Vessev, a New Zealand company building electric hydrofoiling vessels for commercial water transit, has raised $19 million in Series A and follow-on financing. The company was co-founded by CEO Eric Laakmann and CTO Max Olson. Vessev designs boats that rise above the water on underwater wings, eliminating drag and producing virtually no wake. It is a different approach to moving people across lakes, rivers, and coastlines, and one that is starting to attract serious capital.
The maritime industry is under growing pressure to reduce emissions. Shipping accounts for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and without intervention, those numbers could rise significantly by mid-century. In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization approved new net-zero regulations for the sector, including a global fuel standard and a carbon pricing mechanism set to take effect in 2027. The electric ferry market is growing alongside that regulatory push. Analysts at Research and Markets project the sector will expand from $2.64 billion in 2025 to $5.25 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%.
The round was led by Blackbird Ventures, one of Australia's leading venture firms and an early backer of Canva.
Most electric boats still sit in the water and push through it, which creates significant drag. Hydrofoiling vessels work differently. They use wing-like foils beneath the hull to lift the boat above the surface at speed. That lift cuts energy consumption considerably. Vessev says its vessels are three times more efficient than conventional ones, which allows battery-electric propulsion to cover more distance on a single charge. Passengers also get a smoother, quieter ride.
The underlying technology comes from competitive sailing. Hydrofoiling became widely known through the America's Cup, where racing teams built foiling systems that could adjust to changing water conditions in real time. Vessev has adapted that engineering for everyday commercial use, with foil systems that adjust up to 100 times per second through onboard sensors and flight control software.
"Vessev is bringing world-class engineering from Apple, Tesla, the America's Cup and Rocket Lab to a massive, long-stagnant industry. Its combination of foiling technology and software unlocks lower operating costs while improving the passenger experience, and shows how waterways can function as near-zero-emission transit networks, the U.S. and beyond." — Phoebe Harrop Meadows, Partner at Blackbird
A significant portion of the capital will go toward scaling in-house serial production of the VS-9 vessel line. The company also plans to grow its global sales team, advance its onboard software and telemetry platform, and accelerate work on larger vessels. Vessev has already announced the VS-12, a bigger model currently in development. Manufacturing in the United States is also part of the plan.
The U.S. market is a clear priority. Vessev has named FlyTahoe, an emerging sustainable water transit network operator at Lake Tahoe, California, as its first American customer. Lake Tahoe draws more than 15 million visitors a year, and traffic congestion around the lake has become a persistent problem, with up to 20,000 vehicle trips daily between the North and South shores. FlyTahoe plans to use the VS-9 to move people over the water instead of around it by road. The service remains subject to permits from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which FlyTahoe is actively working to obtain.
"Hydrofoiling doesn't just make boats better, it redefines what's possible on water. By combining electric propulsion, advanced foiling systems, and software, we're making vessels significantly more efficient, better for passengers and more scalable for operators. Lake Tahoe is an ideal place to demonstrate our technology and we're excited to work with our first U.S. customer, FlyTahoe, to help communities rethink mobility on the lake, offering a faster, more reliable alternative." — Eric Laakmann, Co-founder and CEO of Vessev
Max Olson founded Vessev in 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. He grew up on the water and had previously co-founded Halter, a virtual fencing technology company for cattle, while still a student. Eric Laakmann joined him later. Laakmann had led engineering programs at Apple, including launching three generations of the Apple Watch, and sailed 30,000 nautical miles across the Pacific before settling in New Zealand.
Vessev builds all of its core technology in house. That includes the hull, foils, hardware, and flight control systems. The VS-9, its primary vessel, carries 10 passengers and runs entirely on battery power. It has a range of up to 40 nautical miles at full load and 50 with a lighter load. The vessel is commercially certified, already operating in New Zealand, and has logged more than 11,000 nautical miles. The team behind it includes engineers from the America's Cup, Rocket Lab, Apple, and Tesla, among others.
Beyond Lake Tahoe, Vessev is planning U.S. demonstrations in New York City ahead of Climate Week and at Washington D.C.'s Navy Yard in collaboration with the DC Mobility Innovation District. Internationally, projects are underway in Northern Ireland, Sydney, and Hobart, with demand spanning five continents.
Blackbird Ventures led the round. The Australasian firm was founded in 2012, manages over $7 billion, and has backed companies including Canva, SafetyCulture, and Culture Amp. New investors GD1 and Rypples joined for the first time, alongside returning backers K1W1 (an early investor in Rocket Lab), Icehouse Ventures (an early investor in Halter), Shasta Ventures, NZVC, and a group of angel investors.
Vessev has not publicly disclosed details of earlier funding rounds, but it describes this capital as Series A and follow-on financing, which suggests some prior seed-stage investment. Several backers have strong ties to New Zealand's deep tech ecosystem. K1W1 backed Rocket Lab early on. Icehouse Ventures backed Halter, the agri-tech company co-founded by Vessev's own CTO, Max Olson.
Multiple returning investors participated in this round. That continued support comes as Vessev moves from early commercial operations in New Zealand toward a broader international expansion, with the United States as its primary new market.
