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Executive Summary: Ocean Economy Report [2026]

  • Industry Growth Overview: The ocean economy recorded -0.29% growth in the last year. It reflects short-term market softness driven by cyclical demand, regulatory transitions, and capital reallocation across traditional maritime and offshore segments.
  • Manpower & Employment Growth: The sector employs more than 2.9 million professionals globally, with 460+ new employees added in the last year.
  • Patents & Grants: Around 71K applicants filed for more than 174.1K patents. The sector has received more than 4.4K grants.
  • Global Footprint: Activity is concentrated in established maritime and industrial hubs. The USA, UK, Canada, Germany, and India lead at the country level. London, Singapore, New York City, Berlin, and Mumbai serve as key city hubs for maritime finance, policy, port-led activity, and ocean technology development.
  • Investment Landscape: The funding environment is capital-intensive and infrastructure-driven, with an average investment value of USD 57.5 million per round. More than 4.4K investors have participated in over 5.7K funding rounds.
  • Top Investors: Leading investors have deployed more than USD 10.44 billion into the ocean economy. Major contributors include Cooke Aquaculture, Warburg Pincus, and DBS.
  • Startup Ecosystem: Five innovative startups in this sector include Apeiron Labs (autonomous ocean sensing), Fiora Mara (seaweed-based carbon removal), Blusink (ocean alkalinity-driven carbon removal), Tydra Labs (marine bio-waste to high-value biomaterials), and AQL Engineering (AI-driven aquaculture monitoring).

 

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Methodology: How we created this Ocean Economy Market Report

This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which tracks 9 million global companies, 20K+ technologies and trends, as well as 150M patents, news articles, and market reports.

This data includes detailed firmographic insights into approximately 9 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this exhaustive database, we provide actionable insights for startup scouting, trend discovery, and technology landscaping.

For this report, we focused on the evolution of the ocean economy over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:

  • Total Companies working in the sector
  • News Coverage and Annual Growth
  • Market Maturity and Patents
  • Global Search Volume & Growth
  • Funding Activity and Top Countries
  • Subtrends within the ocean economy

Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.

Additionally, we reviewed trusted external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the ocean economy market.

What Data is used to create this Ocean Economy Market Report?

Based on data provided by the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, we observe that the ocean economy market stands out in the following categories relative to the 20K+ technologies and trends we track.

These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the market’s key metrics and inform the future direction of the market.

  • News Coverage & Publications: The ocean economy industry recorded more than 325+ publications in the last year.
  • Funding Rounds: The segment closed more than 5.7K funding rounds.
  • Manpower: The global ocean economy workforce exceeds 2.9 million professionals, with over 460 new employees added in the last year.
  • Patents: Companies operating in the sector hold approximately 174.1K patents.
  • Grants: The industry has secured around 4.4K grants.
  • Yearly Global Search Growth: Global search interest in the ocean economy increased by 433.33%.

Explore the Data-driven Ocean Economy Outlook for 2026

The ocean economy represents a sector that spans maritime transport, offshore infrastructure, fisheries, ocean energy, and marine services.

Between 1995 and 2020, the ocean economy expanded 2.5x, exceeding the global economy’s 1.9-fold growth over the same period.

 

Credit: UNCTAD

 

Our database tracks 19.7K companies, including 620+ startups. In the last year, the industry recorded -0.29% growth.

Despite this marginal contraction, companies have filed for more than 174.1K patents and have secured 4.4K grants.

The global workforce exceeds 2.9 million professionals, with 460+ new employees added in the last year.

Geographically, activity is concentrated in established maritime and industrial hubs. The leading country hubs include the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, and India. At the city level, London, Singapore, New York City, Berlin, and Mumbai emerge as key centers.

These hubs form the backbone of global ocean economy operations, supporting long-term modernization and the transition toward more sustainable ocean-based industries.

A Snapshot of the Global Ocean Economy Market

The ocean economy industry presents a mixed performance profile, characterized by short-term market contraction alongside sustained innovation momentum.

While the sector recorded -0.29% annual growth, it is supported by 620+ startups.

The industry is expected to increase from USD 2.08 trillion in 2025 to USD 3.78 trillion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%.

 

 

Patent activity highlights the industry’s innovation base. Over 71K applicants have filed for more than 174.1K patents. A yearly patent growth rate of 4.33% highlights incremental innovation.

Geographically, patent issuance is led by China with a wide margin of around 117.3K patents. Japan follows with approximately 15.4K patents.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Ocean Economy Market

Investment activity in the ocean economy reflects a capital-intensive and infrastructure-driven funding environment. The average investment value per round in this sector stands at about USD 57.5 million.

Moreover, investor participation remains broad, with more than 4.4K investors actively funding the sector. This level of engagement signals continued confidence from venture capital firms, industrial corporates, development banks, and public financial institutions.

In total, over 5.7K funding rounds have been closed, while more than 1.8K companies have received investment. This pattern reflects an ocean economy undergoing modernization and sustainability-driven transformation.

Who is Investing in the Ocean Economy Market?

The combined value invested by top investors exceeds USD 10.44 billion, showing concentrated capital deployment across major ocean economy innovators.

