Meet PlanBlue
How we can help save the planet
PlanBlue’s mission is to mobilise and monetise the seafloor, by literally putting it on the map. Our data is crucial for building a sustainable future for our ocean and planet, whether it’s guiding marine infrastructure restoring ecosystems, protecting coastlines, or supporting the billions of people who depend on these vital resources.
Dive in and discover how our passionate team of ocean advocates, business geeks and tech nerds are unlocking the seafloor to help save our planet.
Dive in and discover how our passionate team of ocean advocates, business geeks and tech nerds are unlocking the seafloor to help save our planet.
Who we are & why we started PlanBlue
We’re Joost, Hannah, Raja, and Guy, the co-founders of PlanBlue. We’re based in Bremen, Germany, and started the company back in 2017. Joining forces was a combination of chance, and our complementary backgrounds. We were all motivated to use our knowledge to solve real-world problems. We all wanted to make an actual difference. And we all wanted to improve the environment.
Before PlanBlue, Joost was working as a marine biologist. He’d done his PhD and postdoc on the effects of climate change and pollution on the seafloor. He was also an active diver and dive instructor, and spent a lot of time looking at our fascinating underwater world. He was becoming increasingly disturbed by what he saw, and realised how few people knew how bad it was.
“One of my students and I dived a coral reef together. It was her first time, and she thought it was amazing. But with my experience, I saw it was completely degraded, with only a few percent of coral alive. Everything that was colourful was actually algal and bacterial slime, which is not what you want at all. This experience highlighted how differently we saw the same underwater scene. That moment always stuck with me.” — Joost
Hannah was a marine scientist, researching human impact on the ocean, at top institutes around the world. In her work she’d experienced the effects of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss in the oceans first-hand. She saw one beautiful coral reef crumble away in three years. Combined with the lack of action she was seeing, Hannah felt she had to do something with her knowledge. She loved being a scientist, but she wanted to have a bigger impact, so she had her first idea for a startup in 2013.
“Witnessing the destruction firsthand was something I couldn’t ignore. I’ve always believed that true, lasting impact can only be achieved when commercial solutions are aligned with tackling global challenges. We need to build on the structures that exist — but build something better, something bigger, with real and meaningful impact" — Hannah
Joost and Hannah's passion for and knowledge of ocean conservation served as our catalyst. After a talk Joost gave at the Max Planck Institute, they started collaborating on how to visualise the seafloor in an easy-to-understand way. But some key parts of our team were still missing.
Raja came to Germany to do his Masters, and had been working at Max Planck since 2015. His years of research and experience included working with underwater camera systems.
“My background is in electronics and communication systems. I was very much into building and programming hardware. I've always been interested in the application of technology, and in doing that very well." — Raja
Raja had the exact hardware expertise we needed, and was happy to join and use his tech to solve real-world problems. Guy was working as a control engineer on weather satellites. He liked the space industry, but found it too slow moving.
“I wanted to build things. Complex systems that could have a big impact." — Guy
Guy was excited about doing field work in the ocean, and to work on something to help the environment. After Guy joined, we secured our first public grant, officially launching PlanBlue.
We’re a very diverse team, each bringing unique backgrounds, perspectives, and personalities to the table. But our complementary scientific, technical and business backgrounds and skills are all essential to our mission.
“We work on the seafloor, underwater. Nobody lives there, so very few truly understand it. But, when people can see something, they are far more likely to grasp its importance. That’s why we focused on visualisation. People understand maps and images, they make the invisible visible. So we built our company around this idea. At PlanBlue, we use underwater remote sensing to reveal a world that’s largely unknown, yet absolutely critical to solving some of the biggest challenges of our time, like climate change.” — Joost
Unhealthy and healthy seagrass.
Our Mission
We want to create an impact on a scale which is pretty crazy to imagine. It’s so much bigger than us. We find that powerful, and it’s what drives us every day. PlanBlue is only meant for good — for making a positive impact on the world.
- Our Mission is to mobilise and monetise the seafloor, using fully-automated seafloor intelligence, to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.
- Our Vision is for a thriving ocean economy that tackles and solves our global challenges.
“Even at times when we’ve been financially at our limits, we’ve always stuck to our mission and our principles. Are we going to increase oil and gas exploitation? Of course not!” — Hannah
The four of us co-founders are still together after almost eight years. That’s rare in any startup and it sets us apart. We’ve built PlanBlue in a tough and uncharted environment, working with entirely new technology and navigating many challenges along the way. What defines us is simple: we never give up on our mission.
“We believe in what we stand for. We don't give up. We overcome challenges together. We just keep going.” — Joost
_“That perseverance applies to everything we do — from solving complex technical problems to navigating geopolitical hurdles.” - Raja _
What We Do
We make the seafloor visible through cutting-edge technology. Our plug-and-play imaging payload is designed for maximum versatility, enabling deployment on autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles (AUVs, ROVs), towed by (uncrewed) surface vessels, or used by divers.
We provide different survey solutions for you or our partners to collect data.
“One of the coolest things is that we're using a super complex system that is similar to what satellites do and how their data is processed, except we do it underwater.” — Guy
This data is then sent through our proprietary data processing pipelines, using modern computing with multiple AI components. This combination of technology allows us to map the seafloor in great detail, with unprecedented accuracy and at speed.
