Location: New Bedford, MA

How we met: Incubated at WHOI

Propeller theme: Ocean Industrials

Propeller investment stage: Pre-Seed

Orpheus Ocean reduces launch costs for ocean monitoring. Building on a thesis cofounder/CEO Jake Russell developed while he was an Operating Partner here at Propeller, Jake and his cofounder Casey Machado spun Orpheus out of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to service the rapidly growing needs of industries working in the ocean, who need environmental monitoring. The cofounders' vision goes beyond monitoring though, and we can't wait to see their roadmap roll out. 

• Why we love the founders – Casey Machado has been working on Orpheus' tech at WHOI for years and is a deep subject matter expert. So it's no surprise Jake Russell was drawn to Orpheus, and joined to spin Orpheus Ocean out of WHOI. Together, the team just gets it done -- accomplishing a lot, with a little, and over-delivering every step of the way. 
• What’s novel about Orpheus’ tech – We see a lot of AUVs, but none have the capabilities -- untethered, full-ocean depth and the ability to sample the seafloor -- that Orpheus does, nor do they have the background of rigorous testing that comes from originally being designed at WHOI. 
• Why we’re excited about this market – Humans are increasingly operating in, on, and around the sea. This means infrastructure being built and resources being extracted. The businesses building in the ocean are demanding lower cost options to survey, inspect, and monitor their operations. 
• Orpheus' impact – It's mission critical to lower launch costs for surveying, so we can understand ocean impacts, big and small. 

Learn more about Orpheus Ocean at https://orpheusocean.com/