Evaluating only OpenSea Maritime Data’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Competition as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
OpenSea Maritime Data founded in London to aggregate AIS and port call data via open API
FUNDING
Raised £2.8M from Mercia Asset Management to expand data partnerships and sales
Co-founder Will Thompson announced wind-down; 18 clients, £320K ARR vs £1.1M annual costs
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
OpenSea Maritime Data, based in London, built an open-API platform aggregating AIS vessel tracking, port call, and cargo manifest data for maritime analysts and insurance underwriters. The company raised £2.8M from Mercia Asset Management in 2018. MarineTraffic and VesselsValue expanded aggressively in 2019-2020, offering lower-priced data bundles. OpenSea's undifferentiated data API competed on price and lost. By 2021, with 18 clients generating £320K ARR against £1.1M annual costs, co-founder Will Thompson announced wind-down in September 2021.
Lesson
“Maritime data aggregation is not a business without exclusive data sourcing agreements or proprietary derived analytics.”