Where in the World is SeaAhead?

We’re taking a departure from our regularly scheduled startup interviews and spotlights to provide a travel update! Just as whales, sea turtles, salmon, and seabirds make migratory journeys, SeaAhead is undergoing a great traveling period of its own. During the first half of 2025, our team crisscrossed the globe (from Boston to Nice) to be present at key events in the blue economy.

In all of our travels from this year, the most special and unique journey to date might be Ed Cesare’s, as he is currently participating in the Transatlantic Race as of this article’s release (see photos and videos from his journey below). The race spans the Atlantic Ocean from its origin point in Newport, RI to Cowes, UK.

Building better systems for our oceans and startups means joining global conversations, often leading and always listening. Here’s a look at where we’ve been month-by-month: 

JANUARY 

On January 16th, Julia Pangan and Natalie Ciardi attended An Evening on the Bay, an annual event put on by the Environmental Business Council (EBC) and Rhode Island Society of Environmental Professionals (RISEP) at Save the Bay. Their goal was to meet more business leaders in the Ocean State and understand how our member startups and our accelerator program could provide value to the businesses attending. 

On the 29th, Natalie attended a MA Climatetech Convening organized by FedTech, MassCEC, and FORGE. This gathering took place at Boston University’s Innovate@BU building, where Natalie presented SeaAhead’s work and program portfolio to master’s students and colleagues. She reflected that it was great to be back at her master's degree alma mater, this time on the other side of the audience. 

This month’s focus was on building momentum in our space, focusing on new connections to prepare ourselves for BlueSwell Cohort V’s graduation and the imminent recruitment period of Cohort VI. 

FEBRUARY 

We had our first major event of the year! Our 5th Offshore Renewable Energy Summit on February 6th brought together clean‑energy professionals, startup founders, investors, and government representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and beyond to explore cutting-edge developments in offshore energy. Sponsored by MassCEC, the summit assessed progress and identified gaps in two key areas of innovation: construction and operations & maintenance. The summit underscored Massachusetts’s role as a hub for offshore energy innovation, gathering stakeholders across sectors to forge partnerships, address permitting and environmental complexities, and chart a sustainable path for commercialization.

On February 11th and 12th, Alissa, Nadir, and Natalie attended the Blue Innovation Symposium in Rhode Island (its 10th anniversary!). This event, run by Toby Stapleton, with flashtalks, panels, and an exposition hall featuring corporations and startups involved with ocean technology. It made the effort to unite voices in Rhode Island and informed attendees of how we can show up stronger together, inside and outside the Ocean State. The core discussion brought together startups, small businesses, investors, academics, naval defense centers, and international governments to push innovative ideas to the forefront of our businesses and society.

View of the room during a panel at the Blue Innovation Symposium

To close out the month, the SeaAhead team spoke on an InnSure panel called “Challenges and Opportunities: Financing Risk and Resilience” to discuss physical and financial resilience. The panel examined innovative approaches including insurtech, climatetech, and public policy initiatives to address the increasing financial challenges posed by disasters in coastal regions. They also considered long-term strategies for funding essential physical infrastructure improvements to reduce the impact of these risks.

February was a ramp-up month focused on driving community and conversations by uniting stakeholders in the offshore renewable energy and insurtech sectors. Following the challenging news about offshore wind and related industries from the beginning of this year, it was the right time to gather our community and create an action plan.

MARCH 

On March 5th, the team explored MITRE’s Bluetech facilities, getting acquainted with their massive freshwater tank for deploying sensors, AUVs, and other tough tech that needs proof-of-concept testing. As SeaAhead ramps up our piloting program, increased interactions with testing and deployment sites are critical. We have laid the groundwork so we can launch an exceptional program for our startups in 2026. 

This month marked the main event in our accelerator program: BlueSwell Cohort V’s Demo Day! On March 6th, we gathered in the New England Aquarium’s Simons Theatre to watch our seven graduating startups deliver their pitch to 200+ attendees consisting of investors, state representatives, corporations, students, and other industry stakeholders. Alissa Peterson, our CEO, emphasized that supporting and investing in groundbreaking blue innovation is essential to a bright future for all. We also had representation from Team Massachusetts driving momentum for bills that have passed in the last year supporting the blue economy. 

