METSTRADE 2025 — 13 halls, 1,600 announced exhibitors, and a record threshold of 31,000 visitors — clearly showed where the market is heading: owners with elevated expectations, captains seeking reliable tools, and shipyards increasingly involved throughout the entire lifecycle of their vessels. In this landscape, the technology that monitors and governs onboard systems is a strategic asset. For those who build yachts. For those who manage them. For those who own them.
What we brought to Amsterdam
SailADV presented a complete platform designed for an industry entering a new phase:
D.gree V26, an asset-agnostic architecture built for both new builds and refits;
Predictive models grounded in years of real-sea data;
Sailly, the onboard AI agent that interprets the yacht’s state and understands its operational context; (Now advanced testing in closed Beta).
A modular interface tailored to the different roles that govern or supervise the yacht, onboard or remotely.
What the market told us
Conversations across the METS floor revealed a remarkable alignment among shipyards, captains, and owners. Shipyards are pushing for greater predictability in post-delivery operations and for more stable control over onboard quality. Owners are increasingly vocal about transparency, safety, comfort, and cost governance. Captains, in turn, seek a synthesis that cuts through operational noise and elevates the quality of every decision they take.
For owners, these expectations translate into a clear request: continuity of operations, long-term preservation of asset value, and an onboard experience that feels more stable, more comfortable, and better protected.
How the economic and tech press interpreted it
Il Sole 24 Ore framed this shift within the rise of “maritime intelligence,” highlighting the ability of Italian companies to bring advanced onboard technologies into the global market — an interpretation articulated by journalist Luca De Biase.
DigitalWorld emphasized the emergence of a new architectural layer enabling intelligent autonomy. StartupBusiness, through the analysis of Emil Abirashid, positioned D.gree as “the artificial intelligence for Italian yachting with a Silicon Valley heartbeat.”
Across these perspectives, the conclusion is consistent: with V26, the industry steps into a phase of technological maturity.
Normalizing technology: what happens at sea, what happens on land
Leandro Agro, Chief Product Officer, speaking from Palo Alto, captured it this way: “Robots belong to everyday life and come in many forms. In San Francisco, the streets are full of autonomous cars. These AIs have found a job alongside people: moving, interpreting, supporting. They are robots in every respect, used almost without a second thought.”
Giovanni Palamà, Founder & CEO adds: “Onboard AI is built on the yacht’s real data. It measures, interprets, informs.” – “It alerts the captain if an engine vibrates more than usual, if a pump draws too much power, if sea conditions are worsening. It’s a working companion.”
The parallel with automotive is immediate — especially for yacht owners. A Tesla costing €35–45K knows its own state, updates its software autonomously, supports driving, and can be controlled remotely. If a car in that segment offers such intelligence, a yacht worth ten or twenty times as much deserves an even higher level of operational awareness. Owners know this — and increasingly expect it.
Conclusion: Sea Robots as the new normal
The signals seen at METS confirm that yachting is entering a new season — one defined by operational AI, real-world data, and engineering continuity.
The digital transformation of the sector, accelerated by onboard AI, is moving along a clear trajectory. And this market — built on complex yachts, demanding clients, and world-class shipyards — is ready for a new generation of vessels: beautiful, and intelligently designed by the sea.
In fact, a Sea Robot is simply a yacht that is not left behind — a vessel that has moved beyond polished fittings, evolved from craftsmanship alone, and now integrates intelligence as a core part of its architecture.
Luxury cannot be unfamiliar with modern tools, or stopped by a preventable mechanical problem. AI is already here, and the world has moved forward. Pretending it isn’t happening, or assuming to be the exception, will only create a chasing cost or even a loss in market position — exactly as it happened in the automotive sector. And as technology becomes robust and feels “normal,” it becomes inevitable.
The intelligence of Sea Robots arrives in Amsterdam
Senigallia / Palo Alto, November 2025 — SailADV, the Italian group recognized for its technological excellence in yachting and naval diagnostics, presents at METSTRADE 2025 the new D.gree V26 product architecture and its first AI Agent, Sailly, marking a key milestone toward intelligent autonomy at sea.
