autonomous-underwater-vehicle
(2)
Impossible Metals
Impossible Metals is a San Jose-based ocean robotics company building autonomous underwater vehicles that harvest polymetallic nodules from the deep seabed one at a time. Its Eureka Collection System uses AI computer vision and a buoyancy engine to hover above the seafloor, pick up individual nodules containing nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, and leave nodules with visible marine life untouched - an approach the company positions as a lower-impact alternative to both land mining and the seabed-dredging methods used by rivals.
Ulysses
Ulysses is a San Francisco ocean-robotics company building low-cost, modular autonomous underwater vehicles that replace multimillion-dollar ships and human divers. Founded in 2023, it started by using robots to replant declining seagrass meadows 100x faster than volunteer divers, then extended the same modular platform to offshore wind surveys, subsea infrastructure inspection, and maritime security. Its flagship Mako AUV dives 5,000 feet for up to 72 hours and starts at roughly $50,000 - about 50x cheaper than legacy systems - and the company raised a $38M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in April 2026.