Tilla, a Berlin-based maritime tech startup, announced the successful closing of a USD$2.3 million (€2 million) funding round designed to accelerate the global expansion and innovation of its crew logistics platform.
The round is led by global maritime venture capital firm Motion Ventures, which recently launched a $100 million maritime tech fund, alongside a strategic investment from EXMAR, a Belgian shipping company with a long-standing reputation under the Saverys family. The new round brings Tilla’s total funding to USD$4.6 million (€4 million) since its founding in 2021.
The capital infusion will enable Tilla to further enhance its platform’s capabilities, enter new international markets including APAC and the Mediterranean, and rapidly scale its global team. The involvement of Motion Ventures and EXMAR provides more than just financial support: Their deep maritime expertise and global networks are a key asset, reinforcing Tilla’s credibility and market position as it aims to become the world’s leading end-to-end platform for crew change management.
Each year, the shipping industry undertakes approximately ten million crew trips, incurring estimated costs of $12 billion. Most processes remain manual and fragmented, relying on calls, emails, and spreadsheets, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and high costs.
Tilla has developed a digital, AI-powered platform to solve this problem. It enables crewing teams to plan, monitor, and continuously optimize crew changes. The platform integrates all relevant data sources, including voyage schedules, crew details, port agency data, real-time flight information, travel requirements, and more. It covers all steps of the crew change process, from planning, automated flight management, to invoice management and reporting. The platform integrates seamlessly with existing crew management systems. By using Tilla, ship managers can reduce crew change costs by up to 24% and save up to 40% in time.