A new phase for intelligent yachting D.gree, SailADV’s AI-first platform, evolves with version V26, structured across three configurations — ONE, PRO, and ULTRA — designed to adapt seamlessly to both new builds and refits.
Built on a decade of real-world measurements and hundreds of terabytes of navigation data, D.gree integrates every onboard subsystem — from propulsion to comfort systems — into a single deterministic and predictive infrastructure capable of operating even offline.
The result is an asset-agnostic technology, ready to turn the world’s most beautiful yachts into Sea Robots, enhancing safety, comfort, and reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
D.gree: From Data to Autonomy D.gree delivers tangible, measurable benefits: • Predictive maintenance plans and reduction of technical downtime; • Progressive remote operations with increasing levels of control and assistance; • Lower post-delivery costs for shipyards; • Greater comfort and safety for crews and guests.
Sailly: the intelligence that speaks the language of the sea METSTRADE is the perfect stage for the world preview of Sailly — the first cognitive agent built on D.gree’s foundational data and standard architecture combining AWS, Gemini, and NVIDIA hardware.
If large language models represent the natural interface between humans and machines, Sailly —currently available in closed Beta for special projects and scheduled for wider rollout in Q1 2026 — is the AI agent that knows the yacht in every detail and every technical manual.
Its mission: understanding its operational context to assist captains, owners, and fleet managers in the daily management of their vessels. Its development embodies SailADV’s dual DNA — Italian engineering and Silicon Valley product culture — and inaugurates a new generation of maritime AI: deterministic, transparent, and truly useful to each stakeholder onboard and onshore.
A stronger group, a connected ecosystem Alongside the launch of D.gree V26, SailADV announces its new group structure, with fully renewed websites SailADV.com and Dgree.com, and a new institutional video presenting its shared vision: “Captains at the Center — Value for Owners, Crews, and Yards.”
The goal is to make onboard intelligence a shared value across the entire ecosystem — shipyards, owners, captains, and technical operators.
A global stage: METSTRADE 2025 METSTRADE is the world’s largest trade show for the leisure marine industry, representing more than 135 countries and over 13 exhibition halls at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam. Within the Superyacht Zone and the Superyacht Startups area, SailADV showcases the future of intelligent yachting — consolidating its leadership in maritime AI and its position among the industry’s leading innovators. STAND 08.642
\\\ SailADV Group Founded at Sea. Scaling Beyond Yachting. SailADV is an Italian technology group with operational headquarters in Senigallia and an innovation hub in Palo Alto, California. Its platforms — D.gree, OilToData, and SailToData — transform every onboard signal into knowledge, enabling predictive maintenance, energy efficiency, and the progressive autonomy of vessels.
Yachting has just entered its digital transformation — and when you sit on a mountain of data and twenty years of seafaring experience, a stop in Silicon Valley changes how you see the world.
Born as an innovative start-up and now evolved into an innovative SME, SailADV has specialized in testing, measurement, data collection, and analysis. Its know-how has led to the development of an intelligent platform capable of monitoring and visualizing the functional status of any type of yacht — supporting effective prevention and mitigating system malfunctions.
by Alberto Mariotti SuperYacht24 Journalist | February 2025
Founded in 2015 from the extensive maritime experience of its founder Giovanni Palamà, SailADV grew from a powerful intuition into a company specialized in providing cross-functional services aimed at solving the technical challenges that can arise for shipyards, yacht owners, captains, or fleet management companies. Today, the company operates from three strategic locations — Senigallia, Livorno, and La Spezia, service abroad and a team in Palo Alto dedicated to the design thinking, to maximize the user experience.
Super Yacht 24 met with its CEO and founder to discuss the company’s platform, D.gree, which an increasing number of yachts are now adopting on board.
SailADV has been active for several years, but what’s new is the technology developed with D.gree. What are its key features? “The main feature of our approach is the ability to analyze and understand how a yacht is actually used. This information is crucial in light of how the market has evolved. Every product — not just yachts — is designed and optimized based on an in-depth analysis of real-world usage. Only recently shipyards started to truly adopt this approach. Through applied research projects, we realized that measuring a yacht’s behavior only at specific moments wasn’t enough. To gain a complete and representative picture, we needed a continuous monitoring methodology. To use a medical analogy: a single electrocardiogram gives you a snapshot in time, whereas a Holter monitor provides a continuous, comprehensive view of heart function. That’s exactly what our technology does — it’s a Holter for yachts.”
