San Diego firm aims to change the game with flexible, affordable and scalable unmanned surface craft that carry ocean-sensing payloads
San Diego startup Seasats, a maker of affordable, solar powered autonomous surface vessels, has received roughly $10 million in a strategic investment from defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to jumpstart its flagship drone that’s sometimes referred to internally as “a sensor truck for the ocean.”
“We are excited about partnering with L3Harris because obviously they are a big organization with a lot of capabilities and expertise,” said Seasats Chief Executive Mike Flanigan. “We bring almost on the opposite end of that spectrum — a really fast-moving, small group that is used to getting R & D projects done on tight timelines.”L3 Harris said Seasats compliments the large and medium size autonomous vessel programs that it already provides to defense customers.
Seasats’ roots date back to a garage project in which a group of friends built an autonomous surface drone with the goal of sailing from Rhode Island to Spain. Launched in 2013, the drone traveled about 1,200 miles and garnered a sizable social media following before losing contact. Seasats previously raised $1 million from Techstars and angel investors in a pre-seed funding round. Last year, it participated in pilot missions with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to probe water quality, as well as additional commercial projects around near-shore mapping and acoustic monitoring of sea mammals.
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