Investing in the changing global trade engine

Backing the technologies reshaping how the world moves

The world has changed

01

New Era of Global Trade

Geopolitical tensions and shifting trade corridors have redefined maritime shipping's role in the global economy. What was once the invisible engine of global trade is now a strategic asset class — tied to national resilience, energy security, and economic stability.

The industry that optimized for just-in-time efficiency must now also deliver just-in-case security. Agility matters as much as cost; optionality as much as scale.

02

Our Role

Outsiders see noise. We see systems — the maritime system of systems, network of networks — and the clarity that comes from understanding how they actually work.

We help startups turn that complexity into simplicity: not by oversimplifying, but by understanding deeply enough to make the complex actionable.

03

Why the Long Tail Matters

Maritime complexity wasn't built for uniformity. Over centuries, a vast ecosystem of MSMEs emerged to normalize long chains, numerous nodes, diversified flows, tedious manual operations, and deeply localized needs.

These MSMEs are specialists — translating global trade into local execution with a level of care and precision that large players cannot replicate. They exist because maritime complexity requires them. But they now face pressure from digitalization.

It can also level the playing field — but MSMEs cannot adopt on their own. They lack the time, resources, and expertise. That is what startups can solve: build solutions that work for the long tail.

The opportunity is clear. The long tail may be small in individual value — but it is the majority in number. A solution that serves them well gains adoption, density, and resilience that point solutions serving only the largest players can never achieve.

Without the long tail, the system remains incomplete — fragmented and unable to deliver the coordination global trade increasingly demands.

That's why we invest in ventures, infrastructure, and ecosystems that make innovation accessible, adoptable, and scalable for MSMEs — not to replace them, but to equip them.

Because when the long tail thrives, global trade becomes more resilient, more responsive, more inclusive, and more competitive.

That is our vision for startups: delivering history's largest technological transfer — inclusively, to the long tail of maritime micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

“That is our vision for startups: delivering history's largest technological transfer — inclusively, to the long tail of maritime micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.”

The Real Smart Money
for Extraordinary Founders

Helping them breakthrough, grow, and achieve their big goals

01

We've lived it

We know what it takes to make technology work in maritime — not because we studied it, but because we lived it. We've built solutions, struggled through adoption, and learned what separates pilots from real operational impact.

02

We open doors

Our network is real — but we don't do the heavy lifting for you. We open doors, you walk through them. We make introductions, you build the relationships. We create the context, you close the deals.

03

We understand the water

Our capital understands the industry's rhythms — unique sales cycles, asset-heavy operations, regulatory complexity. We don't expect maritime to fit a generic venture playbook, because it doesn't.

Because extraordinary founders deserve more than smart money. They deserve a partner who understands the water.

Why Early-stage Startups Matter

They are the R&D engine of the changing global trade.

When early-stage startups succeed, they don't just build companies — they build a more resilient, responsive, and inclusive global trade system. That's why they matter, and why we back them.

They see opportunities incumbents have normalized as inefficiencies — and build what incumbents can't. Solving maritime problems takes more than capital: it takes a partner fluent in the language of containers, bulkers, tankers, and bills of lading. We bridge that gap.

Maritime Reality But not everything is complex

Our Journey

A decade of bridging gaps in the changing trade engine across innovation, venture, and capital formation

2026
  • Followed on with Ofiniti, BeeX, and Clearbot
  • Invested in Clearbot and thirdlyr
2025
2024
  • Invested in Ofiniti, Pyxis and Cetasol
  • Invested in Closelink
2023
2022
  • Invested in ELXA
  • Ceased being a ship-agent
  • SEEDS Capital Co-investment Partnership
  • Invested in BeeX
  • Won MPA's Outstanding Maritime R&D and Technology Award
2021
2020
  • Incorporated 2 startups E-Port Pte Ltd. and ALS (Singapore) Pte Ltd
  • Operated as licensed ship-agent
  • Won MPA Joint-industry-Projects "Just-in-Time" PoC
  • AgenSEE soft-launched with 1st collaborator
  • Won IMDA Open Innovation Tender with MaGIC
  • Won Trailblazer Award
2019
2018
  • Book-A-Launch soft-launched with 1st collaborator
  • Launched Aggregated Launch Service, Aggregated Tug Service, Portview, cloudDA, Chartering & Operations System (COS)
  • First digital products developed
2017
2016
  • ShipsFocus Services incorporated as a 3rd pillar to achieve Aggregated Shipping vision
  • Commenced maritime tech R&D

Powering the maritime's long tail

Before we were investors, we were operators — building digital products to digitize harbour-craft and ship-agent operations across the region.

Partner with ShipsFocus Ventures

For Founders

Submit your pitch deck and share what you're building with the ShipsFocus Ventures team.

For Investors

Get connected with our team to learn about co-investment and LP opportunities.

Other Inquiries

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