Flagship Founders and Studio 30 50 join forces to build the next generation of maritime-tech ventures

Flagship Founders and Studio 30 50, the two leading maritime technology venture studios, are combining their future venture-building activities under the Flagship Founders brand, according to the company's release.
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The aim of this collaboration is to build the next generation of maritime technology companies in Europe and Southeast Asia with an unrivaled international partner network and teams in Berlin and Singapore. This will result in a further expansion of partnership and innovation opportunities for maritime industry players worldwide.
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Venture studios build companies from scratch: This includes validating ideas for successful business models, finding the right founders, spinning off the startups and then providing ongoing support through operational and strategic resources, network access and funding.
 
Founded in Berlin in 2020, Flagship Founders is the only European venture studio focussing exclusively on building technology startups for the maritime industry. The company has since successfully built five companies operating in areas such as emissions management, crew planning and ship inspections.
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Studio 30 50 was launched in 2023 as a collaboration of Hafnia, DNV, IMC Ventures, Microsoft and Wilhelmsen. It has since built a portfolio of startups that are aiming to solve some of the most pressing needs of the shipping industry.
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While Studio 30 50 has operated with a programme-based approach in which startups are founded in batches, Flagship Founders has had a more individual strategy for founding startups to date. The aim is to combine both methods in the future to get the best of both worlds.
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As part of combining the two studios’ venture building activities, Shanker Pillai, Director of Studio 30 50, will join the Flagship Founders management team and lead the company together with Fabian Feldhaus and Malte Cherdron. Flagship Founders will operate offices in Berlin and Singapore. Studio 30 50 will continue to offer services to maritime corporates on their innovation and digital business requirements and manage its existing portfolio of companies under the Studio 30 50 business.
 
Flagship Founders is a venture studio focussing on maritime technologies, logistics and shipping. Founded in 2020 and based in Berlin and Hamburg, the company works with ambitious founders to build scalable companies with digital product solutions. The aim is to bring cutting-edge technologies and innovation to the shipping industry and thus help shape the future of the sector. To deliver successful results, Flagship Founders provides ongoing support, from a successful creative process through company founding and financing right up to an exit. In addition to a wealth of expertise in the startup and company building sector, the Flagship Founders team has access to a first-class network and specialist shipping knowledge.