Wind-propulsion outfit bound4blue has closed a $44m funding round, securing backing from a heavyweight mix of maritime corporates, shipowning families, climate-focused investors and government capital as demand for retrofittable decarbonisation technology accelerates across the global fleet.
The round was led by OCTAVE Capital — an investment platform linked to the Tsao family’s IMC — and Katapult Ocean. New investors include Motion Ventures, the Odfjell family office and the ReOcean Fund, backed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Monaco Asset Management. Existing investors Shift4Good, GTT Strategic Ventures, KAI Capital and CDTI (Innvierte SICC) also strengthened their support.
“This round signals a new phase for bound4blue,” said CEO and co-founder José Miguel Bermúdez. “Earlier stages focused on proving the technology and validating its impact; now this new capital reinforces the long-term backing we already have from investors who understand shipping and share our industrial vision. It enables us to expand capacity, accelerate our growth roadmap and advance new developments that will elevate both the technology and our services.”
The new capital will propel bound4blue into full industrialisation, expanding manufacturing capacity in Spain and China to deliver hundreds of sails annually while advancing R&D for next-generation systems. The company has already installed its eSAIL units on seven vessels with a further 12 ships in the orderbook, representing more than 50 sails. Customers include Maersk Tankers, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Odfjell, Klaveness Combination Carriers and BW Epic Kosan.
Operational data from recent retrofits continues to impress. On the Ville de Bordeaux roro, third-party assessments reported daily fuel savings of 1.7 tonnes, with peaks of 5.4 tonnes. Odfjell’s Bow Olympus saw average reductions of 15–20% on its first transatlantic voyage, with peaks of up to 40%.
OCTAVE Capital CEO May Liew said the investment reflects wind propulsion’s shift “from promising innovation to proven, scalable climate infrastructure”, adding that bound4blue is now positioned to lead global deployment as fuel-transition timelines remain uncertain.
Katapult Ocean CEO Jonas Skattum Svegaarden echoed this, describing bound4blue as a “cornerstone solution” for shipping’s decarbonisation push, citing its combination of technical performance, commercial traction and supply-chain readiness.
bound4blue said today shipping is entering the “retrofit decade”, with thousands of vessels requiring efficiency upgrades before 2030.
