Defense Tech Startups’ Next Target: Captainless, AI-Powered Navy Ships
Silicon Valley’s growing defense tech industry aims to create fleets of autonomous marine vessels.
A rendering of a Blue Water Autonomy ship. The startup is trying to build a vessel that can travel for months with no one aboard.
Source: Blue Water AutonomyBlue Water Autonomy, a startup that’s less than a year old, is preparing to build a hulking, 100-foot ship. Co-founded by Navy veterans and former tech executives, the company has designed the vessel to travel thousands of miles for months at a time over the open ocean — without a captain or crew.
Boston-based Blue Water has about 10 employees and $14 million in new funding. Its goal of building an autonomous ship that can carry 100 tons — about 50 cars — represents the outsized seafaring ambition of a group of startups working to release thousands of uncrewed vessels into and under the water.