The seafloor mirrors what’s going on in the ocean. We can read how healthy the seafloor and thus the ocean is. We can visualise biodiversity. We can look at what stressors are present and what needs to be done to effectively restore the seafloor. We can also look into materials like plastic waste." — Hannah
Our innovative approach reveals the seafloor's true ecological and economic value. This data is essential for governments and companies focused on underwater construction, restoration efforts, carbon capture, assessing biodiversity, monitoring pollution, environmental conservation, and ensuring food security.
"What makes us unique is that we’ve taken on a complex problem, one most people don’t even realize exists, and we’ve managed to bring partners, customers, governments, and investors along with us." — Joost
We’re currently focussing on the offshore wind, coastal development and blue carbon markets.
Our Initiatives & Impact
We’ve carried out projects around the world, from Japan to the USA, and from the Dominican Republic to Turkey, all with the goal of scaling ocean-based solutions to tackle global crises. We proudly position ourselves as thought leaders at the highest levels, presenting at events like COP and other UN-led initiatives. Check out this incredible project we’re part of, aimed at restoring Italy’s entire coastline. Our work is backed by leading international bodies driving change, including the UN, the World Economic Forum, the European Innovation Council, and more.
"Being part of ISPRA’s Marine Ecosystem Restoration Project in Italy perfectly aligns with our mission to mobilize the seafloor in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. Together with our amazing partners, we're turning hidden marine data into actionable insights for a more sustainable future.” — Joost
By actively sharing our vision, we’re becoming recognized as leading experts delivering real solutions. We're regularly invited to speak at major international forums, from TED talks to UN events, and are part of influential vision communities. Our work has been published in respected outlets like The International Hydrographic Review, among others. The impact we’re making is tangible and growing.
"Being in the Blue Zone at COP16 made one thing even clearer: if we truly want to protect marine biodiversity, we must shift our focus toward ecosystem health and large-scale restoration. Time is running out — and we need to step beyond our comfort zones and small-scale thinking. Technologies like PlanBlue are essential in creating the transparency and data needed to turn global goals into tangible action. But impact at scale will only happen if restoration becomes economically viable and driven by scalable solutions — something we at PlanBlue are actively pushing for, especially where it’s still missing from the global conversation..." — Hannah
What it’s to Work at PlanBlue
We’re proud of our awesome team! We are 18+ passionate individuals united by our love for ocean conservation, technology, and creating a global impact. We're pioneers in our field, pushing the boundaries of what’s even possible. We're using technology to change the world for the better. To us, it doesn’t get more exciting than that.
"The solutions we build have a direct impact on the environment. That’s not something many companies offer." — Raja
We make an impact at scale. And at speed.
“We believe deeply in the large-scale impact we want to create, and we’re willing to give up careers in big corporations to pursue it. If impact were easy, everyone would be doing it. But it’s not, and that’s why we’ve built a company that’s fast, flexible, and fully committed to making it happen.” — Joost
We’re experts in many fields, from business experts to data science to advanced imaging hardware to marine biology. We’re all different, but we thrive through collaboration. We know we can only achieve our mission by combining our skills and working together.
"We're very much unique. Our combination of technologies. There's no other company in the world doing what we do." — Guy
We’re an international and diverse team. And diversity is one of the keys to our success. We value the diverse views and skills of every team member. We foster a culture where everyone's contributions are recognised and valued. Inclusivity is at the heart of our culture. We nurture an environment where everyone can be their best selves.
"Our founding team is as diverse as you can imagine—bringing together different nationalities, skills, backgrounds, personalities, and perspectives. For us, diversity means approaching the same challenge from multiple angles, creating the foundation for the best possible solutions. That’s exactly how we continue to build our teams today.” — Hannah
We give our team a lot of flexibility, from flexible work hours, to accommodating personal needs. Many of our people need to be able to focus on complex technical problems. That means they need deep focus time.
“If someone wants to immerse themselves in coding for three days straight, we fully support that.” — Raja
We also care deeply. About our mission, the environment, and each other. This guides our interactions and our commitment to making a positive impact.
“We actively engage with international organizations, including the United Nations, to raise awareness and contribute to shaping solutions for global challenges. Meaningful change requires genuine commitment—and that starts with caring.” — Hannah
Our Core Values
At PlanBlue we:
- 🌊 Are Ocean Advocates We're united by our passion for ocean conservation. We see it as our responsibility to spread the word about the state of our oceans, to inspire, and enable sustainable action with our data.
- 👐 Do What's Right We believe in fairness, honesty and diversity, including them in everything we do. When making decisions, we always aim to do what's right for the planet, the company, and the team.
- 🧠 Believe in Collective Genius The challenges we work on can only be solved through collaboration and combining knowhow. We actively engage with all our stakeholders: local communities, customers, partners and investors.
- 🤿 Dive Right In We’re pioneers in our field and dare to dream big. We’re thinkers and doers, committed to creating real change. We embrace new things to create the most advanced tech out there.
Join Our Mission
We're always looking for passionate, talented people to help drive our mission forward, and there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.
“We’re rapidly expanding into global markets—large-scale commercialization is already underway. As we scale, we’re seeking motivated, purpose-driven individuals to help accelerate our impact. In the face of escalating global challenges and a shifting geopolitical landscape, PlanBlue’s mission and technology—engineered for large-scale, meaningful change—are more essential than ever.” — Hannah
Do you want to make a real impact? Be part of something that really matters? Join us in mobilising the seafloor to help save our planet.
Join PlanBlue. See our open positions.
Thanks for reading!
Joost, Hannah, Raja & Guy
Co-founders, PlanBlue
Fully-automated seafloor intelligence to drive your nature-positive operations.
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