The South China Sea, the Black Sea, the Strait of Malacca and the Red Sea. You hear about these far flung places mostly on the news. They are dangerous and contested areas often dozens, if not hundreds, of miles out to sea that, when disrupted, can cost lives, money and even spark wars.
So the U.S. is always looking for new ways to keep tabs on maritime activity. And an Austin startup has found a promising way to assist.
Saronic Technologies has developed three types of drone boats that can be dropped into the water from the sky or deployed from beaches or larger boats. They can then operate in fleets that spread out and provide communication hubs, surveil other ships with advanced artificial intelligence and carry kinetic weapons, such as missiles, and non-kinetic weapons, like devices for cyber attacks and electrical disruptions.
Its primary customers are the U.S. Navy and its allies.
The company said July 19 that has raised a $175 million series B funding round and revealed that it is now valued at $1 billion, giving it unicorn status in startup parlance.
The big investment was led by Bay Area venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz. Its earlier investors also reupped their commitments. Those firms include Austin-based 8VC, as well as notable tech investor Elad Gil and San Francisco-based firms Caffeinated Capital and NightDragon.
"We are creating an entirely new capability for the maritime domain, one that delivers naval power without the costs and delays of a shipyard," Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas stated. "As the future of naval warfare will rely on manned and unmanned teaming, we must build solutions that easily integrate into the existing fleet and can be produced at scale to meet any emerging threat."
Mavrookas, a former Navy SEAL, co-founded the company with Doug Lambert, Vibhav Altekar and Rob Lehman.
The fresh influx of money comes a few months after Austin Inno reported that the startup had begun expanding its manufacturing and research-and-development facilities in South Austin and had planned dozens of new hires.
Saronic also said it will expand domestically and internationally. That includes its Austin manufacturing spaces, as well as its research and development and payload integration with government and commercial partners.
The startup, founded in 2022, raised $55 million last October. Then, earlier this year, it secured a 65,000-square-foot space in the St. Elmo Arts District in South Austin. At the time, the company said it planned to hire 100 people by the end of 2024, roughly doubling its headcount.
Saronic is developing and producing three vessels. The Spyglass is about six-feet long and has a range of 30 nautical miles. The Cutlass is a 14-foot vessel with a range of 300 nautical miles that can deploy munitions and create communication networks at sea. It's also working on a 24-foot vehicle called the Corsair.
"To deter China and other adversaries, the United States and our allies must bring intelligent, autonomous new capabilities to naval warfare," 8VC Partner Alex Moore stated.
