🚀 Splash: Autonomous Boats Guarding the Seas
Building the Navy of the future with AI-powered patrol vessels
While the Coast Guard struggles to patrol thousands of miles of unprotected maritime borders, narco-submarines slip through unchallenged … but two robotics engineers think they've built the solution. Let’s jump in and check out Splash!
⚾️ The Elevator Pitch
Remember when Ukraine's tiny sea drones took out billion-dollar warships? That wake-up call sent defense departments worldwide scrambling for maritime drone capabilities. Enter Splash, a Y Combinator-backed startup that's building autonomous patrol boats capable of guarding vast stretches of ocean without a single human on board.
Founded by Ivan Avanesov (who previously sold smoke machines to SpaceX) and Marcell Veszpremi (who worked on UCLA's championship-winning robot soccer team), Splash has already logged over 200 autonomous miles in San Francisco Bay. Their 10-foot jet boats can hit 50 knots, patrol for 800 miles, and use AI to identify threats (from narco-submarines to suspicious vessels approaching oil rigs)
The kicker? They've designed, built, tested, sunk, and rebuilt two boat iterations in just one month, showing the kind of rapid iteration that defines great modern hardware startups.
👇 The Drop Down
🌐 Website: splash9.com
📅 Founded: 2024
👥 Founders: Ivan Avanesov (CEO), Marcell Veszpremi (CTO)
💰 Stage: Seed - Part of Y Combinator W25 batch
📈 Traction: 200+ autonomous miles tested, 2 boat iterations, actively engaging defense contractors
🔮 Tech Trend: Defense Tech + Maritime Autonomy
🎯 Target Market: Coast Guard, Navy, Oil & Gas security, Port authorities
🏢 Location: El Segundo, CA (5-person team)
🔎 Why We Like It
Perfect timing meets massive market: The USV market is projected to reach $3.4 billion by 2030, growing at 11.7% CAGR. Recent conflicts have proven autonomous boats are no longer sci-fi and that they're essential for modern naval defense. Splash is entering just as governments worldwide are writing checks for maritime autonomy.
Founders who ship (literally): Ivan previously built and sold 10,000+ devices to SpaceX and NASA through his company Vosentech, while Marcell helped build championship-winning robots at UCLA. They're not just dreamers, they've already tested boats in real ocean conditions and aren't afraid to sink prototypes to learn faster.
The competition question: While Splash faces well-funded rivals like Saronic ($600M raised) and Saildrone ($100M+), the maritime autonomy space is vast enough for multiple winners. The real challenge will be navigating defense procurement cycles and proving their smaller, faster approach can compete with companies building larger vessels.
🤝 Get Involved with Splash
💼 Join the team - they're hiring founding engineers!
📧 Connect with founders at founders@splash9.com
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