Oceanic leaders celebrated positive progress in Gulfport for the one-year anniversary of the Coast’s Gulf Blue Initiative. University of Southern Mississippi’s Vice President of Research Kelly Lucas said Gulf Blue jumps on the opportunity to expand the oceanic economy.

We founded SeaAhead in 2018 to connect bluetech startups to funding and support infrastructure. Our team drew on their experience pioneering venture-based innovation in cleantech, biotech, and agtech, and we’ve since built a thriving community of investors, industry leaders, and stakeholders to equip innovators with the tools they need to succeed. 

At the UN Ocean Conference, the most exciting conversations were happening at the side events. Here, attendees got into the how – how are we going to make the changes we all see as necessary – with a focus on startups and the financial players that support them.

BlueSwell - an initiative of SeaAhead and the Boston Aquarium and an incubator — formed to support the creation and growth of startups with scalable solutions that enhance ocean health, sustainable ocean industry, and global resilience.

We’re catching up with Katherine Woolford, Program Manager of the BlueSwell Incubator as we recruit for BlueSwell’s Cohort III. Katherine told us about what tech is exciting her this year, what motivates her work, and much more.

Living underwater is not a new idea – explorers in the 1960s – such as Edwin Link and Jacque Cousteau – demonstrated that it is safe for humans to live under water for extended periods.

With a high density of bluetech assets, the Northeast is a global epicenter for bluetech innovation, which combines with SeaAhead’s relationships with investor groups, accelerators, incubators, research institutions, and industry to provide superb deal flow and informed investment diligence.

The oceans absorb an estimated twenty-five percent of carbon dioxide emissions through rich, biodiverse ecosystems. Phytoplankton, coral, kelp, algae, marine bivalves, and ocean sediments turn our seas into a natural carbon sink. In fact, marine ecosystems sequester ten times more carbon than terrestrial ecosystems.

BlueSwell has chosen a second cohort of startups supporting ocean health, tackling areas including plastics remediation, water sensor technology and sea urchin aquaculture.

SeaTrac designs and develops uncrewed surface vehicles for persistent in-shore and open-ocean missions. Energy is derived from solar panels; propulsion comes from a highly efficient electric motor. Power from the vessel’s substantial battery storage allows for consistent cruise speeds over days with varying weather conditions.

Partnership between SeaAhead and New England Aquarium focuses on early-stage entrepreneurship 

DTN Ventures is an early-stage investor associated with Great Mountain Partners, a private equity firm in New Haven, Connecticut, which was formed to provide institutional investors with guidance for their strategic investment portfolios.

A scientist, adventurer, boat designer, and entrepreneur, Julie Angus cofounded Open Ocean Robotics to help protect our oceans and offer solutions to some of our greatest maritime challenges.

CoLoadX was founded in 2015 in Queens, NY by logistics and software professionals Fauad Shariff and Petere Miner. Using digital logistics software, CoLoadX has created a container shipping marketplace to more efficiently procure and more effectively track the movement of e-commerce products.

Red Penguin Marine is an international group of companies working together to provide subsea cable engineering and marine consulting services; through strategic planning and operational support to investors, owners, developers, insurers, industry and regulatory bodies, and others with an interest in subsea cable systems.

On May 25th with over 200 participants, we talked about an intersection of Offshore Wind, Alternative Fuels, and Maritime Decarbonization. We heard from thought-leading corporations and watched flash talks from seven startups innovating in the space. If you missed the event, you can watch here.

The winners of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.