A brand new ship-building startup referred to as Blue Water Autonomy has emerged from stealth with the promise of creating captain-less naval ships.
The Boston, Massachusetts-based firm has raised a $14 million seed spherical from Eclipse VC, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The startup was based in 2024 by former members of the U.S. Navy, leaders of Amazon Robotics, and iRobot.
Blue Water Autonomy joins an ever-growing record of startups which can be profiting from a splurge in protection funding. Defense tech funding set a brand new document in 2024, led by Anduril’s $1.5 billion Series F spherical and Saronic — one other autonomous maritime startup that notched a $175 million Series B.
The startup says it has developed a full-stack autonomy suite and idea ship designs in “below a yr.” It’s already salt-water testing a 100-ton autonomous check vessel simply exterior of Boston, a spokesperson for the corporate advised TechCrunch.
The seed funding will assist Blue Water Autonomy develop its engineering crew and speed up testing, in accordance with a launch.
“No different firm is tackling this drawback on the ship stage like Blue Water,” Seth Winterroth, a accomplice at Eclipse, stated in an announcement. “The crew is a uncommon mixture of roboticists and Navy veterans that positions them to be a vital accomplice to the Navy, your complete Department of Defense, and may have a significant influence on the maritime trade.”
