I spent a day with some of the US Navy leadership last week.
What I heard from the likes of Vice Admiral Seiko Okano (Asst Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition), Justin Fanelli (Dept of Navy CTO), Rebecca Gassler (Portfolio Acquisition Executive Robotic and Autonomous Systems) and more, is the very real demand to speed and scale technology acquisition.
What I took away, was how swiftly technology can be adopted by the Navy, at impressive scales, when the demand signal is clear.
It's certainly a boon for some of the dual-use companies in our portfolio, like Indeximate, Orpheus Ocean, Vatn Systems, Navier, and Fleet Robotics...
But we here at Propeller invest at the "ocean-climate nexus," so what was I even doing at this event and how'd Propeller end up with so many dual-use portfolio companies anyway?
Firstly, to be clear, Propeller is not pivoting to defense-tech. But as you can see from the list above, we have a bunch of dual-use companies in our growing portfolio already. Secondly, it's more a function of the ocean, and the inherent intersection of oceanographic innovation and technology applications that can benefit people and planet, as well as national interests (many of which were funded at some point by the Navy).
More to come on this from Propeller MP Rodrigo J Prudencio. In the interim, thanks to Overmatch Ventures and Demand Signal Forum for hosting, thanks to our Navy service members, and thanks to all the entrepreneurs out there innovating at the depths and edges of our ocean...
And a reminder that if you're an early stage entrepreneur working on something in, on, or around the ocean, we want to meet you.
I always get inspired hanging around founders. Thank you to these ocean entrepreneurs — Sampriti Bhattacharyya (Navier), Nelson Mills (Vatn Systems), and Steven H. (Fleetzero) — for sharing their stories as they build visionary companies advancing #maritimeautonomy. These CEO’s especially, are scaling up technology and teams rapidly with autonomous vessels above and below the water, and our conversation was expertly guided by industry veteran Caitlin Hardy (Ness Sea).
And what a great crew in the crowd! Founders, investors, operators… ocean hackers, ocean shipping co’s, ocean scientists… Thanks to all who joined for the discussion. Special thanks to our friends and partner Andrew Beebe and team at Obvious Ventures and our event sponsor Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
