Comments on this announcement are also available from IRCAI and Amazon Web Services.
Sydney, Australia (July 10, 2025) — CounterCurrent, an ocean data and technology company, today announced it has been selected as a fellow in the 2025 cohort of the Compute for Climate Fellowship. Launched by International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Compute for Climate Fellowship is a global program offering climate tech startups fully-funded proof of concepts using advanced cloud computing to tackle some of the most complex challenges related to the climate crisis.
This opportunity will support CounterCurrent’s efforts to save fuel and cut emissions in the maritime industry. CounterCurrent uses state-of-the-art generative AI ocean forecasting technology and satellite ocean measurements to find more fuel-efficient routes for commercial vessels. With the support of AWS and IRCAI, CounterCurrent will be able to rapidly scale their hyperlocal ocean forecasts and ship routing system for deployment across the commercial shipping industry.
“This fellowship is an incredible opportunity for CounterCurrent to deliver the AI and space technology tools that ship operators and crew need to steer the shipping industry towards net zero,” says Dr Shane Keating, CEO and founder of CounterCurrent.
Each selected startup will engage in a 2 to 3 month build with one-on-one guidance from technical experts and AWS credits to cover the AWS service costs of the build. Both IRCAI and AWS will provide selected startups with a team of mentors who are experts in AI, sustainability, and ethics. Startups will also gain access to advanced computing services, such as quantum computing, high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and generative AI.
“The intersection of climate innovation and AI is no longer theoretical–it’s happening now, and it’s reshaping what’s possible,” said Jon Jones, Vice President and Global Head of Startups at AWS. “This fellowship is about fueling this momentum by backing solutions with the potential to drive systemic change, whether it’s advancing breakthroughs in clean energy and carbon capture, monitoring ecosystems and infrastructure at scale, or reimagining agriculture and manufacturing for a zero-waste future. At AWS, we’re committed to giving these startups the tools, compute power, and support they need to scale their impact and accelerate progress where it matters most.”
For more information on the Compute for Climate Fellowship, visit https://ircai.org/compute-for-climate-fellowship.
CounterCurrent is a climate tech spinout company from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Leveraging over a decade of oceanographic and space tech research, CounterCurrent is developing the world’s first generative AI ocean forecasting system for ships. CounterCurrent’s forecasts use proprietary AI technology, satellite data, and autonomous onboard sensors to provide real-time hyperlocal forecasts for the maritime industry to deliver safety at sea, efficient routing, and asset optimisation.