Aberdeen tech company Elementz has officially opened the call for applications for its new digital accelerator initiative with AI start-up companies now formally invited to apply.
Spearheaded by Elementz, a subsea asset integrity management software company, Tide Breaker is a digital initiative designed to fast-track the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in subsea operations.
Launched last week (October 30th) at Aberdeen’s ONE Tech Hub, Tide Breaker: Powering the Subsea Start Up Wave, attracted over 75 attendees from across the energy, technology, and innovation sectors, including oil and gas, renewables, software, and industry bodies.
Tide Breaker will see selected start-ups entering the programme by the end of the year to work through development and testing phases until mid-2026, followed by evaluation and commercial integration. The winners will be given access to datasets to help them refine development of their solutions to better suit subsea operators’ needs.
Tide Breaker, developed in collaboration with a consortium of global energy operators, was first unveiled at Offshore Europe, with an already rapidly growing interest in the programme. It aims to turn subsea innovation into real-world impact by connecting start-ups directly with industry data, infrastructure, and expertise.
The initiative is backed by Compass, Elementz’s strategic advisory group, which includes representatives from companies such as Aker BP, bp, Shell, and Woodside Energy. Through Tide Breaker, Compass members will define technical challenges, mentor participants, and evaluate outcomes for field deployment.
It is being co-led by The Data Lab, Scotland’s innovation centre for data and AI, which will support technical delivery, participant selection, and programme governance. With ONE Digital Tech also supporting, Tide Breaker will benefit from connections into the region’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem and help ensure the programme drives impact at scale.
Tide Breaker is built on the Elementz platform, a cloud-based SaaS solution for subsea integrity management, which provides the digital infrastructure for participating start-ups to develop and test their technologies. Start-ups will work within a controlled sandbox environment using validated datasets and APIs, with the aim of creating tools in areas such as anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and autonomous inspection.
According to a recent report*, 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing, with AI start-ups in subsea operations struggling to access real operational data or integrate with legacy systems.
Jason Brown, Elementz CEO, said:
“Tide Breaker is where subsea energy stops talking about AI potential and starts deploying tech that works. We are proud to be officially launching the programme and to be playing a key role in shaping a new standard for how AI is developed, tested, and deployed in the subsea field.
“Tide Breaker opens the doors to a real-world testing ground, guided by the people who understand subsea operations best. Start-ups rarely get this kind of access to operational environments this early, and that’s what makes this programme a game-changer.”
Camilla Leon, VP Subsea at Aker BP and Elementz board member, said:
“We need to accelerate how we solve real subsea challenges, and that means bringing in new voices, fresh thinking, and bold innovation. Tide Breaker isn’t about just mentoring start-ups; it’s about building long-term partnerships that can scale across the sector.”
With a dedicated team of 25, Elementz specialises in robust and trusted Software as a Service (SaaS). The core offering – “Integrity Elementz” – provides a range of comprehensive, configurable cloud-based applications or “elements” to enable users to build End-to-End (E2E) integrity frameworks for their subsea assets. They can be tailored to provide all the functionality needed to serve as the core integrity platform to effectively plan, execute, and report on all integrity and inspection activities.
To find out more visit: www.elementz.digital