\nInvestment is intended to accelerate Dockwa\u2019s expansion from marina software platform into a full-stack operating system and intelligence layer \u2014 powering AI-native products for marina operators, insurers, OEMs, and institutional investors in the marine economy.<\/i><\/p>
NEWPORT, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boating is one of the last great consumer categories to digitize. Dockwa, an operating system built for the $57 billion marina economy, today announced a strategic growth investment from PSG, a leading growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help navigate transformational growth.<\/p>
\nFor Dockwa, the investment lands at an inflection point for an industry institutional capital is just discovering. Over the past decade, private-equity-backed roll-ups have consolidated thousands of family-owned marinas into professionally managed portfolios, while the boating consumer \u2014 older, wealthier, and more digital \u2014 has migrated onto an online platform. What was once a fragmented lifestyle business has become an institutional asset class. Dockwa aims to sit at the center of that shift.<\/p>
\nWhen Dockwa launched in 2015, it focused on one problem: getting a boater into a transient slip without phone tag and paper waivers. Eleven years later, that booking engine has become a system marinas use to manage their business. The platform now handles the full lifecycle of a boat at a marina \u2014 inbound inquiry, transient and long-term contracts, integrated payments and billing, point-of-sale for fuel and merchandise, electric metering, dynamic pricing, and direct exports to the accounting systems many marinas already use. The same software supports a one-night stopover and a 365-night annual contract.<\/p>
\nToday, Dockwa serves nearly 4,000 marinas \u2014 including 97% of the top 95 U.S. harbors \u2014 and more than 450,000 boaters. Dockwa also transacts with more than 175,000 unique large-vessel owners (boats 40+ feet) at US marinas annually. Although that segment represents only about 5% of registered boats in North America, it is responsible for more than 60% of total spending at marinas across dockage, fuel, storage, insurance, and service. Today, Marinas.com, Dockwa\u2019s consumer marketplace, and Marine Graph \u2014 the proprietary data layer that powers Dockwa\u2019s AI products \u2014 has compiled 11 years of transaction history across more than 800,000 boats and 66 million nights booked to date.<\/p>
\nThis investment is intended to accelerate the next chapter of that strategy: a suite of AI-native products built on Marine Graph. These include Telescope<\/b>, a dynamic-pricing and revenue-intelligence engine purpose-built for marinas, and Marina-X<\/b>, a benchmarking and underwriting layer that gives insurers, lenders, and institutional acquirers the first standardized view of marina performance. Dockwa also plans to expand module adoption inside its existing operator base and extend the platform into Canada and Europe.<\/p>
\n\u201cDockwa was built to make it easier for people to get out on the water,\u201d said Mike Melillo, Co-Founder and CEO of Dockwa. \u201cWhat started as a simpler way to book a slip pulled us, conversation by conversation, into every part of how a marina actually runs. Eleven years on, the platform reflects that. PSG understands what we are building and why it takes time to compound. With their partnership, we can keep building the operating system this industry deserves \u2014 and get more people on the water doing what they love.\u201d<\/p>
\n\u201cWe have spent considerable time evaluating software businesses across the marine and recreational ecosystem, and Dockwa stands out for its unique combination of a strong marina operating platform and scaled boater network,\u201d said Chris Andrews, Managing Director and Chris Collins, Principal at PSG. \u201cBy serving both marina operators and boaters, the company has built a differentiated platform with powerful network effects that we believe will continue to strengthen over time. We are excited to partner with Mike and his team for the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>
\n\u201cGoing all-in on Dockwa produced one of the largest year-over-year growth stories in our history,\u201d said Dan Jemal, investor in Brooklyn Bridge Marina. \u201cDockwa eliminated friction across seasonal and transient reservations, and Dockwa Deals opened the door to an entirely new pool of demand \u2013 boaters we never would have reached on our own.\u201d<\/p>
\nDockwa was advised by AGC Partners as exclusive financial advisor, with DLA Piper serving as company counsel and Sterlington as management counsel. PSG was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, and Crosslake Technologies. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.<\/p>
\nAbout Dockwa<\/b><\/p>
\nFounded in 2015 and headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, Dockwa is an operating system built for the marina industry. To date, its software powers reservations, payments, and day-to-day operations at more than 4,000 marinas across North America. Today, its consumer marketplace, Marinas.com, connects more than 450,000 boaters to the harbors they cruise to. Together, the two products form a proprietary data engine \u2014 Marine Graph \u2014 that powers a growing suite of AI products for marina operators, insurers, OEMs, and the institutional investors entering the marine economy. Learn more at dockwa.com<\/a>.<\/p> \nAbout PSG<\/b><\/p> \nPSG is a growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities, and build strong teams. Having backed more than 170 companies and facilitated over 550 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Paris, Madrid, and Tel Aviv. To learn more, visit psgequity.com<\/a>.<\/p>