Naval Maritime Autonomy Company Raises $55 Million in Series A Fundraise

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Oct 10, 2023, 00:30 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saronic, a maritime autonomy company focused on surface vessels, announced today a $55 million Series A funding round led by Caffeinated Capital, with participation from 8VC, U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, and Cubit Capital. This significant investment underscores Saronic's commitment to addressing critical capability gaps at sea through attritable, autonomous platforms. With this raise, Saronic will accelerate research and development while expanding in-house manufacturing capacity for rapid production.

A prototype Saronic Spyglass ASV completes a full mission profile in its first open water exercise with the US Navy.

Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Rear Adm. Keith B. Davids, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command discuss Saronic's 6ft Spyglass ASV at the 2023 International Seapower Symposium.

The need for these autonomous surface vessels is clear. To outpace China, America must start building a large fleet of autonomous vessels today. Saronic provides a state-of-the-art, purpose-built solution for the United States and its allies, seamlessly integrating software and hardware to optimize autonomous missions, enhancing the range, capability, and survivability of the naval fleet and the warfighter.

Saronic is the only company that can deliver this critical technology, filling a gap where shipbuilders, traditionally focused on manufacturing large naval ships, lack the capacity and expertise, while other vendors provide legacy platforms and struggle with production at scale.

"America's conventional shipbuilding ecosystem lacks the agility to match the threats posed by our adversaries, and many proposed solutions for the fleet aren't cohesively designed for the mission. Saronic stands apart," said Dino Mavrookas, the company's co-founder and CEO. "Saronic has worked closely with the Navy to build a solution that meets their requirements. We're putting software, autonomy, and mission profiles first, reshaping design for rapid production and deployment, and creating a novel breed of autonomous vessels that can meet current and future threats."

"Saronic is one of the most timely and ambitious companies we have ever partnered with - its technology will fundamentally transform how the Navy operates over the next century," said Raymond Tonsing, founder and managing partner of Caffeinated Capital, which led the funding round. "We have been astounded by the speed at which this exceptional team has already begun to bridge the technology gap in naval autonomy."

The company is currently developing Spyglass, a 6-foot vessel, and Cutlass, a 13-foot vessel, each outfitted with remotely updatable software and capable of carrying diverse payloads in communication-denied and GPS-denied environments. These systems enable real-time, collaborative, and autonomous mission-level decision-making, and are designed to navigate the challenges of maritime environments. Engineered as attritable systems, these vessels offer minimal life-cycle costs and considerable potential for scalability.

"Saronic has brought together the top talent from the innovation world, the military, and the defense industry to address the most critical strategic needs for our Navy," said Joe Lonsdale, the managing partner of 8VC and co-founder of Saronic via the 8VC Build program.

"We are honored to have the backing of seasoned investors who are fully aligned with our mission to deliver top-tier technology to our warfighters as fast as possible," said Rob Lehman, Saronic's co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer. "This funding round will enable us to sustain our rapid growth, development, and delivery efforts."

Saronic is a defense company with a dynamic blend of innovators, seasoned warfighters, and top-tier engineers and technologists from various fields, all dedicated to bringing autonomy to American and allied navies. This investment reflects a strong belief in the team's capability to rapidly provide autonomous solutions tailored to the modern naval landscape.

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SOURCE Saronic