SailGP and Emirates, its Official Airline Partner, will unveil a pioneering ocean impact collaboration designed to strengthen long-term marine conservation efforts in the lead-up to the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, taking place on November 29-30.
The initiative is aimed at accelerating the deployment of a new nature-inspired robotic ‘fish’ designed by Abu Dhabi General Market’s company, Aquaai, that will collect vital data in a cheaper, unobtrusive, and more scalable way than ever before and so support the urgent need for deeper marine information. Aquaai is a local startup bringing together some of the sharpest engineers and data scientists to support ocean conservation.
Aquaai’s AI-driven robotic fish technology is expected to reduce the cost of high-quality aquatic monitoring by 50-70% compared to traditional methods and support around 30 marine conservation organisations within three years covering 100 or more projects. As an early stage startup, Aquaai is looking for sponsors and investors to help them take their technology to the world.
SailGP has a uniquely close relationship with the ocean, which is the racecourse, the arena, and the heart of the global championship. Working alongside Emirates and teams in their host cities, SailGP has been organising Ocean Impact Projects since its second season. Previously in the UAE in 2024, SailGP partnered with Goumbook to plant 1400 mangroves in the Abu Dhabi area.
“The ocean is our racetrack, and we have a responsibility to protect it,” said Fiona Morgan, Chief Purpose Officer at SailGP. In partnership with our global partner Emirates we are collaborating with Aquaai to accelerate the development of their advanced robotic fish. This technology makes it easier and cheaper for those investing in ocean health to understand ecological return of their investment.”
The focus could not be closer to the hearts of the UAE leadership, which has been working with marine conservationists to protect its stunning coastline for years.
Just off the coastline of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the Saadiyat Marine National Park spans 59km² and protects endangered species such as the Hawksbill sea turtle. Across the UAE, national restoration programs represent a long-term commitment to revitalising marine ecosystems. This includes Dubai Reef – for which Emirates is a founding partner – and which will deploy 20,000 reef modules across 600km².
Monitoring these environments has historically required costly, labor-intensive methods. Aquaai has built a robotic fish capable of collecting high-resolution environmental data for extended periods to help these efforts massively.
Simeon Pieterkosky, Chief Visionary Officer and Founder of Aquaai, said: “I started Aquaai because the planet needed smarter systems to protect its life source...water. After decades as an environmentalist and engineer, I saw we had to move from reacting to crises to predicting and preventing them in real time.”
The SailGP 2025 Season Grand Final taking place in Abu Dhabi marks one of the most significant sporting weeks in the region’s calendar with the world’s finest race sailors going bow-to-bow in a thrilling race-off. Emirates GBR are the series leaders going into the Abu Dhabi showdown.
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