Quartermaster, based in Arlington, Virginia and led by CEO Neil Sobin, builds SmartMast: a weather-hardened package of sensors (including cameras and radios) mounted on ship masts plus an analytics platform that together form a continuous, distributed sensing network. The company positions SmartMast as a more robust alternative to AIS, claiming it is less susceptible to spoofing and opt-out fraud. More than 600 SmartMast-equipped ships have covered roughly 10 million square miles of ocean, and the system has assisted in over 20 rescues of mariners. Quartermaster markets its data and infrastructure to governments, shipping companies, insurers, and users building marine autonomy, and highlights use cases such as vessel identification and training data collection. The company raised a $43 million Series A to accelerate engineering hires and further develop its hardware and analytics.

Total raised

$43M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

May 2026