SeaAhead Secures Funding Through MassCEC’s Ocean Innovation Network to Advance Bluetech Commercialization
Nearly $1.5M from MassCEC will support a collaborative effort between SeaAhead, The Engine, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to provide stronger acceleration programming to bluetech ventures across a wider range of stages.
The MassCEC Ocean Innovation Network awardees pose for a group photo at New Bedford Research and Robotics on Sept 24, 2025. The group represents seven organizations that have collectively received $11.3M of funding from MassCEC.
SeaAhead is excited to announce that we have been selected from a highly competitive field of applicants to receive almost $1.5M from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) through the Ocean Innovation Network (OIN) Program. Over the next three years, this funding will support additions to the BlueSwell accelerator and support the launch of a groundbreaking new program focused on facilitating pilot projects between later-stage startups and industry customers that would benefit from innovation. Set to launch in early 2026, this later-stage accelerator focuses on resolving a lack of support infrastructure and pathways enabling commercial traction for bluetech startups. MassCEC joins the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative as a Founding Partner for this new initiative.
Navy McKee, co-founder and CEO of Kai Pono Solutions (BlueSwell Cohort V member), shows how her stormwater filtration system sits in the curb and gutter line. Kai Pono Solutions currently has a live pilot in Maui, Hawaii.
The grant also funds collaboration between SeaAhead and two new partners, The Engine and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Our work together will focus on building the capacity of ocean-focused innovators and university researchers to better understand the commercial potential of their technologies and preparing early-stage founders for marine technology prototyping and piloting.
Qinmin Zheng, co-founder and CEO of WATABOT (BlueSwell Cohort V member), shows off a prototype at BlueSwell Demo Day 2025.
The activities funded by this MassCEC OIN grant serve to help bluetech founders through the toughest commercialization stages – business and product formation, validation, and market traction. This work will also help ocean industries and waterfront communities implement innovative solutions with confidence and bolster Massachusetts’ position as a bluetech leader by attracting new business to the region. SeaAhead is enthusiastic about this expansion of its partnership with MassCEC and looks forward to collaborating with The Engine, NREL, and the other awardees of OIN as we collectively build a support network across Massachusetts for ocean-focused innovation.
View the official press release from MassCEC here.
About SeaAhead: SeaAhead builds and invests in ocean-focused startups to generate outsized venture returns and measurable ocean impact. Using a blended capital model, we run high-quality acceleration programs supported by philanthropy, sponsorships and the public sector, and deploy investment capital to help promising startups scale. Our work is enabled by our broad blue innovation ecosystem anchored in the U.S. Northeast and the assistance of partners that share our mission across industry, academia, policy, and more.