SeaAhead Pilot: Deploy Innovation with the Right Partners
We’re excited to share that SeaAhead is launching SeaAhead Pilot, a new program designed to connect pilot-ready startups with real-world customers and end-users.
In this first year, our theme is Coastal Resilience and Coastal Asset Protection. We’re especially focused on startups that can help coastal stakeholders and decision-makers:
Characterize – collect, integrate, and visualize critical coastal data (shoreline change, flooding, asset conditions, ecosystem health, etc.).
Predict – model and forecast coastal hazards and system behavior (storm impacts, compound flooding, erosion, infrastructure performance).
Intervene – deploy practical interventions (physical, digital, financial, or nature-based) that reduce risk, protect coastlines, and support adaptation.
Through SeaAhead Pilot, we collaborate with not only startups but also the corporations and organizations that could benefit from external innovation.
Coastal stakeholders identify a set of problems that they want startups to address, and have the opportunity to get involved in evaluating and co-creating pilot projects with the startups that join the program.
Startups learn how to construct and execute a pilot project that a customer will want to pay for, through workshops on permitting, risk management, contracting and negotiation, project management, and more.
READ ON TO LEARN HOW TO GET INVOLVED.
Reverse Pitch Webinars:
SeaAhead Pilot’s theme is driven by our sponsors. To hear from a set of program sponsors and coastal stakeholders about their particular coastal resilience priorities and what they’d like to see from startups, join us on March 10, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET for a reverse pitch webinar.
This session is a chance for startups to:
Hear directly from potential pilot partners about possible deployment and collaboration opportunities
Understand how industry leaders and coastal decision-makers are thinking about engaging with external innovation
Start developing pilot ideas that match real operational needs for the SeaAhead Pilot program application
If you are a corporation, organization, public agency, or municipality that is interested in participating in a reverse pitch as a presenter, please reach out to Julia Pangan (julia.pangan@sea-ahead.com).
For Startups:
Applicants to SeaAhead Pilot should 1) be able to address challenges related to coastal resilience and coastal asset protection, 2) have at least a working prototype (or can commit to having a working prototype by the end of June 2026), and 3) be ready to start designing pilot projects for a paying customer.
SeaAhead Pilot offers:
Coaching on how to scope pilots that customers will pay for (work plans, KPIs, risk frameworks).
Guidance on common pilot pitfalls in permitting, procurement, and contracting.
Curated introductions to potential customers and channel partners across defense, ports, infrastructure, municipalities, sustainable tourism, etc.
Technical and advisory support during pilot design and early customer conversations.
Applications open on Tuesday, February 24. Learn more and find FAQs on the SeaAhead Pilot webpage.
For Sponsors:
Interested in new technologies that could transform your strategy and operations? Partner with SeaAhead as we source, vet, and coach startups that could meet your coastal resilience needs. We’re excited to collaborate with a broad array of organizations with coastal resilience interests, including:
Engineering and consulting firms
Coastal asset owners
Maritime infrastructure operators
Foundations and NGOs
Coastal municipalities
Sponsors of SeaAhead Pilot will have the opportunity to learn alongside other industry leaders, get access to de-risked, later-stage innovation, receive hands-on support from SeaAhead to meaningfully engage with startups, and benefit from strategic visibility in the sustainable blue economy.
To learn more about how SeaAhead Pilot can help you find and test technologies that could bring your work to the next level, please reach out to Julia Pangan (julia.pangan@sea-ahead.com) and Stephen Piper (stephen.piper@sea-ahead.com).
