Wilhelmsen introduces new digital start-up Raa Labs

Raa Labs aims to enable maritime companies to harness data, drive digitalisation and adopt technology to take a leap into the future, improving efficiency and introducing new business models.

Lysaker-based Raa Labs can tap directly into the comprehensive networks of owners Wallenius Wilhelmsen and the Wilhelmsen group, which have provided $2m in seed investment.

Raa Labs’ initial customer deliveries range wide, from orchestrating the architecture necessary for harnessing data from hundreds of vessels in order to improve performance while reducing environmental impact and operational expenses, to tailor-made applications enabling effective collaboration processes across company disciplines and divisions.

Raa Labs will also deliver new solutions, specially designed to meet needs or challenges in the industry, reducing the inefficiencies of today.

“What if you could compare prices and order commodities to your ship on the go, using a user-centred interface and simply getting what you need when you need it, with full transparency? The maritime industry isn’t spoiled with innovation, and our humble ambition is to help the maritime industry reinvent itself,” said Ari Marjamaa, ceo of Raa Labs.

“We ensure that our customers consider the entire value chain from an innovation standpoint, securing long-term growth and return on investment. We’re not an applications company giving you just a piece of the puzzle,” Marjamaa said.

Raa Labs chief data officer Inge Andre Sandvik pointed out that the current digital state of the maritime industry is lagging standardisation, disconnected data in monolithic silos and dated software.

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“This creates inefficiencies and slows down innovation. The shapers of tomorrow’s industry are those who know how to utilise their expertise, data and customer insights to build software creating a competitive edge,” he said.

Wilhelmsen explained that the company name Raa is the old Norse word for the yard that held up the square sail of the Viking longships. This highly efficient sail offered the Viking vessels superior speed and handling – securing a dominant position on the seas.