Ulysses (The Ocean Company)
"we steward the oceans"
San Francisco startup (est. 2023) building modular AUVs and ASVs for ocean stewardship, defense ISR, and ecological restoration; raised $46M.
Ulysses (legal entity: Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering Inc.), operating at theoceancompany.com, is a San Francisco-based maritime autonomy company founded in 2023 by four co-founders: CEO Akhil Voorakkara, President Will O'Brien, CTO Jamie Wedderburn, and COO Colm O'Brien. The company builds vertically integrated autonomous marine hardware and software systems for scalable surface and subsea operations.
Its flagship product, the Mako Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), is a modular, torpedo-shaped underwater drone with 72-hour endurance, a maximum payload capacity of 200 lbs, and a depth rating of 5,000 ft. The Mako features a Lego-like modular design with swappable nose cones (acoustic/visual sensors), battery modules (2 kWh, stackable), universal connector payload interfaces, inline and external thrusters, and an onboard compute stack claimed to be 40x more powerful than comparable small-to-medium vehicles. Base pricing is cited as approximately $50,000, versus $1M–$20M for legacy defense alternatives.
The Leviathan Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV), scheduled for release in 2026, is a heavy-lift platform with up to 12-hour endurance, 12 nautical mile range, 80-inch length, full 6-DoF independence, and a payload capacity of up to 250 lbs. Complementing the vehicle portfolio, the Kraken autonomous launch, recovery, and recharge system enables fully remote mission execution from deployment through recovery and battery replenishment.
Ulysses targets three primary markets: ecological restoration (seagrass seed collection, planting, and monitoring; blue carbon removal), defense and ISR (persistent maritime surveillance, critical infrastructure protection, contested-water operations), and commercial ocean science (subsea survey, environmental monitoring, offshore infrastructure inspection). Named customers and partners include the US Navy, Government of Australia, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, University of Western Australia, and Westport.
The company has raised $46 million in total: an $8M seed round led by Pebblebed (with Genius Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Superorganism, and ReGen Ventures), and a $38M Series A announced April 16, 2026, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with Booz Allen Ventures and Harpoon Ventures participating. As of April 2026, Ulysses reported over $5 million in customer revenue and approximately 20 employees.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Mako Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
Modular torpedo-shaped AUV with 72-hour endurance, 5,000 ft depth rating, and 200 lb payload for ocean survey, defense ISR, and ecological missions.
Leviathan Autonomous Surface Vessel
- Model: Leviathan ASV
- Launch Year: 2026
Heavy-lift autonomous surface vessel with 6-DoF independence, 250 lb payload capacity, and 12-hour endurance for subsea payload operations.
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Contact Ulysses (The Ocean Company)
WEBSITE
https://www.theoceancompany.com/HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2023
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- Ulysses (The Ocean Company)
- maritime-autonomy
- ocean-robotics
- ASV
- blue-carbon
- autonomous underwater vehicle
- autonomous surface vessel
- maritime autonomy
- ocean robotics
- subsea drone
- seagrass restoration
- blue carbon
- ocean surveillance
- ISR
- maritime defense
- modular AUV
- ocean stewardship
- Manufacturer
- Unmanned Marine Vehicle
- AUV
