Austin-based startup, Saronic, recently announced that it has raised $55 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Caffeinated Capital and saw participation from a number of investors, including 8VC, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, Cubit Capital, and the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund.
Founded by former Navy SEAL Dino Mavrookas, Saronic aims to develop autonomous surface ships for defense purposes. While the field of autonomous seagoing vessels is expanding, a majority of the focus has been on non-defense applications. Saildrone, for example, has secured over $100 million in venture capital for its autonomous research vessel. Similarly, startups like Shone are retrofitting existing ships with autonomous navigation capabilities.
However, Saronic stands out by building autonomous boats from scratch, according to Mavrookas. “We build our boats around the mission, not the mission around the boat,” he said in an email interview with TechCrunch. The company fills a gap in the market where traditional shipbuilders lack the capacity and expertise to design autonomous ships, and other vendors struggle with production at scale.
Currently, Saronic is in the process of prototyping two ships: the 6-foot Spyglass and the 13-foot Cutlass. These vessels are equipped with remotely updatable software and can carry diverse payloads, even in communication dead zones. The company has already secured two R&D agreements with the Navy, signaling their successful innovation.
Venture capital investment in defense technology has been increasing, with U.S.-based defense tech startups raising a total of $2.1 billion across 53 deals in 2020. This trend has continued in recent months, with startups like Helsing, Castelion, and Mach Industries securing significant funding rounds. Geopolitical factors, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and new export controls and investment restrictions, have also contributed to this growing interest in the defense sector.
Mavrookas believes that Saronic’s unique approach and technological capabilities set it apart from competitors in the maritime autonomy arena. “Saronic is unlike any other company in the maritime autonomy arena. Our competitors are predominantly boat builders trying to be technology companies,” he explained. The challenges of autonomy at sea differ from those of space, land, and air autonomy due to the constantly shifting surface of the ocean. Saronic aims to deliver autonomous capabilities through their technologically advanced boats.
With a total of $70 million in venture capital raised to date and approximately 45 employees, Saronic is well-positioned to make significant advancements in autonomous defense ship technology. The recent funding round will allow the startup to accelerate its research, development
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
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