technical engagement rather than mass-market digital channels.

CADDEN is founder-led (Gilles Dandec, Founder and Company Manager) with a tightly specialized 13-person team that combines engineering, technical sales, and production; the firm holds GDPR compliance and a UIMM RSE sustainability charter. The organization has no external funding rounds disclosed and has remained independent since founding, with growth funded organically alongside incremental new-hire expansion across 2021-2022.

Name

CADDEN

Legal name

CADDEN

Website

https://cadden.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CADDEN is a French manufacturer, integrator, and distributor of precision positioning, hydrographic, and remote-sensing systems, serving ports, defense, energy, construction, and survey clients across more than 50 countries through its GEOD® product line and third-party sensor partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hydrographic and Precision Positioning Equipment

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms (IMABAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH), LiDAR & 3D Sensing Modules (HDAHALAG)

Keywords

• Precision positioning systems
• Hydrographic survey equipment
• Marine GNSS receivers
• Bathymetric echo sounders
• Autonomous surface drones

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of sensors and integrated systems including GNSS receivers, inertial navigation systems, hydrographic echo sounders, Lidar sensors, and marine drones. Products are sold as complete turnkey solutions or individual components.
2. Rental Fleet: Extensive rental park offering sensors and complete acquisition systems for various applications. Customers can rent professional-grade equipment for specific projects without capital investment.
3. Professional Services: Technical support, installation, calibration, training, and demonstration services. CADDEN provides before, during, and after-sales technical expertise to support customers throughout their projects.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CADDEN manufactures, integrates, and distributes precision positioning and acquisition systems for hydrography, oceanography, geosciences, navigation, remote sensing, and industrial robotics. Under its proprietary GEOD® brand it offers the BALI bathymetric echo sounder, USV100/USV200 autonomous surface drones, the G-NAV smart GNSS antenna, and the BlueBat Bluetooth echo sounder, combined with curated third-party sensors (Lidar, inertial, multibeam sounders, ROVs) into turnkey systems. The company supplements equipment sales with a rental fleet, installation, calibration, training, and ongoing technical support for professional customers.

Product overview

CADDEN is a French supplier, integrator, and manufacturer specializing in precise positioning systems for geosciences and precision navigation. Their product portfolio centers on the GEOD® sub-brand, which includes the BALI (BAthymetry Light) single and bi-frequency bathymetric echosounder systems, USV100 and USV200 surface drones for autonomous bathymetric surveys, G-NAV smart antenna systems for precise GNSS positioning, and the recently launched BlueBat Bluetooth echosounder. These products serve three main application domains: OCEANS (oceanography, marine geophysics, hydrography), ROBOTICS (autonomous vehicles, 3D mapping, industrial robotics), and GEOD® (hydrographic and marine navigation). The company also offers rental fleet services, professional training, and distributes complementary third-party technologies including Hesai Lidars, SBG Systems inertial sensors, R2Sonic multibeam sounders, CHASING ROVs, Flasheye perception systems, and Obscape autonomous solutions. Their portfolio spans sensors, integrated systems, and software solutions for bathymetry, positioning, navigation, and remote sensing applications across maritime, industrial, and research sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GEOD®: The CADDEN brand bringing together solutions dedicated to hydrographic and marine navigation applications, where precision and reliability are the keys to success. Includes products such as BALI bathymetric systems and USV marine drones.

Products and services

• BALI (BAthymetry Light) Bathymetric System Lightweight, plug-and-play single or bi-frequency bathymetric echo sounder designed for inland water surveys. Mounted on a pole, it features an integrated web server, GNSS RTK positioning, and is compatible with USV drones.
• USV100 Marine Drone Autonomous surface drone (USV) from the GEOD® range used for bathymetric and hydrographic survey missions, equipping small survey-services firms for water-depth measurement.
• USV200 Multibeam Bathymetric Drone GEOD®-branded autonomous surface drone configured for multibeam bathymetric capture and hydraulic-engineering survey missions.
• G-NAV Smart Antenna Precise GNSS-based smart antenna providing centimeter-level real-time vessel tracking with dual-frequency L1/L2 RTK augmentation and Kalman-filtered gyroscope heading detection.
• BlueBat Bluetooth Echo Sounder Compact, wireless Bluetooth echo sounder from the GEOD® range designed by CADDEN for portable bathymetric measurements.
• BANANAS Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) System Portable pilot unit navigation and berthing aid system dedicated to maritime pilots, combining a touchscreen tablet with a dedicated navigation application.
• Equipment Rental Fleet Extensive rental park offering sensors and complete acquisition systems for bathymetry, 3D mapping, precision trajectography and other field applications, available for short or long-term rental.
• Professional Training Services Training modules for professionals covering basic to advanced hydrographic and positioning techniques, supporting customer adoption of CADDEN equipment and methodologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ BALI bathymetric systems sold worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 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

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor, strategic and regional.