“Each startup that you see tonight demonstrates that innovation inspired by and for our ocean is exactly what we need right now more than ever... We firmly believe that shareholder returns, and the health of our coral reefs, are not mutually exclusive. We hope to reinforce and demonstrate that to you today.” - Alissa Peterson, SeaAhead CEO

On March 13th, with the release of our “Coastal Protection and Resilience: Innovation and Investment” white paper, Donna Hazard was a speaker on a virtual webinar discussing the economic risks of inaction, the rise of nature-based solutions, and the market conditions accelerating the adoption of enabling technologies. The white paper also contains burgeoning startups and information on what rounds they’ve raised and what their key technologies are – all for the benefit of VCs who want to know what’s happening in the industry.

March was all about startups (as it usually is at SeaAhead, but this month especially so). This was a productive month with our focus on building meaningful partnerships for our programs, sharing our expertise in coastal asset management, and running our showcase event to introduce startups to our VC and corporate partners.

APRIL 

On April 8th in London, Nadir Ait-Laoussine was featured on the panel "Future Funding: Navigating Evolving Landscapes for Growth in the Blue Economy" at the Blue Food Innovation Summit. Panelists examined the evolving role of new financial players, blended finance models, and supportive government policies in driving investment and de-risking capital flow into ocean technologies in London. Shortly following this event, Nadir made another appearance at Ocean Business with friends from Rhode Island Commerce in Southampton, UK. We’re busy exploring what some of our programming might look like overseas, and we’re listening intently to what other countries predict for our sector over the next few months and years. 

On April 10th, Natalie attended Social Enterprise Greenhouse’s (SEG) annual Impact Business Showcase in Providence, RI. The event culminated in a pitch contest, with the winner receiving $10k from Citizens Financial Group. The event was filled with delicious local food vendors and showcased startup innovations in healthtech. It underlined the strength of the Rhode Island innovation community that is deeply focused and committed to startup success. 

Gearing up for the pitch contest at SEG’s Impact Business Showcase

From April 21st to 25th, our CEO Alissa attended SF Climate Week for the first time, and it was clear to her that the West Coast is quickly becoming a major hub for climate innovation. Highlights of her trip included the AI and Nature Forum at Salesforce, where discussions centered on the challenges of valuing nature beyond carbon credits, underscored by Tom Chi’s memorable keynote discussing beavers and direct air capture (DAC), mainly that two beavers can store more carbon at a fraction of the cost of DAC. At the Female Founders & Funders event, hosted by Planeteer Capital and Earthshot Ventures, over 400 women leading in climate tech came together. 

Finally, to finish up this busy month, from April 28th to May 1st, Julia and Nadir attended Startup Alley, an event SeaAhead co-hosts with Oceantic Network during their IPF conference in Virginia Beach, VA. SeaAhead curates the pitches, helping with practice and the overall selection process. The result is a wonderful event meant to raise awareness of enabling technologies that make offshore renewables more efficient in various stages of project development.

The SeaAhead team flanking startup founders at IPF

At its core, April was about expanding SeaAhead’s global and regional reach, learning from international peers, and supporting the next generation of blue economy innovators. We are always thrilled to participate in IPF’s annual programming where we strive to showcase promising startups that are making the industry safer and more reliable.

MAY 

At ClimaTech Live 2025 from May 13th-14th, Nadir came away with a clear sense that the conversation in climate innovation has shifted decisively from celebrating ecosystem growth to executing real progress. He noted how the event felt all-hands-on-deck, with collaboration across government, startups, corporates, and capital. Massachusetts stood out for its determination to streamline permitting, pilot new technologies, and push commercialization forward. While the barriers to scaling climate solutions aren’t new, there’s now stronger alignment and momentum across all sectors. On the Blue Horizons panel, Nadir joined regional leaders to reflect on the path ahead for the blue economy, emphasizing the urgent need to scale ocean and coastal technologies in ways that are faster, smarter, and more inclusive. 

