Unmanned Water Drones

Will O'Brien's company Ulysses is developing unmanned water drones to protect critical subsea data cables from sabotage and provide maintenance services for underwater data infrastructure.

Key Points:

• The Problem:

  • Only about 600 active subsea cables carry most of the world's internet data
  • These cables are vulnerable to sabotage (11 cables cut by foreign actors in the Baltic Sea last year)
  • China is publicly advertising deep-sea cable cutters
  • Limited redundancy in the system makes this a critical security issue
  • Cables connect military bases and cutting them could disrupt communications during conflicts

• The Solution - Persistent Unmanned Water Drones:

  • Surface vehicles with docking systems that can deploy underwater vehicles
  • Designed to persistently monitor cables "century style" (like Anduril's border systems but for the ocean)
  • Can perform inspections and maintenance for subsea infrastructure
  • Made "10 times cheaper than anyone else" to enable large-scale deployment
  • Currently works at all depth profiles in the Baltic Sea (with plans to develop vehicles for deeper ocean areas)

• Business Model:

  • Be a "servicing partner" for companies building subsea data centers (like Microsoft and YC startup Network Ocean)
  • Provide maintenance, inspections, and "in the box solutions" for underwater infrastructure
  • Focus on protection of the growing number of data cables being laid subsea
  • Target both military and commercial applications

• Market Opportunity:

  • Growing demand as AI companies build more underwater data centers
  • Transition from telecom companies to FAANG to AI companies building subsea infrastructure
  • Critical national security applications in protecting communications infrastructure