Back in August, we announced our investment in Blue Water Autonomy, founded by my former colleague and exceptional second-time entrepreneur Rylan Hamilton. Earlier this month, I hosted Rylan at our GV offices in SF, where we sat down to reflect on the future of maritime technology. We discussed how Rylan’s experience as a Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy and then later as the cofounder and CEO of Six River Systems informed his approach to building and leading. Rylan details Blue Water’s ambitious plan to become the “Waymo of the open ocean” - starting by designing and building autonomous ships for the US Navy, and then scaling up to empower global allied naval forces with the capability to produce flexible and affordable unmanned naval capabilities at an unprecedented scale.
Three highlights from the conversation:
- A New Class of Ship at a Fraction of the Cost: Blue Water is developing unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to complement the Navy’s fleet. By removing the crew and the “floating hotel” required to support them, these autonomous ships can perform missions for a “fraction of the cost” of a traditional manned warship. The goal is to lower the cost of taking payloads across the open ocean, similar to how SpaceX lowered the cost of access to space.
- The “Liberty Ship” Vision for a New Era: The company is focused on large ships that can operate for months across vast oceans, as opposed to smaller, short-range vessels. The long-term vision is inspired by the “Liberty ships” of WWII–creating modular, software-upgradeable, and easily produced ships that could revive U.S. shipbuilding and serve future commercial “middle mile” logistics.
- Rapid Progress from Testing to Production: Blue Water is already executing on its plan, having tested its hardware and software on a 145-ton test vessel in the open ocean. The company has also announced a key partnership with Conrad, a Louisiana-based shipbuilder, to build its full-scale prototype next year.
To hear the full story behind Blue Water Autonomy and its plan to revolutionize the seas, watch the full conversation.