On May 21st and 22nd, Nadir and Julia attended MOCEAN. Julia noted that the event felt high-energy, despite challenges to the funding scene. The gathering continues to be a blend of public sector, private industry, and academia working closely together to champion offshore renewable energy solutions. 

As we head into the middle of the year, we find it crucial to stay in active conversations with our community. Upon listening carefully, we can identify gaps to address and solve in the next iteration of our program schedule. We can’t meet the needs of our startups or corporate partners through the BlueSwell and Pilot Programs if we don’t understand them and their challenges.

JUNE 

In Rhode Island on June 5th, Natalie attended the Innovation & Impact Conference held by Nishita Roy-Rope and her company Courage Builder. The panels provided a meaningful look at how impactful leadership can transform the work in our fields, and the ways you can better include underrepresented communities. She left with plenty of affirmations in her pockets and a smile on her face from the engaging emcees.

The “Leading with Impact in Emerging Sectors” panel from the Innovation & Impact Conference, featuring prominent voices in bluetech and healthtech

On June 5th, Nadir spoke on a panel hosted by Pier71 during their Smart Port Challenge Roadshow. The talk was titled “Grasp the Opportunity to Transform in the Maritime Industry” and they discussed supply chain disruptions and the geopolitical climate of today. The panel featured panelists from both Singapore and the United States who are exploring innovation in the maritime industry, which is looking for new technology to prevent service interruptions and stay ahead of the curve.

That same week, from the 4th to the 6th, Sean Laverty attended the Explorer’s Club, International Seaweed Day Gathering, and NYC Ocean Tech Summit events in New York City. He met with investors and stakeholders in the ocean tech and climate tech spaces. It was a great event with a lot of positive energy circulating, evident in his main takeaway, which was that there is a great ocean tech community in NYC and it's growing steadily. This sentiment was repeated multiple times across events, speaking to the united momentum behind the industry in that region.

On June 7th, Alissa attended the Blue Economy & Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco. Accompanying many insightful panels, the evening’s highlight was a private screening of Ocean with David Attenborough. The film was urgent and outlined the challenges that have been facing our oceans, and it left a deep impression on Alissa and her fellow attendees.

Alissa Peterson, SeaAhead’s CEO, at the Blue Economy & Finance Forum in Monaco

On June 9th-13th, Alissa attended the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France. The Conference centered on the theme of accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. Through plenaries and panels, it aimed to drive urgent progress on SDG 14 and strengthen partnerships for ocean sustainability. 

To put a cherry on top, Ed Cesare, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, is currently participating in the Transatlantic Race from June 18th to roughly July 3rd, 2025 (weather dependent). He’s the navigator on a ship called HOUND, a familiar name to those of us at SeaAhead, as he sailed with this vessel in the Newport-Bermuda race a year ago. Check out HOUND’s Instagram and HOUND’s Tiktok to follow Ed and his crewmates. You can track his ship’s progress and follow along using the YB Races app. 

@hound.sailing.team A pivotal point in the race 👀 An extended cut of Captain Tom Stark’s Day 6 Evening check in courtesy of Jonathan Mariande. As we approach Point Alpha at the ice gate there are a lot of decisions to be made with major race implications. We’re ready for anything. #TR2025 #HoundHuntsAtNight #Sailing #OffShoreSailing ♬ original sound - Hound Sailing Team

This month, like May’s approach, represented a wide array of efforts to stay involved in the blue economy. It’s all about coming together as a united front for our partners and startups while making sure we stop to smell the roses every once in a while, too… preferably on a boat. 

WHERE SHOULD WE GO NEXT? 

We hope you aren’t too jetlagged from our recap.

These shared moments strengthen our conviction that advancing the blue economy requires global collaboration and intentional curiosity. As we look toward July and beyond, with more summits, site visits, and startup engagements on the horizon, our compass remains fixed on finding impactful ocean startups to uplift and champion.

Is there an event that you’re attending that you’d love to see us at? Want to fill up our schedules even more? Email us at info@sea-ahead.com.