At what stage in a yacht’s lifecycle is your technology implemented? “Our solution can be integrated at any stage of a yacht’s life. With Sanlorenzo, for instance, we collaborate from the earliest project stages to define the systems to be connected, working closely with their R&D department and supplying the product for installation. The technology can also be implemented during refit operations, making existing yachts ‘smart.’ Thanks to its modularity and ease of installation, it can also be used as an onboard device for temporary data acquisition.”
SailADV received RINA’s “Type Approval” certification.
“That’s right, but it’s not the only one. Thanks to our technology, Sanlorenzo obtained the ‘Digital Yacht’ certification from RINA for its SP110 yacht. The entire process required over a year of testing and close collaboration between our engineers and those of RINA.”
Do you mainly work with shipyards or also with yacht owners? “We work with anyone who builds, manages or owns yachts. Currently, most of the demand comes from shipyards, accounting for about 80% of installations. Our first clients, however, were private owners who wanted to monitor their assets over time in terms of consumption, aging, and maintenance — often through subscription-based solutions.”
What kind of data do you collect, and what do you mean by ‘aging’? “In our industry, we often talk about predictive maintenance, machine learning, and trend analysis. Each of these requires high-quality data to be effective — and it’s equally important to define operational usage patterns beforehand.
As for aging: by creating a time-indexed ‘snapshot,’ we can identify whether behavioral trends are drifting, affecting the efficiency of a given system within the yacht. And as we know, even a single malfunctioning subsystem can compromise the entire vessel, over time.”
Can you give us a practical example? “Under normal conditions, reaching a speed of 12 knots might require the engines to run at 1,350 RPM. If, after some time, the same speed requires 1,450 RPM, something has changed — perhaps reduced propeller efficiency or propulsion system degradation. By analyzing operational parameters, we can isolate the root cause and define the right corrective actions.”
Another example? “Once, we quite literally ‘saved’ an owner’s vacation. About four years ago, we started working with the owner of a Benetti Tradition, who wanted to preserve the yacht’s value through proper maintenance. By periodically sampling the generator oil, we established baseline contamination levels for lead and other metals.
At the end of one season, we detected a sudden spike — indicating a potential issue. Cross-referencing data, we suspected abnormal wear of a crankshaft bearing. Monitoring the trend, we determined that immediate intervention wasn’t necessary but increased the sampling frequency. This allowed the owner to finish the season and schedule maintenance later, with spare parts already in place. A simple periodic check prevented what could have been a major disruption. This is what we mean by condition-based maintenance.”
Quite a shift from the past. “Exactly. In the past, technicians would often come aboard with partial information, forced to diagnose issues ‘blind.’ With our technology, diagnostics and problem-solving become proactive. Issues are identified earlier, spare parts and interventions are organized in advance — saving both time and costs, while maximizing efficiency.”
How many parameters can your system manage? “There’s no fixed limit — our system is dynamic. The amount of information depends on the data available from connected onboard systems, and we can capture it all. Naturally, the more detailed the desired output, the greater the data volume to be integrated, and potentially the more complex the connections.
With our onboard technology, there are no limits to data acquisition. The platform is designed to make the yachting experience as smart, integrated, and efficient as possible.”
A platform for visualization? “Whether it’s the owner, captain, or shipyard, the user is at the center and must access information easily and intuitively. That’s why we developed a web platform and a ‘super app’ to facilitate communication between all parties, sending alerts and notifications remotely — almost in real time.”
Could owners or captains feel ‘monitored’? “Not at all. It’s not about control — it’s about support. Every stakeholder benefits, and data privacy is paramount. The captain decides what to share and when, and the entire project complies with GDPR regulations. The system helps prevent situations that no one wants — like being left without a generator during peak season.”
