During Q1 we strengthened our team with new colleagues and solid senior developers.
We started learning that the module concept was not the right business model for ShipIntel. So in April 2024 we launched the new business model for ShipIntel and we launched the first ShipIntel subscription: ShipIntel Essentials. We also launched the Beta Microsoft Teams integration and a beta version of the ShipIntel Pre-Fix subscriptions.
We also launched the new business model for ShipAtlas in July.
In August we launched the ShipIntel Pre-fix subscriptions and we launched two advanced AIS models to the ShipIntel Essentials subscription. The AIS based model is a live vessel list, often called Position list, and the second is a model prediction the vessels next destination.
In August 2024 ShipIntel by Maritime Optima was approved by Microsoft and listed as transactable on their market places. We also launched a Microsoft Team plugin and a Outlook extension helping companies save hours each day.
In September 2023, we sold our first ShipIntel subscriptions. By September 2024, we learned that our customers were renewing their subscriptions and adding more seats. This is a fantastic milestone for any entrepreneur. Seeing new customers signing up and existing customers renewing their subscriptions makes all the effort and time worthwhile.
In October we opened up our Greek office and had greek colleagues joining team Maritime Optima.
During 2023 ShipIntel gradually become a sellable software product for companies involved in maritime business.
We want to be "independently owned" so in May 2023 we therefore raised capital among several shipping executives. During the spring and summer we developed 8 new modules in ShipIntel.
In June we were invited to join the Microsoft ISV Program.
During the autumn the number of ShipIntel customers and revenues started to grow.
We had more than 200 000 registered users on ShipAtlas by the year end and the ShipAtlas revenues continue to grow.
In October, we updated the logos for ShipAtlas and ShipIntel. Based on clear user feedback, we began transforming ShipAtlas into a product tailored for individuals interested in ship tracking.
The competitor landscape had changed during 2023, so by the end of 2023 we started to discuss how to adopt our feature portfolio and business models.
In In January 2022, we divided our first product "Maritime Optima" into two new products; "ShipAtlas" for individuals and "Maritime Optima Pro" for professionals.
In July 2022 we changed the name of the "Pro" product to ShipIntel and launched 2 new mobile apps; one for ShipAtlas and one for ShipIntel and we launched the sea route engine able to route from any of the vessels AIS position to any port in seconds, also from your mobile.
In October we officially launched the ShipIntel MVP on web with 3 modules. We also launched a new design on web for ShipAtlas.
December 2022 we launched the ShipAtlas Premium subscription plan and a new module in ShipIntel, and the team now consisted of 12 persons.
In January 2021 we officially launched an MVP product on web and for iPhones and Android. We signed a contract with Orbcomm to get access to more AIS satellites and terrestrial senders, and we had a team of 7 people.
In May Morten finished his Master project; "Vessel Destination Forecasting Based on Historical AIS Data". We noticed we were very inspired by working with students so in April 2021 we launched our student awards program in cooperation with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
During 2021 we focused on building our in-house processed AIS pipeline and sea route engine, and we spent time and knowledge in data wrangling; cleaning and unifying messy and complex data sets for easy access and analysis.
In September we signed a contract with Spire to secure an even better global AIS coverage and internal investors, employees og external shipping investors injected new capital.
We frequently launched new content and product updates based on user feedback during 2021.
In April 2020 we had a preliminary roadmap ready, and Pål Robert embarked as our CTO. The Covid pandemic and lock downs forecasted stormy waters ahead and we injected some capital to be prepared for some difficult months. In September we launched a beta version for the product Maritime Optima, for web, Android phones and iPhones, but with access to only 3 AIS satellites the global coverage was not so good. During the autumn we made frequent improvements in the product based on user feedback.
In June 2019 after Kristin had left Rendra, she decided to go forward with the company. She invited Pål-Robert Engnæs, our co-founder and CTO to join, and together they injected the needed start-up capital so the company could start hiring people, and Bjarte, Jørgen and Morten joined. During 2019 several companies signed up to join the R&D project.
In October 2019 we were approved for the Microsoft Start-up program. In November we changed the name of the company to Maritime Optima, made our logo and the name, logo and colours became registered trademark.
June 2019, we decided to go forward with the company, and KOJ Invest AS and Preng AS signed up for NOK 7,5 million and we started recruiting a team.
Our founder Kristin has extensive experience from the shipping industry, but she has also founded two tech companies. So after she had sold those companies, she started interviewing people working in the maritime industry and mapped the softwares they were using, to find if there was some problems that needed a hand.
So in April 2018 Kristin founded the company under the name of Safe Sea Way AS. In May her ideas were awarded the Copernicus prize by the Norwegian Space Agency.
