Hydrofoil water taxi startup partners with Stripe to shuttle employees across the Bay

Alameda-based startup Navier announced a partnership with Stripe Wednesday to shuttle Stripe employees across the bay in its fully electric hydrofoil water taxi.

As part of the program beginning in March, Stripe workers can commute in one of the startup's aquatic vessels from Larkspur to Oyster Point in South San Francisco. The startup promises an ultra-fast ride that avoids choppy waters by gliding on top of the bay using a hydrofoil fin.

“Navier’s mission is to introduce the next generation of high-speed, zero-emissions water transportation, starting right here in the Bay Area," said Sampriti Bhattacharyya, CEO of Navier in a press release. "This pilot program will connect parts of the Bay Area where traditional ferries are not available, cutting commutes that take an hour or more to less than 30 minutes door-to-door – all with no carbon emissions.”

The program will start with one boat of Navier's six-passenger boats, the N30, and expand to five to seven boats in the coming months. It plans to eventually build larger boats to hold more passengers.

The company says it's planning additional routes to Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Sausalito.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Navier in their novel, zero-emission approach to water transportation," Stripe said in a statement. "Our pilot program with Navier will fill a transportation void by offering a more efficient commute option for our employees in the Bay Area.”

While Navier has been around since 2019, this will be the company's first commercial pilot program. Its boats can also be reserved to be purchased for personal use at $550,000 with an expected shipping date of some time in 2024, according to its website.

The startup has so far raised $16.2 million from investors like Global Ventures, former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

"It is deeply gratifying to start on this path with a pilot program that contributes to the revitalization of our home base of San Francisco," Bhattacharyya said. "We look forward to rapidly growing to serve other coastal cities such as New York, Boston, Seattle and Miami, among others. The clean, high-speed revolution in water transportation — and its benefits for commuters, companies and cities everywhere — is just beginning.”