How is data managed and communication handled? “The owner is always informed and remains the data owner, defining sharing policies. The rest depends on how they want to use our modular services. Once data is collected and analyzed, it can serve simply as a digital passport for the yacht — or it can enable higher-level, on-demand services like 24/7 alerts via email or instant messaging.”
Which shipyards do you work with? “Over the past decade, we’ve worked on yachts produced by most of Europe’s leading builders: Azimut | Benetti, Sanlorenzo, Ferretti Group, Palumbo, Baglietto, Princess, Nautor Swan, and Perini, among others.”
Are shipyard demands changing over time? “Absolutely. Shipyards now recognize how important our SailADV services and D.gree technologies are for managing after-sales support. Within three hours of arriving on board, we can perform advanced analyses far beyond standard sea trials. Demand for continuous monitoring — that ‘Holter’ analogy again — has grown significantly. Data collected during a single sea trial can’t fully represent real-world yacht use. In other words, the shipyard’s test is different from the owner’s experience.”
What sets you apart from competitors? “We’ve worked extensively with our international development team, applying design thinking and innovative data management logic. We like to describe ourselves as a kind of advanced Rosetta Stone — able to translate countless ‘dialects’ of data into a common ISO-like standard.”
What size yachts do you work on? “We’ve worked on yachts ranging from 18 to 110 meters, both motor and sail. By implementing the most widely used protocols, we’re ready to integrate with major electronics manufacturers. We don’t aim to compete with these giants — instead, we offer something different: a solution that enhances and connects their systems.”
Any major developments ahead? “We are working on Deterministic AI to empower Captains, Shipyards, Fleet Managers and owners. Thanks to collaborations with our extended Silicon Valley team, we’re also developing innovative tools.”
And on the logistics side? “We’ve opened a service point in Palma de Mallorca, with Hong Kong next, as the fleet continues to expand around these key hubs. Our goal is to establish a presence in Florida by 2026. Our main offices in La Spezia, Livorno, and Senigallia keep us close to Italy’s primary yacht-building centers.”
SailADV is redefining the way yachts are managed and experienced. The Italian innovation company provides advanced technology solutions to shipyards, fleet management firms, yacht owners, and all key stakeholders in the marine industry — helping them optimize operations, maintenance, and onboard intelligence.
At the heart of this transformation is D.gree, an AI-first intelligence platform that connects and harmonizes the more than 100 different systems found on a modern yacht into a single, smart digital ecosystem.
Marine-Grade Intelligence at Sea With D.gree, every yacht becomes a connected, self-aware vessel.
The platform delivers a complete and integrated real-time view of the yacht’s technical and operational status — from performance and energy efficiency to predictive maintenance and safety.
All onboard data are synchronized into a continuous, coherent stream that can be accessed securely by the shipyard, the captain, the owner, or the fleet manager.
“A modern yacht includes over 100 independent subsystems,” explains Giovanni Palamà, CEO and Founder of SailADV. “Without a unified platform, each innovation remains isolated. D.gree was created to bridge those gaps and enable a truly connected yacht.”
Built on proprietary Intelligent Node Technology, D.gree links hardware, software, and AI components into a distributed network. Data are processed locally, analyzed in real time, and presented in clear, actionable formats for fast, informed decision-making.
A Constantly Evolving Smart Platform More than just a monitoring tool, D.gree acts as a technical and operational assistant, supporting users with predictive insights, contextual notifications, adaptive dashboards, and intelligent recommendations.
Each yacht gets a unique, encrypted digital profile, enabling secure, GDPR-compliant data sharing among stakeholders. As the system gathers real-world operational data, it continuously evolves — refining its insights and becoming more precise with every voyage.
Unlike purely generative AI tools, D.gree’s deterministic artificial intelligence ensures clarity and reliability. Its Large Language Models (LLMs) serve as a natural user interface, making complex information easy to access and understand, while maintaining full data integrity.
Beyond the Black Box: Contextual Intelligence on Board D.gree goes far beyond the idea of a traditional onboard “black box.” The platform continuously collects and analyzes real-time data about every movement and system on the yacht — not just to record, but to interpret.
