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Founded November 2023 · Dehradun, India

Shipping runs the world. We're building the AI that runs shipping.

Global shipping moves $14 trillion of goods every year and still relies on spreadsheets, manual email reading, and gut-feel calculations. IME was founded to fix that — one AI tool at a time.

See our tools → Join the team
9 AI tools live 🇮🇳 Made in India 🌍 Selling to the World 4 institutional backers
Institutional Support

Backed by institutions that believe in what we're building

From global technology leaders to India's premier startup programmes, these organisations have backed IME's vision to digitise commercial shipping with AI.

What Drives Us

A clear vision. A specific mission.

Two things guide every decision we make — from which tool we build next, to who we hire, to how we measure success.

01
Our Vision Where we're headed

A world where every shipping decision is backed by intelligence, not instinct.

The global shipping industry moves $14 trillion of goods every year. Decisions worth millions — freight rates, laytime disputes, voyage plans — are still made from gut feel and email threads. We believe AI can change that fundamentally.

Eliminate manual data entry from commercial shipping operations
Make maritime intelligence accessible to every desk, not just the largest operators
Build the standard operating platform for global commercial shipping
02
Our Mission What we're doing about it

Build AI tools that give maritime professionals back their time — and their edge.

Our mission is specific: replace the manual, error-prone parts of commercial shipping — parsing fixture emails, calculating demurrage, estimating voyages, managing post-fixture operations — with AI tools that are faster, more accurate, and built with real maritime domain expertise.

Every tool is built with maritime professionals, not just for them
Domain accuracy first — we'd rather do fewer things better
Integrated suite — tools that work better together than apart
The Team

The people building IME

Founder-led, domain-deep, and building for the long term. Everyone here has a direct line to the product and to our customers.

Capt. Kunal Narayan Uniyal, Co-Founder & CEO of IME
Co-Founder & CEO

Capt. Kunal Narayan Uniyal

Master Mariner · Author · Maritime Educator

A professional master mariner with 19 years across offshore and onshore shipping — ship broking, port captaincy, maritime law, and claims handling. First-class honours in Maritime Policy from Cardiff University. Founded IMBA, India's first maritime business academy, and published 13 books in 7 languages.

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Vikas Gadoo, Co-Founder & CTO of IME
Co-Founder & CTO

Vikas Gadoo

Product Engineer · AI Architect · Platform Builder

A seasoned Australian-Indian IT professional with 18 years of experience in product management and development. Built enterprise-grade software platforms across industries before channelling that expertise into maritime technology, leading IME's product engineering, AI development, and platform architecture.

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Neha Kannojia, Senior Vice President at IME
Senior Vice President

Neha Kannojia

Maritime Strategy · Business Leadership · Digital Transformation

A strategic maritime professional driving business growth, enterprise relationships, and digital transformation at IME. Focused on connecting maritime expertise with technology to build practical, scalable solutions for the global shipping industry, while strengthening IME's partnerships and market presence.

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Gaurav Chabbra, Director at IME
Director · RISE Division

Gaurav Chabbra

Maritime Inspections · Surveys · Compliance

A maritime professional leading RISE, IME's digital ecosystem for inspections, surveys, audits, and maritime services. Focused on bringing transparency, efficiency, and technology to traditional inspection and survey workflows, while connecting shipowners, operators, and qualified maritime service professionals through a trusted digital platform.

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Our Journey

From November 2023 to now

We started with a conviction. Here's what we've built since.

2023

Founded in Dehradun. First code written. One conviction — maritime AI was decades behind where it should be.

2024

Navitron ships. Layspan, Tonnex & SEAL follow. Backed by IIT Roorkee and Startup Uttarakhand. First paying customers.

2025

Backed by Microsoft for Startups and OpenAI's startup program. London office opens. All 8 tools live. Customers across Asia, Europe, and Australia.

2026
You are here

Deepening every tool. Growing the team. The most interesting problems are still ahead.

2027

The standard operating platform for commercial shipping — worldwide.

Get Involved

Want to use IME — or help build it?

We're always open to conversations — whether you're a maritime professional looking for better tools, or someone who wants to join the team.

See the tools → View open roles Get in touch

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Get product updates on AI maritime tools, voyage estimation, laytime, and inspections.

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