As SeaAhead continues to expand, our emphasis is increasingly directed toward cultivating global partnerships, recognizing their indispensable role in addressing major environmental issues. 

Recently, SeaAhead’s Investment Principal, Luke Sawitsky, traveled to Norway for Floating Wind Days 2023, a conference held by Norwegian Offshore Wind, to build connections and learn about renewable energy advances in Europe. We caught up with Sawitsky to hear more about his recent trip.

Blue Ocean Gear first made a trip to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in the summer of 2022 before applications for the Gulf Blue Navigator opened. When the chief business officer of Blue Ocean Gear, Peter Macy, received an invite to get a first look at the program, he did not hesitate to accept. Familiar with the Gulf Coast from his previous gaming industry role, Macy returned for his first visit since 2005.

With shrimping vessels trolling, oyster farmers harvesting, and shipbuilders busy on the shore - the Gulf Coast of Mississippi has always been a cornerstone of the blue economy. Today, we see a new blue economy emerging with technology like that of Blue Ocean Gear bringing smart sensors to fixed gear fisheries worldwide.

Happy World Oceans Day to all our readers! The UN has announced the theme for 2023 as “Planet Ocean: Times Are Changing” which is consistent with SeaAhead’s mission of rocking the boat in the world’s ocean economy. 

Following the celebration of our 5th birthday on Tuesday, June 6th, we at SeaAhead would like to take this opportunity to reflect. Since our founding in 2018, we have hosted three BlueSwell cohorts and graduated 19 companies from this program. Our Mississippi-based Gulf Blue Navigator program also graduated its first cohort of six post-pilot startups.

All the way from Singapore, BeeX gave a resounding “yes” when they were offered a slot in the Gulf Blue Navigator program. Co-founders Grace Chia and Eng Wei Goh are a young and ambitious team with the skills to match. A spin-out from the University of Singapore, BeeX already ran several pilots of their autonomous underwater vehicles in Europe. The Gulf of Mexico was intriguing enough to entice them to make the 23-hour (one way) flight multiple times.

SeaTrac is one of the first cohort members of the Gulf Blue Navigator program. The company is renowned for its cutting-edge solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles that are designed for autonomous observation, data collection, and reconnaissance. In an interview with Alessandra Bianchi, Communications Director at SeaTrac, we discuss the company's business operations, the enormous potential of the Gulf Coast, and the region's welcoming Southern hospitality.

The New England Aquarium and SeaAhead, Inc. are seeking applicants for their BlueSwell incubator program, which supports the creation and growth of startups that have the potential to significantly impact the blue economy while using the ocean’s resources in a sustainable and responsible way.

Halfway through the Gulf Blue Navigator’s inaugural run, program manager Hailey Bathurst reflects on the potential and challenges of the Gulf Coast.

Miles Keeney-Ritchie and Satchel Douglas co-founded Aloft Systems with the desire to help shipping vessels save fuel by tapping into a free, limitless resource: wind.

A former SeaAhead mentor, Sara Remsen is now stepping into the founder seat as a member of Cohort III. Over the summer of 2022, Sara founded Fathom Carbon. Fathom is a science-first platform that monitors and verifies ocean-based carbon credits to reduce risk and uncertainty for carbon credit buyers.

Interest in impact investing has resulted in innovative ways of using donated capital to generate real impact. For example, donors are investing in for-profit green technology companies, equity funds, and ocean sustainability ventures that align with their environmental values.

On November 14, SeaAhead, MassCEC, and Orsted hosted a gathering of key stakeholders to address an important question: can offshore wind be an innovation anchor for the new Blue Economy?

Measuring impact, especially in the young sector of ocean innovation, poses a great challenge. Unlike pure climatetech, the bluetech startup and investment community lacks a single metric that can encapsulate and clearly communicate its progress and potential. We require an easy way to track and report impact so that we can draw a wider audience to scale the ocean venture ecosystem.

The University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation and SeaAhead, with the support of partners including Jackson State University, has selected the first cohort of bluetech startup companies for the Gulf Blue Navigator. This six-month program provides scaling startups, with innovations relevant to the ocean, with market access to the Gulf of Mexico region, proximity to federal agencies, technical facilities, and expertise.

For the first interview with BlueSwell’s Cohort III, we caught up with Kevin Rosa, founder of Current Lab. Current Lab creates high detail forecasts using the ocean’s currents, temperature, and other data points to improve the efficiency and safety of maritime operations. Current Lab’s system is mostly used by professional sailing teams, but Kevin is exploring how to make this valuable data available to more stakeholders.

SeaAhead, Inc. and the New England Aquarium have selected a third cohort of startup companies for BlueSwell, an innovative incubator program in the Northeast dedicated to supporting early-stage entrepreneurship in bluetech. 

Oceanic leaders celebrated positive progress in Gulfport for the one-year anniversary of the Coast’s Gulf Blue Initiative. University of Southern Mississippi’s Vice President of Research Kelly Lucas said Gulf Blue jumps on the opportunity to expand the oceanic economy.

We founded SeaAhead in 2018 to connect bluetech startups to funding and support infrastructure. Our team drew on their experience pioneering venture-based innovation in cleantech, biotech, and agtech, and we’ve since built a thriving community of investors, industry leaders, and stakeholders to equip innovators with the tools they need to succeed. 

At the UN Ocean Conference, the most exciting conversations were happening at the side events. Here, attendees got into the how – how are we going to make the changes we all see as necessary – with a focus on startups and the financial players that support them.

BlueSwell - an initiative of SeaAhead and the Boston Aquarium and an incubator — formed to support the creation and growth of startups with scalable solutions that enhance ocean health, sustainable ocean industry, and global resilience.

While the blue economy is nothing new to the Gulf Coast, a new wave of innovation is heading for its shores. Here are 3 things bluetech entrepreneurs should know about the Magnolia State.