SeaAhead 2024 Highlight Reel
As SeaAhead ushers in 2025, we wanted to collect all the good news in one place.
To all of our partners, startups, investors – we are better together. Let’s continue to support innovative technology that creates jobs, reduces climate impact, and challenges humanity to think outside the box about the problems that affect every single one of us.
Ecosystem wins from 2024:
BlueSwell alumni tally and new program participants: Our BlueSwell alumni have now collectively raised >$38M and have hired 80+ new employees. We graduated atdepth MRV, Bluemvmt, DetoXiFy, and Vycarb from Cohort IV and welcomed ARMADA Marine Robotics, Crewless Marine, Coastal Measures, Dottir Labs, Eddy Analytics, HydroPhos Solutions, Kai Pono Solutions, and WATABOT into Cohort V. Way to go!
White paper thought leadership: With the expertise of the New England Aquarium, we released 3 new thought-leadership pieces on marine carbon dioxide removal, innovation for biodiversity related to offshore wind, and aquaculture feed. Find them here.
Employee recognition: Our BlueSwell Program Manager, Julia Pangan, was listed in BostInno’s “25 under 25” thanks to her impressive management. We’re incredibly proud of her hard work and all the things to come!
Extra hands on deck: We welcomed Ed Cesare, Entrepreneur in Residence, to our board, and both Natalie Ciardi, Partner Relationship Manager, and Brooke Bossert, Program Development Associate, to our full-time staff. We worked with 9 awesome interns that helped us continue our work, thanks to the funding provided by the Clean Energy Internship Program from MassCEC and the Rhode Island Clean Energy Internship Program from The Renewable Energy Fund (REF) and Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER).
The people who brought it all together: The BlueSwell cohort members got acquainted with numerous partners from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Orleans, and beyond. We would like to extend a warm thank you to the New England Aquarium, MassCEC, Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), University of Rhode Island Research Foundation, 401TechBridge, CommerceRI, Roger Williams University, Tufts University, Rutgers University, UMass Boston, Browning the Green Space, Tribe Academy, WHOI, Attentive Energy, Ørsted, Oceantic Network, Foley Hoag, DTN Ventures, and Giant Shoulders to name a few, but not all. Your contributions to the startups in our ecosystem are invaluable.
Rolodex, anyone?: We’ve built a database which has reached 2,500+ global bluetech startups.
Wins for the startups:
atdepth MRV: While they were a member of BlueSwell Cohort IV, atdepth was awarded $150,000 to develop measurement systems that enable marine carbon dioxide removal from AmplifyMass. Since graduating BlueSwell, atdepth MRV has continued to use our resources, connections, and advice to secure additional grants and contracts with new customers. atdepth MRV’s traction and team has grown significantly as a result.
Bluemvmt: Bluemvmt, an alumni startup from BlueSwell Cohort IV, distinguished itself as one of five innovative startups honored with the RISE-UP Technology Implementation Excellence Award at the BlueTIDE 2024 event organized by 401 Tech Bridge. This recognition highlights Bluemvmt's contributions to the RISE-UP initiative, a long-term program backed by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR). Other standout startup recipients included BLUEiQ, HavocAI, JAIA Robotics, and VATN Systems.
Crewless Marine: As a member of BlueSwell Cohort V, Crewless Marine was in a featured article by the Boston Globe thanks to our partnership with the New England Aquarium. Both of our teams helped them prepare for the interview by strategizing on how to describe their technology in layman’s terms, and as a result, they’ve received a large uptick in inquiries which is helpful for a startup looking to confirm product-market fit.
INVERSA Leathers: The sustainable material company’s invasive python leather was featured in Gabriela Hearst’s collection, a major fashion house, during Paris Fashion Week. Additionally, they were invited to present in front of our Blue Angel investment group for the third time!
Wittaya Aqua: Secured $2.8 million to close their Seed funding round. The SeaAhead Blue Angels helped them reach the finish line and close this round successfully.
Prepared to launch “Bridge to BlueTech” Internship Program: Back in 2023, SeaAhead piloted a partnership with the PATHS program to have students from Bunker Hill Community College and UMass Boston to work with bluetech startups. The pilot was a success, matching 6 students with startups from BlueSwell Cohort IV, many of whom wanted to keep their interns for the following semester. Our learnings from the PATHS Program directly inform the Bridge to Bluetech Program, which is the next iteration of our partnership with UMass Boston. We are on track to host the program during Summer 2025. The new rendition of the program, supported by a GAFC prize from the Small Business Administration, will enhance the Spring 2023 program to source and place 8 interns at SeaAhead-affiliated startups.
Looking into 2025, are bringing fresh momentum to push ahead. Our positioning and approach will continue its collaborative, focused efforts in the bluetech space that spur advancement in novel solutions, even in uncertain environments. There is much more to be accomplish in 2025. Let’s continue the good work!
About SeaAhead
SeaAhead is a benefit corporation founded in Boston with the mission of supporting venture innovation for the ocean. We are creating a bluetech startup platform, helping to build companies through our BlueSwell incubator, facilitating investments through the Blue Angels, and catalyzing a bluetech cluster in the Northeast. Our ecosystem includes technologists, scientists, startups, foundations, corporations, governments, and other ocean stakeholders who are coming together to create positive ocean impact and scaling solutions with ocean-centric approaches to the challenges of climate change.