Ocean Technology Lags
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Will O'Brien believes the ocean represents a massive untapped opportunity for startups and innovation, with current ocean technology lagging far behind other sectors despite its economic importance.
Key Points:
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The Ocean Economy is Already Massive:
- Currently worth approximately $3 trillion in annual spending
- Covers 70% of the planet
- 3 billion people rely on it as their primary source of food
- 1 billion people depend on it as their primary source of income
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Ocean Technology is Stagnant:
- While we have robots on Mars and low-cost drones in our skies, ocean technology "pales in comparison"
- Ships use technology similar to what existed years ago
- Underwater drones remain largely unchanged
- Core technology stacks supporting key ocean industries (transport, fisheries, defense, energy, biodiversity) show little innovation
- "Same old stagnant incumbents" offering solutions "rolling on ancient software"
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Lack of Attention from Entrepreneurs:
- People struggle to name "sexy ocean startups" while immediately identifying SpaceX for space or Boom for aerospace
- Most entrepreneurs are looking toward space rather than the ocean
- This creates an opportunity in an underrated sector
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Examples of Ocean Innovation:
- Saildrone: Building autonomous sailboats that can stay at sea for months, gathering data with sensors and relaying it back to agencies like NOAA or the US Navy
- Ulysses (O'Brien's company): Building "autonomous robots for the ocean to do important things" including monitoring seagrass (which is dying at 7% per year)
- Creating surface vehicles with docking systems that can deploy underwater vehicles "10 times cheaper than anyone else"
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The Opportunity Window:
- The "low hanging fruit of software has been eaten"
- Current technology window includes AI, robotics, and 3D printing, which enable building things that couldn't have been built 10-15 years ago
- Ocean-focused founders are typically "very obsessed with the ocean" and trying to make businesses from their passion