  • Cooke Aquaculture has invested USD 1.5 billion across 5 companies.
  • Warburg Pincus has deployed USD 1.2 billion into 3 companies.
  • DBS has committed USD 1.1 billion to 3 companies.
  • BNP Paribas has invested USD 1.0 billion across 10 companies.
  • DNB has allocated USD 987.1 million to 16 companies.
  • OCBC Bank of Singapore has deployed USD 929.5 million into 2 companies.
  • Croda International has invested USD 852.8 million across 2 companies.
  • Rabobank has committed USD 851.6 million to 14 companies.
  • Onex has invested USD 815.5 million across 2 companies.
  • Zoetis has allocated USD 765 million to at least 1 company.

Top Ocean Economy Innovations & Trends

Discover the emerging trends in the ocean economy market along with their firmographic details:

Marine Biotechnology

Marine biotechnology leverages marine organisms and ecosystems for high-value applications. It has 290+ companies operating in this space, employing around 24 000 professionals globally.

The segment added 8+ new employees in the last year, with an annual growth rate of 2.49%. This segment is advancing steadily as marine-derived enzymes, bioactive compounds, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials gain traction across healthcare, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology.

Ocean Engineering

Ocean engineering underpins the physical and technological infrastructure of the ocean economy. The database tracks 365+ companies in this domain, employing approximately 5300 professionals.

It added 6+ new employees in the last year, with an annual growth rate of 1.87%. This trend reflects continuous optimization and modernization rather than rapid firmographic scaling.

Ocean Sustainability

Ocean sustainability is emerging as one of the fastest-growing domains within the ocean economy. It has 590+ companies focused on this area, employing around 16 800 professionals worldwide.

The segment added 18+ new employees in the last year and grew at an annual rate of 10.07%. It is driven by increasing regulatory pressure, climate resilience initiatives, and demand for technologies that support marine conservation, pollution monitoring, sustainable resource management, and ecosystem restoration.

5 Top Examples from 620+ Innovative Ocean Economy Startups

The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data, including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

Apeiron Labs – Autonomous Ocean Sensing Platform

US-based startup Apeiron Labs makes the Tensor, an autonomous ocean observing platform that scales persistent sensing in the upper 400 meters of the ocean.

It deploys distributed, uncrewed sensors that perform autonomous station-keeping. Also, it collects real-time environmental and acoustic data, and operates continuously while delivering data through a data-as-a-service model.

The platform emphasizes low cost per data point, spatial persistence, and scalable deployment, enabling dense data collection. This architecture supports applications such as maritime domain awareness, climate change measurement, weather forecasting, precision aquaculture, and offshore wind farm construction.

Fiora Mara – Seaweed-based Carbon Removal

US-based startup Fiora Mara utilizes biodegradable seaweed micro-farms to capture and permanently sequester carbon in the deep ocean.

It deploys floating micro-farms that support rapid seaweed growth near the surface. Here, the biomass absorbs carbon from both the atmosphere and seawater along with excess nitrogen and phosphorus.

Then, the system activates a controlled sinking mechanism that transports the mature seaweed to the deep ocean floor for long-term storage. This process achieves high sequestration efficiency while supporting local marine biodiversity and reducing ocean acidification risks.

Blusink – Ocean Carbon Removal

UK-based startup Blusink develops Blusinkies, ceramic-based substrates that enable long-term ocean carbon removal while restoring seafloor ecosystems. The startup deploys apple-sized, disk-shaped Blusinkies made from industrial and agricultural waste materials that react with seawater to increase alkalinity.

They reduce dissolved inorganic carbon and create conditions that draw atmospheric CO2 into the ocean. Simultaneously, they provide a stable substrate for benthic organisms to colonize.

As native bacteria, algae, and coralline species establish on the Blusinkies, they form self-sustaining benthic ecosystems that store carbon as calcium carbonate through natural biological growth processes such as rhodolith formation.

This combined chemical and ecological mechanism delivers high-permanence carbon sequestration without introducing non-native species or competing for land resources.

Tydra Labs – Crustacean Shell Waste to Bio-products

Canadian startup Tydra Labs builds a biotechnological platform that converts renewable bio-waste into high-value chitin-based materials with precision fermentation and mechano-bio engineering.

The startup uses saltwater-tolerant bacteria to break down inputs such as crustacean waste, seaweed, and other organic byproducts via enzyme-assisted fermentation. It is followed by a one-step, chemical-free process that produces fibrillated chitin, chitosan, proteins, pigments, and enzymes while preserving molecular integrity.

The platform eliminates freshwater use, minimizes toxic chemicals, reduces wastewater and factory footprint, and enables continuous, scalable production with low energy input and high material consistency.

AQL Engineering – AI Aquaculture Monitoring

Portuguese startup AQL Engineering develops AQL Vision, an AI and computer vision system that delivers real-time monitoring, disease detection, and predictive analytics for aquaculture.

It applies deep learning models to continuous visual data streams from facility cameras to analyze fish health, behavior, biomass, size distribution, feeding activity, and water conditions. With this, it integrates these insights with operational data to generate actionable intelligence.

The system performs non-invasive pathology detection, biomass estimation, behavioral analysis, and feed efficiency optimization to reduce reliance on manual sampling and visual inspections.

Gain Comprehensive Insights into Ocean Economy Trends, Startups, and Technologies

The ocean economy spans shipping, aquaculture, offshore energy, and marine services, supported by advances in automation, data, and environmental monitoring. Workforce growth and investment activity suggest steady progress from fragmented initiatives toward more integrated marine systems.

As ocean-based industries expand globally, participants across these sectors will influence trade, food systems, and the sustainable use of marine environments.

Get in touch to explore 620+ startups and scaleups, as well as all market trends impacting ocean economy companies worldwide.