Maritime Autonomy Platform

Will O'Brien's company Ulysses is building autonomous robots for ocean operations, with their first application focused on seagrass restoration.

The Core Business

• Building a general-purpose autonomy platform for maritime operations
• Creating autonomous robots that can perform important tasks in the ocean
• Currently focused on seagrass restoration as their first business line

The Seagrass Problem

• Seagrass is a critical ocean plant that:
  • Is 10x more abundant than coral reefs
  • Is 35x better than rainforests at removing carbon
  • Holds about 20% of the carbon in the ocean
  • Supports about 25% of the world's most critically important fish stocks
• Currently dying at a rate of 7% per year worldwide due to:
  • Water quality issues
  • Coastal construction and dredging
  • Changing ocean temperatures and currents
• Loss threatens:
  • Fish stocks
  • Food security for 3 billion people
  • Income for 1 billion people

Ulysses' Solution

• Built custom robotic payloads for underwater vehicles that:
  • Collect seagrass seeds
  • Plant seeds
  • Measure growth
• Generated $1 million in revenue in their first year with a 5-person team

Business Model

• Customers pay for seagrass restoration for two main reasons:
  • Compliance-driven restoration (laws require replanting if damage occurs)
  • Voluntary-led restoration (ecological preservation)
• Current contracts in Western Australia, Florida, and Virginia

Technology Approach

• Started with a specific use case (seagrass) to gain initial traction
• Built both underwater and surface vehicles that dock together
• Created specialized attachments for the specific seagrass restoration tasks
• Platform designed to potentially expand to other maritime applications