For instance, an increase in engine temperature might be normal in strong currents but could indicate an anomaly in calm waters. D.gree can understand these nuances, sending alerts only when necessary, reducing noise and allowing captains and engineers to focus on what truly matters.
Not every alert requires immediate action; D.gree helps users plan maintenance strategically, saving time and preventing unnecessary interruptions.
Certified by RINA: The First “Digital Yacht” In 2024, D.gree received its RINA Type Approval Certification, officially qualifying it for the new Digital Yacht class notation — a global milestone for the maritime industry.
The certification process lasted over a year and involved rigorous testing aboard the Sanlorenzo SP110, which became the first yacht in the world to earn this prestigious classification.
This achievement confirms D.gree’s reliability as a marine-grade, AI-powered digital platform capable of transforming onboard management and safety.
“If You Can Measure It, You Can Improve It” Founded as a start-up and evolved into an innovative SME, SailADV built its reputation on precision testing, data analysis, and engineering expertise. The company’s philosophy is simple yet powerful: what can be measured can be improved.
Today, SailADV operates from three main offices in Italy, supported by a Design Thinking team in Palo Alto (CA), three international service hubs, and a network of over 100 engineers, technicians, and data specialists.
The Future of Yachting Is Still Being Written Over the last 20 years, the average age of yacht owners has decreased by up to 15 years. This new generation is more tech-savvy, sustainability-conscious, and experience-driven.
While aesthetics still define the yacht’s allure, sustainability, digital integration, and intelligent functionality now shape its future. Meanwhile, AI is redrawing the boundaries between traditional craftsmanship and next-generation marine technology.
For shipyards, this evolution presents both opportunity and complexity. Owners now expect seamless, transparent, and traceable experiences — yet each yacht already integrates hundreds of subsystems.
D.gree offers a way forward: without taking control from users, it understands usage patterns, enhances performance, and personalizes support based on real operational data.
Made in Italy and designed in Palo Alto, CA, D.gree brings autonomy, intelligence, and control aboard the world’s most beautiful and innovative yachts — setting a new course for the future of smart yachting.
How shared design principles and data-driven collaboration are shaping the next wave of maritime innovation.
Innovation in the yachting sector no longer happens behind closed doors. The complexity of today’s vessels — where digital systems, AI, and sustainability converge — requires a shared approach that blends expertise, data, and creative thinking.
That’s why the article “Progettazione Collaborativa: il modello che accelera l’innovazione” is particularly relevant for the maritime and D.gree ecosystem. It highlights how collaborative design, when supported by solid digital infrastructures and real operational data, becomes a strategic engine for faster, more reliable innovation.
As I wrote:
“Collaboration becomes not only a strategic choice, but a prerequisite for collective progress.”
This is especially true at sea, where success depends on the synergy between shipyards, engineers, and technology partners.
Through this perspective, D.gree emerges as more than a platform — it’s a shared architecture that transforms data into common value, bridging the gap between design and operation, between human expertise and machine intelligence.
“The D.gree project represents the concretization of this philosophy — a living system where experience, data, and AI evolve together.”
That sentence captures the essence of what makes the project unique: a technological environment designed not to compete, but to connect — aligning with SailADV’s vision of an open, cooperative innovation model for the entire yachting industry.
Among all the possible settings to discuss innovation, the traditional Conero Regatta might not be the first that comes to mind. Yet this year, it became an unexpected stage — one that sparked great curiosity and engagement.
This is the story of how the event unfolded, with SailADV leading the conversation on the future of smart yachts.
It all began with Giovanni Palamà, a sailing veteran, who opened a lively discussion on how technology and data are transforming the world of yachting. Few examples, but powerful ones — clear and effective metaphors. Like that of a labyrinth: when you don’t know which direction to take, you need a compass. And data, when properly interpreted, clearly show the way forward.
That image perfectly captures the essence of what SailADV is building through D.gree and its network of brands. D.gree collects and processes data, and through its AI-first deterministic platform, creates meaningful connections between users, allowing them to access and interpret information in a truly useful and transparent way.
