Clippership
US startup building autonomous, wind-powered cargo vessels for zero-emission ocean freight, with a 24-meter vessel under construction at KM Yachtbuilders.
Clippership is a US maritime autonomy company founded in 2024 and headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company was started by brothers Nico and Luca Cymbalist and Kai Matsuka, whose combined backgrounds include aerodynamics from Mercedes Formula 1 championships, engineering from NASA and Tesla, and operational logistics from overseas military deployments.
Clippership's core product is a class of autonomous, wind-powered cargo vessels designed to transport palletized marine freight across open oceans without a crew. The initial vessel is a 24-meter craft featuring twin foldable rigid wings as primary wind propulsion. The ship can carry up to 75 Euro-pallets within a climate-controlled cargo hold and is engineered for open-ocean autonomy over transatlantic distances of up to 3,000 nautical miles without crew or shore-side support.
The company signed a construction contract with Dutch shipyard KM Yachtbuilders for its first vessel, with launch scheduled for late 2026. Planned initial commercial routes include transatlantic, Caribbean, and South American corridors. The business model targets palletized cargo that does not require ISO containerization, positioning Clippership between traditional bulk shipping and express air freight in terms of speed and cost.
The autonomous navigation stack integrates robotics, aerodynamics algorithms, weather forecasting, and satellite connectivity. The company's mission is to dramatically reduce the carbon emissions of ocean freight while improving warehouse-to-warehouse transit times and supply chain resilience. Clippership has a team of approximately 7 employees and is backed by venture investors including Black Flag VC.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Autonomous Wind-Powered Cargo Vessel (24m class)
24-meter autonomous sail cargo vessel with rigid wing sails, carrying up to 75 Euro-pallets for zero-emission ocean freight.
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Contact Clippership
WEBSITE
https://www.clippership.coHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2024
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