• CHASINGcoreTechnology or Integration · 8 January 2026CADDEN became official distributor of CHASING ROVs in France. CHASING produces underwater drones for inspection, surveillance, and scientific research.
• FlasheyecoreTechnology or Integration · 12 December 2025CADDEN became official distributor of Flasheye in France. Flasheye produces 3D perception software for detecting intrusions and environmental monitoring.
• HesaicoreTechnology or Integration · 29 April 2025CADDEN earned 'Approved Partner' status as authorized French partner of Hesai, the world leader in Lidar technology. CADDEN offers Hesai Lidar products including JT series, QT64, and Pandar line.
• Pôle Mer Bretagne AtlantiqueminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2025CADDEN became a member of this competitiveness cluster focused on marine technologies, participating in ecosystem for innovation and collaboration.
• SonardynestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 January 2025Strategic rental partnership bringing Sonardyne's innovative marine technology across France. Sonardyne provides ultra-compact SPRINT-Nav systems for underwater navigation.
• VoyisstrategicTechnology or Integration · 4 December 2024Strategic partnership for underwater innovation. CADDEN became distributor of Voyis solutions in France.
• Hoskin ScientificregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 January 2024Official distributor for Canada, based in Burnaby, BC. Distributes the GEOD® product line including BALI bathymetry systems.
• ASB SystemsregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial distributor for India, located in Mumbai. ASB Systems serves the South Asian market with CADDEN's hydrographic and positioning solutions.
• EMC2 PoleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean competitiveness pole for manufacturing technologies. CADDEN joined the Plug IN program supporting digital transformation.
• International Ouest ClubminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLargest export club in France. CADDEN participates to share international experience and develop export network.
• R2SoniccoreTechnology or IntegrationR2Sonic is a key supplier of multibeam echo sounders, central to CADDEN's integrated hydrographic pack solutions.
• SBG SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationKey supplier of inertial navigation systems and IMU sensors. SBG Systems also provides Qinertia PPK software used with CADDEN's BALI system.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sonardyne: UK-based specialist in underwater acoustic positioning, inertial navigation, and SPRINT-Nav hybrid systems. Comparable to CADDEN because both serve the hydrographic, offshore energy, and naval markets with precision underwater positioning hardware, and Sonardyne is an active CADDEN rental-partner.
• SBG Systems: French manufacturer of inertial navigation systems, IMUs, and GNSS/INS post-processing software (Qinertia). Directly comparable to CADDEN because it occupies the same French precision-positioning ecosystem, supplies a key CADDEN input (SBG INS for the BALI system), and competes for similar hydrographic and survey integrator customers.
• R2Sonic: US manufacturer of high-resolution multibeam echo sounders for hydrographic survey. Comparable to CADDEN because R2Sonic sonars are a core component of CADDEN's integrated hydrographic packs, and the two companies compete for the same bathymetric system integrator relationships.
• Oxford Technical Solutions (OxTS): UK specialist in GNSS-aided inertial navigation systems for survey, mapping, and autonomous vehicle testing. Comparable to CADDEN because OxTS competes in the same INS+GNSS integration niche serving hydrographic, mobile mapping, and autonomous shuttle customers (e.g., Navya).
• Septentrio: Belgian manufacturer of high-precision GNSS receivers and OEM boards used in marine, surveying, and autonomous vehicle applications. Directly comparable to CADDEN because both supply and integrate centimeter-level GNSS positioning into professional survey and marine platforms.
• CHC Navigation: Chinese manufacturer of GNSS receivers, hydrographic echo sounders, and unmanned surface vessels. Comparable to CADDEN because it offers a similar bundled portfolio (GNSS + echosounder + USV) targeting hydrographic and marine survey customers at competitive price points.

Broad incumbents

• Teledyne Marine: Division of Teledyne Technologies offering sonars, echo sounders, GNSS, inertial systems, and USV/ROV platforms. Comparable to CADDEN as the broadest incumbent in marine survey instrumentation, competing with GEOD® integrations across port, defense, and offshore segments.
• iXblue (Exail): French marine technology company (now Exail) producing inertial navigation, acoustic positioning, USVs, and autonomous marine systems. Directly comparable to CADDEN as a French-headquartered peer serving naval, hydrographic, and offshore customers with a broader portfolio and greater scale.
• Kongsberg Maritime: Norwegian provider of sonars, echo sounders, GNSS, subsea positioning, and autonomous underwater vehicles. Comparable to CADDEN as a global incumbent in hydrographic and marine autonomy, with significantly larger R&D and customer reach.
• Applanix (Trimble): Canadian/American provider of GNSS-aided inertial positioning and mobile mapping solutions, now part of Trimble. Comparable to CADDEN as a broader incumbent selling integrated POS/MMS systems for marine survey and autonomous platforms, with greater scale and global reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CADDENFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cadden

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 CADDEN