Rome, April 14, 2025 | WSense – the Italian ocean tech company enabling the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) through its proprietary "subsea wifi" systems – has successfully closed a 7.2 million euros Bridge Round.

The round of funding saw the participation from existing Series A round investors CDP Venture Capital SGR, SWEN's Blue Ocean, RunwayFBU, and Axon Partners Group, and was joined by Fincantieri and Rypples, an ocean-focused impact investment firm founded by serial entrepreneur and unicorn founder Jerome Ternynck.

Founded by Chiara Petrioli, Full Professor of Computer Engineering at Sapienza University, who has served as CEO since 2022, WSense delivers unique innovative solutions that ensure seamless interoperability of adaptive wireless networks between multi-vendor underwater sensors and autonomous vehicles, with unmatched reliability and scalability.

WSense's patented technologies enable real-time, secure and cost-effective underwater wireless communications, allowing for the collection of underwater big data on an unprecedented scale. This capability is transforming the study and understanding of the oceans and their impact on our planet. The company’s solutions have also opened up a range of new opportunities, including the monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure, resident autonomous robotic networks supporting energy transition, and real-time underwater environmental monitoring. 

According to a recent estimate by Fincantieri, the global underwater industry’s economic value between 2024 and 2030 is expected to reach 400 billion euros, with innovative solutions alone accounting for 30 billion euros. WSense is targeting the global underwater communications market, projected to reach 10.4 billion euros by 2030.

To highlight the growing potential of the undersea market, it’s enough to note that in the underwater telecommunications alone, 552 cables have been laid across the ocean's backbones, spanning a total of 1.4 million kilometers. These cables carry 98% of the global digital telecommunications, including digital transactions. In 2023 alone, these transactions are expected to exceed one trillion, with an estimated annual value of 10 trillion US dollars, growing at an average rate of 12% per year (source: Italian Navy).

As WSense CEO Chiara Petrioli points out: "With the closing of this round – which, together with the previous 4 million euros Seed Round in 2022 and the €11 million Series A round in 2023, brings our total funding to over 22 million euros – WSense is now in a position to accelerate its international expansion, strengthen our team, and support the rapid growth leading up to our Series B round. The renewed confidence from international investors allows us to further consolidate our technology leadership in an increasingly competitive market, where even the major players are beginning to take action. Thanks to our ability to implement technologies never before used in the marine environment and to develop cutting-edge solutions, WSense is uniquely positioned to make a positive impact on the planet. In fact, we are expanding our reach through strategic partnerships in emerging areas such as marine renewable energy, autonomous underwater robotics, and infrastructure security."

In this context, Fincantieri’s investment carries strategic significance. In December 2023, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a strategic collaboration in the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) sector, with a particular focus on adaptive underwater communications and the related multimodal networks. The collaboration also involves developing solutions for measuring the relative positioning of unmanned surface and underwater vessels, as well as cloud solutions for the Defense sector. The recently finalized deal underscores the joint commitment to strengthening their presence in this strategic sector for our country, especially in light of the recent establishment of the National Underwater Dimension Hub.

The completion of the investment is subject to the Italian government not exercising its special powers (Golden Power).