Data remained at the heart of the entire conference, which later featured Leandro Agrò, Chief Product Officer, joining live from Palo Alto — the place where innovation often happens first. Agrò took the audience on a fascinating journey through the world of artificial intelligence, exploring what’s already possible today and what’s yet to come. With his human-centric vision, he showed how AI can make yachting smarter, more sustainable, and more connected.
Captains, Shipyards, Scientists in the Audience
The audience — a diverse mix of captains, shipyard representatives, and researchers — followed with keen interest, eager to understand the scope and impact of the D.gree Project and the broader wave of innovation sweeping the industry.
The presentation by General Manager Attilio Mucelli helped “dot the i’s”: Italy today stands as the world’s leading yacht manufacturer. The data prove it — but they also reveal a deeper transformation: the age and expectations of yacht owners are changing, and with them, the entire market.
Being ready — with cutting-edge products that deliver the highest possible experience — is the real challenge for shipyards. Safety, performance, and above all, prediction are now the cornerstones of innovation.
Safety and Prediction: Charting the Course Ahead
Safety and predictive capability go hand in hand. Today, no action at sea can be taken without considering both. As explained by Professor Roberto Pierdicca from the Polytechnic University of Marche, geospatial data play a pivotal role in this transformation — connecting digital intelligence with the physical world, from shipyards to open waters.
To conclude: Giovanni Palamà, founder and experienced sailor, shared his vision in a short video with its own perspective.
As the yachting world faces its perfect storm, Wired tells the story of Giovanni Palamà — the sailor-engineer behind SailADV and D.gree — where maritime heritage meets Silicon Valley intelligence.
The yachting industry is sailing through a perfect storm — a convergence of new owners, rising complexity, and the arrival of AI at sea. It’s no coincidence that Wired chose to tell this story through Giovanni Palamà, the sailor-engineer behind SailADV and the mind from which D.gree was born. Few embody this transformation better: a life spent between engines, sensors, and shipyards, turning real-world experience into data — and data into intelligence.
Because the future of yachting won’t come from code alone. It will come from people of the sea who learn to speak the language of algorithms, and from engineers who learn to listen like captains. That’s what happens when Mediterranean precision meets Silicon Valley’s velocity — when the discipline of sea trials merges with design thinking and AI edge computing. D.gree stands exactly there: born at sea, designed in Palo Alto — building the new intelligence of yachting.
Article Preview: “We have built a monitoring system that can be likened to a Holter device… it remains installed onboard and is able to collect data to understand how the vessel is actually used.”(Giovanni Palamà) WIRED Article: L’intelligenza artificiale arriva anche sui super yacht
From anchoring medusas to docking drones, proactive intelligence is reshaping life on board — Star Trek–grade technology for yacht captains and shipyards.
Intro A friend at NASA, David Mauro, once told me that all human artifacts ultimately fall into two categories: those that fly, and those that don’t.
As a kid, I drew starship cockpits. I grew up with science fiction, trained to think in terms of systems before objects. So when I found myself designing the IoT for yachts, I realized: this is the closest thing to those imagined starships — the most ambitious challenge in an artifact that doesn’t fly.
When I encountered yachting a year ago, I saw the paradox: Italy leads the world in building these masterpieces, but the industry still speaks a pre-digital dialect, inadequate for the complexity of today’s yachts.
The Perfect Storm
The yachting industry is entering a perfect storm — three converging forces that no longer arrive one after another, but all at once. What was once tradition and incremental refinement is now being reshaped by systemic pressure.
The first force is Generational. A new wave of owners who made their wealth scaling fintech unicorns or blockchain platforms. They’re fluent in tech, intelligent systems, and expect the same at sea. Owners who can’t accept that their 60-meter yachts won’t show energy use and route data on an iPad with the precision he applies to track fintech investments, or that he can’t access cabins as seamlessly as he unlocks his car or manages his smart home. Crude interfaces and opaque systems are no longer tolerated. And dressing up a vessel with a Christmas tree of gadgets won’t fix it.
