Hydromea: The Venture Leader Mobile pioneering portable underwater technology

31.01.2025 09:30, Rita Longobardi

Meet Igor Martin, CEO of Hydromea. The robotics startup provides an integrated solution for continuous data flow from submerged assets to the cloud, enhancing integrity assurance. In March, Igor will join nine other innovators on a business development and investor roadshow in Barcelona.

Name: Igor Martin
Location: Lausanne
Nationality: Swiss
Graduated from: Saint Louis University
Job title: CEO
Number of employees:  22
Money raised: CHF 1.5M

 

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Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Hydromea's solution helps submerged asset owners and operators as it provides insightful data about the health of their asset integrity in harsh underwater environments.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
Our solution can be deployed in various sectors where submerged infrastructure needs monitoring, such as hydropower, industrial and municipal water, aquaculture, harbours and infrastructure security. But our largest potential lies in the rapidly growing offshore energy sector that will see an exponential growth of new infrastructure over the foreseeable future, driven by offshore wind and other renewable solutions that harness the power of the seas and need to be looked after continuously.

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
The idea came to us many years ago when we realized that there is a significant communication gap underwater and this gap stands on the way to efficient and affordable management of marine environments and submerged infrastructure.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how do you think it will help you achieve your vision?
We know that this is a large event where the communication industry converges and we are at a point where we can start working with other companies who see significant potential in the offshore energy space. We will be looking to establish new contacts and grow our network.
 

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What are your team’s key achievements to date?
We have developed a unique end-to-end solution featuring advanced technologies. This includes a certified communication system for fast, low-power wireless data harvesting from sensors at any oceanic depth and WiFi-like telemetry for autonomous vehicles during subsea missions. We also launched a compact robot in 2024 for low-cost data collection, which has gained strong market demand. On the operational side, we've implemented an ERP system to streamline company activities and accelerate product delivery. Additionally, in June 2024, we introduced a global wireless communication standard now adopted by the offshore energy industry.

Is there a key principle or value that guides you as you build your company?
There are no impossible solutions if we keep creative at finding an angle to address them. We are building a complex platform, and many things have to come together at once. Persistence, a positive attitude, creativity and a customer-focused approach are the four main ingredients to getting there.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
As I am coming from a decade in the corporate world before taking on a startup challenge, it became obvious over the past few years that startups’ only real advantage in the world of well-financed and talent-staffed corporations is its speed. When the team works as one, with no department walls and many levels of approvals, it can move and iterate so much faster that it has a real chance at changing an industry paradigm and unseating the slow-moving industry players. Another big lesson is that this is the environment that not only allows you to dream big, it incentivizes you to build on your dreams fast.

What is your favorite productivity hack or tool and why?
Prioritization and a to-do list upkeep. As a CEO, I have a ton of tasks falling into my lap daily. The only way to keep sane in this environment and actually be productive is to have a solid process in how you manage your tasks and how you prioritize them.

What was your dream job when you were a child?
I was growing up running the labyrinths of cargo ships because my father was a seaman. I was always fascinated by these large heavy ships going places and so I always saw myself having a job opening the world to me, be it a seaman, salesman, pilot or else. So I am quite happy to say that I am living my dream.