“America’s conventional shipbuilding ecosystem lacks the agility to match the threats posed by our adversaries.” –  Dino Mavrookas, co-founder and CEO, Saronic.

Saronic, a maritime autonomy company specializing in drone boats, has successfully secured $55 million in a Series A funding round, with Caffeinated Capital leading the investment. This round also saw participation from notable backers, including 8VC, U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, and Cubit Capital. This substantial funding signifies Saronic’s commitment to addressing critical capability gaps at sea through attritable and autonomous platforms. With this infusion of capital, Saronic aims to accelerate its research and development efforts and expand its in-house manufacturing capabilities to facilitate rapid production.

Saronic’s key offering is a state-of-the-art, purpose-built solution designed to meet the United States and its allies’ growing need for autonomous surface vessels. These vessels seamlessly integrate software and hardware to optimize autonomous missions, thereby enhancing the range, capability, and survivability of the naval fleet and the warfighters.

What sets Saronic apart is its ability to fill a crucial technological gap. Traditional shipbuilders tend to focus on larger naval ships and lack the expertise to deliver autonomous vessels. Other vendors often provide legacy platforms and grapple with issues related to large-scale production.

Dino Mavrookas, the co-founder and CEO of Saronic, said the company focused on reshaping design for rapid production and deployment, with an emphasis on software, autonomy, and mission profiles.

Caffeinated Capital’s founder and managing partner, Raymond Tonsing, said Saronic had the potential to reshape naval operations significantly over the coming century.

Saronic’s current projects include Spyglass, a 6-foot vessel, and Cutlass, a 13-foot vessel. These vessels feature remotely updatable software and are designed to carry diverse payloads, even in communication-denied and GPS-denied environments. They facilitate real-time, collaborative, and autonomous mission-level decision-making, all while addressing the challenges of maritime environments. Engineered as attritable systems, these vessels promise minimal life-cycle costs and the potential for scalability.

Saronic’s team, composed of innovators, seasoned warfighters, and engineers from various fields, is dedicated to bringing autonomy to American and allied navies. This substantial funding will support their mission to deliver cutting-edge technology to warfighters rapidly.

Related Story:  Pentagon Using AI And Sea Drones (USVs) To Patrol Gulf Waters