The second is technical. Shipyards have become orchestrators of a growing network of subcontractors, suppliers, and technology providers — but the system is reaching a breaking point. This is no longer about choosing a sofa or wiring a slightly more complex electrical plant. It’s about hybrid propulsion, distributed energy systems, intelligent stabilizers, advanced navigation layers. Relying only on the captain’s experience and hoping for the best is no longer sustainable. Captains must be empowered with new superpowers, not crushed under a heavier load of tasks. A shipyard that weakens its captains risks undermining its own market power. One that strengthens them gains loyalty and long-term leadership.
The third force, the most disruptive of all, is artificial intelligence. Other industries were reshaped by external shocks — electrification flipped the automotive sector, turning Tesla into a myth while legacy brands stumbled. In yachting, the external shock is even bigger: AI redefines everything. But here lies both the challenge and the opportunity. The AI industry has no real maritime experience, and scraping YouTube or AIS feeds won’t solve that gap. Shipyards, instead, hold a unique asset: decades of tacit, non-digitized knowledge and a growing mountain of data gathered at sea. That combination can turn disruption into dominance.
Yachting is a powerful niche: market surpassed USD 10.7 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at 6% CAGR through 2032, driven by rising ultra-high-net-worth individuals (Global Market Insights, 2024), demanding even larger superyachts (100meters, four decks, or more)
Consider the scale: Italy alone accounts for nearly 50% of the global superyacht market, with 11 of the world’s top 20 builders headquartered there. This isn’t just craftsmanship — it’s global leadership.
And this is exactly why it makes sense that the AI of the seas is born in Italy. It isn’t about chasing foundation models or building another GenAI from scratch. It’s about translating the unmatched expertise of Italian shipyards into digital form — and combining it with years of real-world data collected at sea, refined into a deterministic, maritime-grade intelligence.
This is the perfect storm: three waves colliding at once. It’s no longer a matter of whether to innovate. It’s a matter of survival — and the greatest opportunity this industry has ever had.
Intelligent Nodes and the AI of the Sea
From this systemic pressure, the question becomes: where do we start? The answer is already on board. Years of data collected at sea, distilled into deterministic intelligence, now embodied in D.gree and its Intelligent Nodes.
For years, on dozens of yachts, it has been collecting and processing thousands of datapoints every five seconds — navigation, performance, onboard systems. This is a deterministic AI, built on machine learning, that learns from the sea. Unlike generic AI prone to hallucinations, this is deterministic — designed for reliability at sea: This is the AI born and emerged by the Sea.
How does it work? Think Star Trek: Kirk at the helm, Scotty with engines and reactors. D.gree lives in the engine room, talks to every system on board, and emerges on the bridge — at the captain’s side.
Now add Intelligent Nodes: compact, rugged units bringing real-time edge computing to the ocean. They don’t just log data. They analyze anchor behavior, hull vibrations, propulsion anomalies — turning raw signals into actionable insight on the spot. They run offline, filter noise, reduce cloud traffic, and integrate cyber-resilience.
At the core: Nvidia Jetson Orin, the most advanced edge AI platform available today: born for next-gen robotics and edge solutions. Each node embeds an Ampere GPU with up to 2,048 CUDA cores, delivering 275 TOPS (delivering up to 275 trillion operations per second) with unprecedented energy efficiency. That means running complex neural networks — vibration analysis, pattern recognition, predictive diagnostics — directly on board, in real time, without relying on satellite links.
Through Nvidia’s CUDA-X and DeepStream ecosystems, D.gree integrates computer vision models for drone or camera feeds, and inference pipelines optimized for multiple sensors in parallel. With TensorRT, neural networks are compressed and accelerated, cutting latency and power consumption.
Bringing Nvidia onboard isn’t about adding a chip. It’s about connecting yachting to a global ecosystem already powering autonomous cars, industrial robots, and defense systems. Technologies validated in the toughest environments, now tuned for the sea. And with years of D.gree data as foundation, this is not speculative — it’s maritime-grade, and it’s ready today.
Near Future — The Star Trek Scenario
What’s next? A horizon where technologies stop being passive tools and become proactive allies of the captain.
Think of it this way: a refrigerator just sits there and does its job. It doesn’t know it’s a fridge, it doesn’t know what it contains, it doesn’t know if humans are opening it or what they need.
That’s a passive technology. On a yacht, thousands of passive technologies create the illusion of control — an illusion that collapses when complexity scales.
