maritime-autonomy
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SeeByte makes rival robots work together
Different vehicles. Different navies. One shared mission. The Edinburgh software company has built its business around the awkward business of getting underwater machines to cooperate.
Sherry Lowe Still Looks for the Story Before She Sells the Software
She learned headlines on NFL sidelines, built marketing through an IPO and an acquisition, and now explains autonomous systems. The subject changed. Her first question did not: where is the story?
The Navy Wanted Thousands of Robot Boats. HavocAI Built the Brain That Lets One Person Run the Fleet
Two Navy veterans started with Python, borrowed-looking boats and a blunt thesis: the hull is replaceable; coordination is the product. Two years, dozens of military deliveries and roughly $196 million later, HavocAI is testing whether one software stack can turn sea, air and land robots into a useful team.
Akhil Voorakkara Is Building the Ocean Company One Hard Lesson at a Time
The Ulysses co-founder began with a leaking seed-planting prototype, learned what salt water does to confidence, and returned with a broader plan for autonomous work at sea.
Blue Water Autonomy Inc.
Blue Water Autonomy is a Boston-based defense-tech and shipbuilding company designing and mass-producing fully unmanned, long-range autonomous ships for the U.S. Navy. Founded in 2024 by veterans of the Navy, Amazon Robotics, and iRobot, the company pairs a full-stack autonomy suite with producible ship designs aimed at sailing thousands of miles for months at a time. It emerged from stealth in April 2025 and has raised $64M total, including a $50M Series A led by GV.
Lucas Hoffmann
Lucas Hoffmann is a Partner at Outlander VC and Head of Business Operations at HavocAI, a maritime autonomy company. A Wake Forest and Emory Business School graduate with corporate roots at ExxonMobil and Delta Air Lines, he pivoted to venture capital in 2021 and built a pre-seed and seed investing practice focused on AI, SaaS, hardware, robotics, fintech, and govtech. He also founded RiskyBreakfast, a media and content venture, and was recognized as a Siemens National Semifinalist in 2010 for ALS research conducted at Columbia University Medical School.