SEA.AI GmbH (formerly OSCAR) is an Austrian maritime technology company specializing in artificial intelligence-based machine vision systems for object detection and collision avoidance at sea. SEA.AI develops and supplies AI-powered camera systems for maritime safety and security.
SEA.AI was founded in 2018 in Austria and France under the name OSCAR by Raphaël Biancale, an automotive engineer, and Gaëtan Gouérou, co-founder of CDK Technologies and former Managing Director of the IMOCA offshore racing class. In 2020, SEA.AI technology was adopted by approximately half of the fleet participating in the Vendée Globe, a solo, non-stop, round-the-world sailing race.
In 2021, SEA.AI secured â¬3 million in a Series A funding round to support the expansion of its research and development, operations, and commercial activities, with participation from investors including Stephan Schambach and Christoph Ballin.
In April 2022, the OSCAR collision avoidance system was made available as an optional installation on Outremer catamarans. In October 2022, the company formally changed its name from OSCAR to SEA.AI.
In 2024, Fred. Olsen Express began installing SEA.AI's antiâÂÂcollision technology on its fast ferry fleet to improve navigational safety, marking a world first for highâÂÂspeed passenger ferries.
In January 2025, SEA.AI integrated its Sentry AI-powered maritime safety system into AIRCAT's Crew Transfer Vessels, including the world's fastest 35-metre SES vessels, enhancing collision avoidance, situational awareness, and offshore operational safety.
In June 2025, SEA.AI partnered with French boatbuilder Nautitech Catamarans to integrate its AI-powered machine vision systems across Nautitech's performance catamaran fleet, enhancing collision avoidance and onboard safety. In the same month, SEA.AI partnered with European scientists under the European Union's Atlantic Whale Deal, collaborating with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and the University of La Laguna, to deploy AI-powered vision systems for detecting and tracking surfacing whales to reduce ship strikes.
In March, SEA.AI launched Watchkeeper, an entry-level AI-powered collision-avoidance system, at the Cannes Yachting Festival, where it was selected for the event's Innovation Route. In December, SEA.AI announced a partnership with Hefring Marine, a company specialising in intelligent maritime analytics, to integrate their respective technologies into a unified vessel safety and operations platform.
In 2026, the French multihull shipyard Privilège Marine integrated SEA.AI's artificialâÂÂintelligence collisionâÂÂavoidance and situationalâÂÂawareness system as a standard feature across its entire range of vessels.
SEA.AI systems integrate low-light optical cameras and thermal imaging sensors with proprietary artificial intelligence software. The systems capture visual data continuously and process it in real time to detect and track floating objects.
As of late 2025, the company had collected and annotated more than 80 million images from real-world maritime environments to train its machine-learning models. Object recognition performance is updated iteratively through software improvements.
SEA.AI technology is designed to complement conventional navigation tools, providing alerts and augmented-reality overlays via onboard multifunction displays, computers, and mobile devices.