Reactive technologies are better: they respond to a command, an action, a need. But managing a thousand reactive subsystems on a 100-meter vessel still means endless workload.
The real leap is proactive intelligence: systems that anticipate, detect, and act before the human even asks. That’s where Intelligent Nodes and maritime-grade AI redefine life on board.
Emerging marine connectivity — from mesh Wi-Fi buoys to microcells embedded in ports — opens continuous communication between yachts and coastal infrastructure. From there, applications that once sounded like sci-fi become operational:
• Anchoring medusas: floating sensor structures linked to Intelligent Nodes, monitoring seabed, currents, and anchor safety.
• Docking drones: mapping quays and obstacles with Lidar and cameras, delivering predictive guidance for maneuvers.
• Smart cabins: adjusting comfort and energy consumption based on external conditions, guest presence, and preferences.
• Dynamic digital twins: real-time replicas of the vessel for predictive maintenance, simulation, and crew training.
The building blocks are already here: edge computing, resilient networks, advanced sensors. The next leap isn’t technical — it’s design. Creating an onboard experience intuitive for humans, intelligent for machines.
Conclusions
The yachting industry has never faced systemic pressure of this magnitude. Mastery of complexity doesn’t come from simplification or isolating systems — it comes from data.
Shipyards and owners already hold years of real-world data, collected at sea. Italy is uniquely positioned to anchor this shift. Not by waving a flag, but because Italian shipyards lead the global market, concentrate the world’s most advanced craftsmanship, and hold direct access to the owners and investors shaping tomorrow’s demand. When shipyards digitize their expertise and connect it with maritime data, they create a foundation rooted in the (Italian) genius loci — context, tacit knowledge, and craftsmanship that technology giants can enable but never originate.
People of the sea, always respectful of its power, can look cautious with technology. That caution isn’t a weakness — it’s wisdom. Transformation is demanding, but it can be built one retrofit at a time, one proactive function at a time, one new capability for each stakeholder.
At sea, every wave leaves a trace. Every trace builds intelligence. That’s how the sea forges its own robots — and only those who design with it will keep command.
For the kid I was, that’s not just technology — it’s design at starship scale, shaped for the sea.
Ps. The original article is published on Aug 21, 2025 | Leandro Agro, Substack
Competitive advantage now hinges on the ability to integrate emergent technologies
This abstract shows the core results of a scientific paper that will be presented at ICECH2025 13th International Conference on Emerging Challenges: BUSINESS DYNAMICS IN DISRUPTIVE ECONOMY | 31 October – 1 November, 2025 | Phu Tho, Vietnam https://icech.hust.edu.vn/category/show/id/1
The global yachting industry combines high-value manufacturing, advanced naval architecture, and luxury service, spanning from compact leisure craft to custom-built superyachts. Over the last thirty years, globalization and digitalization have reshaped markets, supply chains, and vessel lifecycles, elevating the role of data-driven technologies in performance, sustainability, and client experience.
Competitive advantage now hinges on the ability to integrate emergent technologies – such as IoT-based monitoring, digital twins, and AI-driven automation – while navigating high capital costs, environmental imperatives, and cybersecurity risks. This chapter investigates how sector-wide digitalization translates into firm capabilities and how smart-system integration affects performance and risk outcomes.
Two research questions guide the analysis: (RQ1) How do industry trends translate into firm-level adoption pathways, governance, and capability building for smart-system integration (skills, data infrastructure, supplier ecosystems)?
(RQ2) What operational, customer-value, environmental, and risk outcomes accompany smart-system integration, and through which mechanisms (interoperability, data governance, human–machine teaming)?
The study combines literature review, sector trend analysis, and a single-case study conducted in 2025, using interviews with a CEO, technical staff, and industry representatives, alongside the experience of the author as General Manager of the company, technical specifications and internal company documents.
The case highlights Italy’s leadership in the high-end segment and the tension between digitization and traditional craftsmanship. It concludes with identifying obstacles – notably skill gaps – and policy implications for workforce upskilling, cybersecurity, and governance to support scalable digital transformation in the yachting sector.
