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Our crew
By sailors, for sailors.
And today for motorboats too.
Smartboatia was born on the Atlantic. Today, a small crew on the Baltic coast is working to make every boat a little smarter.
Our story
It all started on a night watch.
In 2019, Benny set off with his family to sail around the world. On board, one thing kept bugging him: the instruments show wind, speed and heading, then instantly forget them. After 18 years in the pharma industry, he knew how much you can do with data. So he built what he couldn’t buy, coding the first features on his MacBook during night watches.
In 2020, he crossed the Atlantic with his prototype. On board: Hartmut, a seasoned offshore sailor and race winner who doesn’t impress easily.
“Nobody needs something like that.”
Hartmut on day one of the crossing
A week later, Hartmut woke Benny during his off-watch because the MacBook had died. He wanted the “Smartboat thing” running again.
Around 1,000 nautical miles off the Azores, Benny emailed Burkhardt, a data scientist and sailor, via satellite phone. Instead of finding a few students as asked, Burkhardt joined himself. In April 2021, Smartboatia GmbH was founded, signed on board a sailing yacht.
Now under engine too.
It all started for sailors. But the questions are the same on every boat: Is my boat still safe? Is the battery holding up? Where have I been? That’s why we’re now bringing Smartboatia to motorboats, with the same Hub and an app that knows what kind of boat you’re on.
Our course so far
2019
2019
Casting off
Benny and his family set off to sail around the world. On board, the idea for Smartboatia takes shape.
February 2020
Change of plans
Covid ends the voyage. The boat has to make its way back to Europe.
2020
June 2020
27 days on the Atlantic
From Annapolis to Cuxhaven with the first prototype on board. By the end, even the sceptical crew member is convinced.
October 2020
The first story
Trans Ocean’s magazine publishes Benny’s account. Smartboatia goes public for the first time.
2021
April 2021
Founded on board
Benny and Burkhardt found Smartboatia GmbH, signing on a sailing yacht.
October 2021
The crew grows
Lennart joins as a working student. Today, he leads development.
2022
February 2022
First test boats
The first Hubs go into testing and sail with real crews.
2022 to 2023
From shoebox to series
Makeshift hardware becomes a device built for series production.
2024
April 2024
Ready for market
The Hub receives its CE marking and goes on sale.
2024
Gateway 49
Smartboatia joins the Gateway 49 accelerator in Lübeck.
2024
Data for ocean research
Smartboatia becomes a partner in the SOOP network, alongside GEOMAR, AWI and DWD.
2024
Polars from racing
Boat-specific polars are developed together with a Class 30 OD racing team.
January 2025
More hands on deck
Marketing comes aboard, and Lennart becomes our first full-time employee.
July 2025
State funding
A WTSH funding project supports our work on data processing and connectivity.
2025
Ocean Race Europe
Smartboatia joins The Ocean Race Europe in Kiel.
2025
Looking to Denmark
Smartboatia joins the BlueTech Center in Svendborg.
2025
November 2025
Our brand
“Smartboatia” becomes a registered EU trademark.
2026
January 2026
Showtime at boot
Our first big appearance at boot Düsseldorf.
January 2026
First retail partner
The Hub is now available through Busse Yachtshop.
Spring 2026
Baltic Ventures
Smartboatia takes part in the Baltic Ventures Program for maritime startups.
May 2026
Ancora Yacht Festival
Smartboatia exhibits in Neustadt in Holstein.
2026
Now under engine too
Smartboatia comes aboard motorboats.
The crew
We’re a small crew spread across Germany, with no classic office. That’s why our email signatures say: Somewhere on the Baltic Sea.
Benny Pieritz
Co-Founder
Offshore sailor and the man behind the first prototype. Drives the product vision and turns ideas into real features.
Sina Pieritz
Managing Director
Keeps the ship on course: operations, finance and everything that keeps a company running.
Prof. Dr. Burkhardt Funk
Co-Founder
Professor of information systems and data science, and a sailor with decades of experience. Turns boat data into smart insights.
Lennart Popkes
Development Lead & Lead Data Scientist
On board since 2021, first as a working student, now leading development. His models detect things like when your engine is running.
Benedikt Franck
Data Analyst, Hardware Engineer & Flutter Developer
Spent years working on sailboats in the Mediterranean and knows what really matters on board. Builds the app and hardware.
Maurice Kleingarn
Full Stack Developer
Looks after map services and servers, and lends a hand assembling the Hubs.
Elena Osiander
Marketing Lead
Makes sure sailors hear about Smartboatia, looks after our customers and prepares our trade fairs. And much more.
Friederike Gust
Website & Webshop Manager, UI Designer
Designs the website and app screens and looks after our webshop.
What we stand for
Born on the water
We’re boaters ourselves. What we build, we test on the water, under sail and under engine.
Honest
We say what our product can and can’t do. No hype.
Open
Your data belongs to you. Smartboatia works with your devices, not against them.
For the ocean
Every mile you sail, your Hub collects data that helps ocean research.
Who we sail with
Our boat data helps science. Together with partners from ocean research, we help keep a closer eye on the oceans.
DWD
Part of our story: Trans Ocean e.V. handled our weather routing across the Atlantic in 2020 and was the first to write about Smartboatia in its club magazine.
