Measuring impact, especially in the young sector of ocean innovation, poses a great challenge. Unlike pure climatetech, the bluetech startup and investment community lacks a single metric that can encapsulate and clearly communicate its progress and potential. We require an easy way to track and report impact so that we can draw a wider audience to scale the ocean venture ecosystem.

The University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation and SeaAhead, with the support of partners including Jackson State University, has selected the first cohort of bluetech startup companies for the Gulf Blue Navigator. This six-month program provides scaling startups, with innovations relevant to the ocean, with market access to the Gulf of Mexico region, proximity to federal agencies, technical facilities, and expertise.

For the first interview with BlueSwell’s Cohort III, we caught up with Kevin Rosa, founder of Current Lab. Current Lab creates high detail forecasts using the ocean’s currents, temperature, and other data points to improve the efficiency and safety of maritime operations. Current Lab’s system is mostly used by professional sailing teams, but Kevin is exploring how to make this valuable data available to more stakeholders.

SeaAhead, Inc. and the New England Aquarium have selected a third cohort of startup companies for BlueSwell, an innovative incubator program in the Northeast dedicated to supporting early-stage entrepreneurship in bluetech. 

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.

While the blue economy is nothing new to the Gulf Coast, a new wave of innovation is heading for its shores. Here are 3 things bluetech entrepreneurs should know about the Magnolia State.

Marine Microverse Institute in Kittery Point, Maine is developing a fish-DNA, species-authentication test using whole-genome diagnostic tools for fish retailers.

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.