A retired fighter pilot from a Nebraska ranching family set out to build a water-tank sensor. His customers told him what they actually wanted: eyes on the land, no Wi-Fi required.
Ocean Aero builds the Triton, the world's only autonomous vehicle that both sails on the surface and dives beneath it, powered entirely by sun and wind. Founded by U.S. Navy veterans in 2012 and now headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, the company makes long-endurance, crewless ocean robots used by the U.S. Navy and allied partners for surveillance, mine countermeasures, and ocean research, as well as by energy and science customers for seabed mapping and environmental monitoring.
Throne Labs builds solar-powered, sensor-equipped public restrooms that cities and transit agencies deploy on demand. Each self-contained unit pairs a flushing toilet, running-water sink, baby-changing station and free menstrual products with 21 sensors that feed real-time data on usage, cleanliness and maintenance, turning the long-neglected public bathroom into a measurable, turnkey service. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 2020, the company operates across four regions and more than 20 cities and is rolling out restrooms for LA Metro ahead of the 2028 Olympics.