Ocean Economy Framework

The ocean economy is a massive $3 trillion annual market covering 70% of our planet, yet remains relatively untapped for innovation compared to sectors like space and aerospace.

Ocean Economy Overview

• Ocean economy is already massive at $3 trillion in annual spending
• Covers 70% of the planet
• 3 billion people rely on the ocean as their primary food source
• 1 billion people depend on it for their primary income
• Most human societies naturally settle along coastlines
• Only about 25% of the ocean has been explored

Three Categories of the Ocean Economy

1. Biosphere Management

• Fisheries and food production
• Ecosystem restoration
• Environmental mapping
• Ocean science and research
• Primary food source for billions, especially in developing countries

2. Prosperity & Commercial Activities

• Energy infrastructure (including oil and gas)
• Data infrastructure (underwater cables, ocean data centers)
• Logistics and shipping
• Commercial activities
• Data centers in oceans have significantly lower cooling costs

3. Security & Defense

• Defense and military operations
• Border security
• Critical infrastructure protection
• Naval deployments (e.g., South China Sea)
• Warfare shifting from deserts to oceans, requiring military retooling

Ocean Technology Landscape

• Technology in oceans lags behind other sectors
• Most ships use similar technology to what existed years ago
• Underwater drones haven't evolved significantly
• Core technology stacks supporting ocean industries remain stagnant
• Large incumbents running on "ancient software" with little innovation
• Few recognizable "sexy" ocean startups compared to space (SpaceX) or aerospace (Boom)

Emerging Ocean Opportunities

• Climate solutions (ocean is world's largest natural carbon sink)
• AI infrastructure (underwater data cables, ocean-cooled data centers)
• Food security for growing global population
• Autonomous vessels like Saildrone gathering ocean data at scale
• Defense applications for contested waters

Strategic Importance

• Ocean becoming increasingly important this century
• Warfare shifting from deserts to oceans
• Climate questions are ultimately ocean questions
• AI infrastructure buildout requires more underwater data cables
• Data centers moving to oceans for cooling efficiency