Strategic Initiatives action area

Gulf of Maine Ventures

Building a resilient, modernized 21st-century marine economy by supporting and investing in high-impact companies.

Gulf of Maine Ventures is the business development and impact investment arm of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Starting in Portland, ME, we bridge the gap between innovative, blue economy businesses and the capital, technical knowledge, and networks needed to help them grow.

We catalyze solutions to global ocean challenges by creating, scaling, and investing in innovative blue economy companies.

Create: We incubate ideas into commercial businesses, both from within GMRI and sometimes externally with partners.
Scale: We draw from our deep industry knowledge, science and business technical advisory, and large network to help start-ups succeed.
Invest: Our team includes experienced scientists, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, and we partner with founders to help their startups reach maximum financial and impact returns.

Our Work

Explore our early work, including new ventures, workforce efforts, and strategic partnerships.

Blue Economy Innovation Corridor

We are combining the technical expertise of GMRI with business formation and support services to forge a pathway for Blue Economy entrepreneurs and start ups, …
True Fin: Premium Gulf of Maine Seafood

True Fin was founded to realize the maximum potential for seafood from the New England region.
New England Marine Monitoring

New England Marine Monitoring is an electronic monitoring (EM) services company that provides video review, on-vessel technical support, and program design service to New England …
Scallop Aquaculture Initiative

In January 2021, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the University of Maine, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. convened to form the Scallop Aquaculture Initiative (SAI), …
Strategic Partners

GMRI is actively seeking select strategic partnerships with regional leaders in the blue tech sector to support access to capital, technical expertise, and incubation and …
Aquaculture Top Gun

Top Gun is a unique entrepreneurial training program that has helped accelerate the growth of over 200 startup companies since 2009. Our program is tailored …