Acua Ocean
UK developer of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) for ocean monitoring and maritime defense operations.
Acua Ocean designs and builds the Pioneer-class hybrid uncrewed surface vessel (H-USV) for open-ocean monitoring, data collection, and maritime defense applications. Co-founded by brothers Neil Tinmouth (CEO) and Mike Tinmouth (COO). Backed by UK DEFRA and Department for Transport R&D grants (£4.0M) plus a £1.5M pre-seed round co-led by StealthPoint and Britbots. The Pioneer Mk2 variant carries a 7-tonne payload, operates at 3-4 knots, and has 100-day endurance on hybrid diesel-electric power; it was demonstrated launching a SkyRanger R70 drone as part of a July 2026 maritime counter-drone MoU with Babcock International and Frankenburg Technologies.
Overview
- Headquarters
- Plymouth, England, UK
- Founded
- 2020
- Employees
- 11-50 (reported)
- Total funding
- £5.5M (~$7M)
- Stage
- Pre-Seed
- Status
- active
- Domains
- Uncrewed surface vessels, Maritime autonomy
- Website
- www.ocean.tech
Founders2
Investors0
No linked records yet.
Cap table0
Approximate ownership by holder. Indexed holders link to their records.
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Contracts0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What does Acua Ocean do?
- Acua Ocean designs and builds the Pioneer-class hybrid uncrewed surface vessel (H-USV) for open-ocean monitoring, data collection, and maritime defense applications. Co-founded by brothers Neil Tinmouth (CEO) and Mike Tinmouth (COO). Backed by UK DEFRA and Department for Transport R&D grants (£4.0M) plus a £1.5M pre-seed round co-led by StealthPoint and Britbots. The Pioneer Mk2 variant carries a 7-tonne payload, operates at 3-4 knots, and has 100-day endurance on hybrid diesel-electric power; it was demonstrated launching a SkyRanger R70 drone as part of a July 2026 maritime counter-drone MoU with Babcock International and Frankenburg Technologies.
- Where is Acua Ocean headquartered?
- Acua Ocean is headquartered in Plymouth, England, UK and was founded in 2020.
- How much funding has Acua Ocean raised?
- Acua Ocean has raised £5.5M (~$7M) in disclosed funding.
- What does Acua Ocean specialize in?
- Acua Ocean works across Uncrewed surface vessels, Maritime autonomy.
Sources & citations7
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Acua Ocean secured £5.5M (US$7.0M) in funding: £4.0M in DEFRA/DfT R&D grants plus a £1.5M pre-seed round co-led by StealthPoint and Britbots, ahead of Pioneer-class USV sea trials
Riviera Maritime Media: USV developer secures £5.5M funding prior to sea trialsReported2025-01-01 - 2
Acua Ocean-led consortium won UK Department for Transport (CMDC programme) government backing to develop a 145ft Multi-Role Uncrewed Offshore Support Vessel
UK Defence Journal: Acua Ocean wins UK support for new 145ft uncrewed vesselVerified2025-05-01 - 3
Acua Ocean incorporated in England and Wales 15 November 2020 (company no. 13021977)
Companies House: ACUA OCEAN LIMITED - OverviewVerified2020-11-15 - 4
Acua Ocean's £1.5M pre-seed was co-led by StealthPoint and Britbots with additional participation from Sixth Wave Ventures and Blue Action Accelerator
Riviera Maritime Media: USV developer secures £5.5M funding prior to sea trialsReported2025-01-01 - 5
Babcock International Group signed an MOU with ACUA Ocean Technologies and Frankenburg Technologies at Farnborough International Air Show to develop integrated maritime counter-drone air defence systems
Naval News: Babcock partners with ACUA Ocean Technologies and Frankenburg on maritime counter-drone air defence systemsVerified2026-07-22 - 6
SEA signed an MOU with ACUA Ocean to explore integrating SEA's KraitSense towed array sonar with ACUA's USVs for combined ASW/ISR capability
Naval News: SEA and ACUA Ocean to Explore Deployment of Integrated ASW and ISR Capabilities Using USVsVerified2025-09-22 - 7
ACUA Ocean's Pioneer Mk2 USV (7-tonne payload, 3-4 knot operating speed, 100-day endurance, hybrid diesel-electric) demonstrated autonomous launch of a SkyRanger R70 drone as part of the Babcock/Frankenburg maritime counter-drone MoU
Resilience Media: Frankenburgh, ACUA and Babcock pair up for a new line of naval defenceReported2026-07-27