Iron-Stimulated Marine Sequestration

Will O'Brien's company Ulysses builds autonomous robots for maritime operations, with their first business line focused on seagrass restoration.

Ulysses - Autonomous Maritime Robotics Platform

• Core Technology: General purpose autonomy platform for maritime operations

  • Simplified: "Autonomous robots for the ocean to do important things"
  • Custom robotic payloads for specific use cases

• First Business Line: Seagrass Restoration

  • Seagrass is a critical ocean plant that:
    • Is 10x more abundant than coral reefs
    • Removes carbon 35x better than rainforests
    • Holds 20% of ocean carbon
    • Supports 25% of world's most important fish stocks
    • Is dying at 7% per year globally
  • Their robots:
    • Collect seeds
    • Plant seeds
    • Measure growth
  • Revenue sources:
    • Compliance-driven restoration (when companies damage seagrass and must restore it)
    • Voluntary-led restorations
    • Contracts in Western Australia, Florida, and Virginia

• Business Traction:

  • $1 million in first-year revenue
  • 5-person team based in San Francisco
  • $2 million in funding

• Future Potential:

  • Platform approach could expand to other maritime applications
  • Mentioned other ocean opportunities like shipwreck treasure hunting and marine geoengineering