Startup Gets Funding, Will Advance Floating Offshore Wind Platform Technology

Aikido Technologies (Aikido) a floating wind startup, announced the successful close of its over-subscribed US$4 million Series Seed investment round. The financing was led by Azolla Ventures with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, Anthropocene Ventures, and others. Aikido will use this capital to advance its technology for offshore deployment, build its team, and develop a commercial pipeline. The company is currently supported by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, which is funding Aikido’s first pilot deployment, the Aikido One.

Aikido’s core technology is a platform for floating offshore wind turbines. According to Aikido, the technology slashes project costs and enables floating offshore wind projects to become economic.

Key features of the platform include:

a) Pin joints that enable serialized production of its 13 major steel components.

b) A unique design that allows it to fold up during assembly, occupying 2/3 less space in a shipyard or quayside port facility.

c) A fit-for-purpose, re-usable assembly structure that enables the quick placement, alignment, final assembly, and transport.

d) An upending procedure that only requires water ballast.

“Bringing strong financial investors to the table represents a huge milestone for Aikido and for the floating wind industry writ large,” stated Chief Executive Officer Sam Kanner. “Floating wind must become commercialized by the end of the decade so that we can meet decarbonization targets set by pioneering offshore wind countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and others in Europe and Asia. We believe our technology suite represents a step change in reducing costs, simplifying logistics, and increasing throughput of floating wind systems.”

“The American Bureau of Shipping [ABS] is proud to have been involved with the Aikido team since 2022, when we granted their concept an Approval-In-Principle,” said Rob Langford, ABS vice president of Global Offshore Wind. “I welcome the announcement of this financing as a great signal for Aikido and the strength of the floating wind industry. I look forward to following the Aikido One project and their progress in the coming years.”

“We are delighted to lead Aikido’s first equity financing,” said Matthew Nordan, general partner at Azolla Ventures. “The world does not reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions without taking advantage of the extraordinary resource in offshore wind, but the high costs of incumbent technologies have limited deployments to date. We are optimistic that Aikido stands out amongst a multitude of competing concepts in its ability to dramatically reduce costs and speed up installation.”

The company is currently building its inaugural Aikido One platform with its fabrication partner Morrison Energy in Harvey, Louisiana. Once completed, the company plans to demonstrate its technology in the Gulf Coast in Fall 2024. The demonstration will show the key differentiators of Aikido’s platform technology, which the company believes are fast and compact final assembly, simple transportation and float-off, and a safe and robust upending procedure.

“We are very excited about the opportunity for Aikido,” said Reece Pacheco, partner at Propeller. “The Aikido team is excellent, the market is huge, and their timing is critical — unlocking the tremendous renewable energy potential of floating offshore wind. Aikido’s technology solves the most critical challenge facing the industry, how to build these massive structures in a cost-effective, time-constrained, and space-efficient manner.”