Exploring an Ocean of Opportunity with Cohort IV!
As BlueSwell Cohort IV comes to a close and Demo Day approaches, we’re taking a step back to reflect on the past six months and celebrate another successful program run in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
Cohort members meet the BlueSwell staff on their first day in September ‘23
Credit: Allegro Photography LLC
Over the course of the program, the BlueSwell team accompanied five startups on their journey towards commercialization. One of BlueSwell’s core beliefs is that innovation addresses humanity’s economic and resilience needs while promoting ocean health. The five teams of Cohort IV demonstrate just that, while simultaneously representing diverse sectors and impact areas. The BlueSwell team dedicated the past several months to helping them navigate early entrepreneurship and will continue to support them beyond the program’s end.
The five startups selected for BlueSwell's Cohort IV—atdepth MRV, Bluemvmt, DetoXyFi, Marinas Bio, and Vycarb—have demonstrated exceptional dedication and growth over the past 20 weeks. These startups continue to forge valuable connections within their respective industries, make meaningful contributions across a wide range of fields and disciplines, and showcase their potential to drive innovation and create positive change.
We could not be more excited to see them on stage and celebrate their successes at Demo Day on Thursday, March 7. Learn more and secure your free ticket to join us at https://pp.events/blueswellcohortivdemoday .
In preparation for their graduation, we are re-introducing Cohort IV, remembering their accomplishments, and sharing our insights from our fourth year.
Alissa Peterson, CEO of SeaAhead, meets with the cohort at the CIC
Credit: Allegro Photography LLC
atdepth MRV
atdepth MRV provides advanced and highly accurate modeling tools to help quantify marine carbon processes and monitor human interventions in the ocean. We were thrilled for atdepth MRV when they won ARPA-E funding so soon after joining the BlueSwell program. Our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ed Cesare, worked extensively with them on their financial model in preparation for the money that would soon flow in. The team is successfully executing several projects, including the scope of work associated with their ARPA-E grant and a contract with their first customer.
Carlos Muñoz Royo, co-founder and CEO of atdepth MRV, stated back in December that “Feedback from the mentors and experts as well as connections to the bluetech ecosystem in Boston and RI have been great. I would also highlight the support and expertise from the team at the New England Aquarium, which has opened many doors.”
The unique partnership between SeaAhead and the Aquarium enables the BlueSwell team to call on a vast network for our cohort to suit their specific needs. atdepth MRV has not wasted the opportunity to benefit from all that BlueSwell offers, and we very much look forward to staying updated on their achievements post-program.
Bluemvmt
Bluemvmt offers a subsea monitoring platform powered by machine learning. Their Blue/AI software can pull data from any sensor or data set and rapidly transform it into meaningful information, accelerating customers’ time to discovery, insight, and action.
Bluemvmt’s Chief Technology Officer, Craig Harper, noted in November that “[BlueSwell] has helped us improve our product and market fit, increased our contacts with potential customers, and connected us to many incredible advisors and potential investors.”
BlueSwell has provided access to the above, but Bluemvmt’s rapid success can be attributed to the tenacity and drive of Harper and Bluemvmt CEO Joe Wheeler. We’ve admired their ability to rapidly integrate their voice into the biggest conversations around ocean data, most notably at COP28 where Wheeler spoke on a panel at the Island of Hope Pavillion. Just this month, Harper participated in a panel on open data dissemination at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in NOLA. They ran with the BlueSwell network and have brought their perspective to conferences across the country and beyond. We can say with certainty that this bodes well for their future success.
Julia Pangan, BlueSwell Program Manager, chats with Craig Harper and Joe Wheeler
Credit: Allegro Photography LLC
DetoXyFi
Backed by a decade of research at MIT, DetoXyFi has developed a low-cost, biodegradable, high performing water filter made from waste wood. Rapidly deployable and able to filter heavily contaminated water, this filter can be used for both disaster relief and household settings.
We were moved from the start by how closely DetoXyFi’s mission is tied to the heart of the company. At the end of the day, their core motivation is to bring clean water access to those who need it the most. This has been the driving force behind their community work in India and their ongoing engagement with various aid organizations and NGOs in the disaster relief field. DetoXyFi reminds us that although coastal resilience can be as complex and large-scale as protecting coastlines, we cannot forget that climate change threatens our most basic human needs, such as having safe water to drink.
Marinas Bio
Marinas Bio is using cellular agriculture to cultivate seafood delicacies, beginning with caviar and salmon roe. Their approach aims to support conservation efforts, reduce production time and greenhouse gas emissions, and maintain quality and consistency.
We were impressed by the team’s ambition to pursue a nearly untouched area of cellular agriculture. We engaged in fascinating conversations about how the tech behind such a luxury product can also have significant implications for conservation, expanding our ability to boost the populations of endangered species and combat disease. In addition, their unique needs challenged the BlueSwell team to expand our reach in terms of expertise and connections. We were lucky to work with them to open dialogues in our network with new voices such as food scientists and chefs.
Vycarb
Vycarb has built a hardware-software solution to perform fully measured removal and storage of carbon in water via alkalinity enhancement. Their technology reliably restores carbon balance, helping fight acidification anywhere from marine environments to recirculating aquaculture systems.
Vycarb joined the program fresh from enjoying some recent successes. The founder, Garrett Boudinot, had been accepted as an Activate NY Fellow that summer, and the company had just signed their first customer contract. It was exciting to build on those achievements with such an impressive team.
Acknowledging that transitional opportunities are required while the carbon credit market develops, Vycarb dove into extensive customer discovery work with the help of the BlueSwell team. This process soon revealed new deployment opportunities for Vycarb. Boudinot reflected on this in November, stating: “Before BlueSwell, Greg and I would send emails upon emails to folks and would not hear back. But now, with BlueSwell, getting our foot in the door is more manageable. Thanks to the SeaAhead team and the New England Aquarium, we are seeing a very high return rate.”
Garrett Boudinot, Co-founder of Vycarb
Credit: Allegro Photography LLC
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Looking back on the last five months, Lena Weiss, Fisheries Specialist and BalanceBlue Lab team member at the New England Aquarium, reflects that “It has been fantastic working with Cohort IV and watching them make real progress in spaces that have substantial potential for positive ocean impact. The New England Aquarium is extremely excited to see what the future has in store for these companies.”
As we look forward to Demo Day, we're not just celebrating the achievements of Cohort IV within BlueSwell, we are looking ahead to the future. With each cohort, we help companies build their capacity for impact well beyond the end of the program. We look forward to sending them off with a bang on March 7th at Demo Day and staying in close communication as they continue to scale.
Ed Cesare, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, sums up our experience with Cohort IV: “It’s been an honor and a real pleasure working with the Founders of the dynamic companies in BSI Cohort IV. Congratulations on the progress they have made and will make. I look forward to their big night on Demo Day.”
Learn more about Demo Day and register here: https://pp.events/blueswellcohortivdemoday
Sign up today! Remaining space at Demo Day is limited and advanced registration is required.