# Blue Water Autonomy

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/blue-water-autonomy
Boston startup, founded in 2024, building a 190-foot crewless steel ship for months-long Navy missions, designed so existing US shipyards can build it in series.

## In brief

- Liberty class: 190 ft steel ship, 10,000+ nm range, 150+ t payload, on a licensed Damen hull.
- First hull under construction at Conrad Shipyard, Louisiana since March 2026; due later in 2026.
- Raised $64M (seed plus GV-led $50M Series A, 2025); aims for 10–20 ships a year after hull 1.

## Facts

- Founded: 2024
- Headquarters: US
- Status: private
- Staff: ~60
- Raised: $64M
- Frontiers: [Manufacturing](https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing.md) (Shipbuilding), [Robotics](https://technooptimist.io/robotics.md)

## Programs

- [Liberty-class autonomous ship](https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing/liberty-class.md) (Manufacturing): Proto; next: First Liberty-class ship completed for the Navy (Q4 2026). First hull under construction at Conrad Shipyard since March 2026; completion targeted for late 2026.

## Technical approach

- **Proven hull: Licensed, not invented**: Uses Damen's Stan Patrol 6009 hull with its vertical Axe Bow, a design with 300+ ships in service.
- **Crewless engine room: Power as a microgrid**: Several engines in 20-ft containers run as a microgrid, so one failure doesn't stop a ship with no engineer aboard.
- **Producibility: Built in ordinary yards**: Designed for existing US yards and commercial supply chains; Conrad uses automated panel lines and welding.

## Open problems

- **Winning a Navy program** (open): Not among the first seven picked in the Navy's medium uncrewed ship competition; pursuing later tranches.
- **Months with no one aboard** (active research): Machinery must run 60–90 days without crew intervention, the hardest part of large crewless ships.

## Latest updates

- **Aug 2026**: Liberty hull modules under assembly at Conrad; Blue Water targets its first ship by late 2026. Construction of the first Liberty-class ship began at Conrad in March 2026, and several hull modules were being assembled at the time of the interview. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/liberty-hull-modules-under-assembly-at-conrad-blue-water-targets-its-0caeef94.md) · [original source](https://www.maritimemagazines.com/marine-news/202608/blue-water-autonomy/))
- **11 Feb 2026**: Blue Water Autonomy unveils the 190-foot Liberty-class crewless ship, to be built at Conrad Shipyard. The Liberty class is a 190-foot steel ship with over 10,000 nm of range and more than 150 tonnes of payload, built on Damen's Stan Patrol 6009 hull. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/blue-water-autonomy-unveils-the-190-foot-liberty-class-crewless-ship-to-b77629b1.md) · [original source](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-water-autonomy-introduces-liberty-class-a-190-foot-autonomous-ship-for-the-us-navy-302684880.html))
- **26 Aug 2025**: Blue Water Autonomy raises $50M Series A led by GV to build a full-size autonomous ship. Blue Water Autonomy raised $50M led by GV, bringing total funding to $64M, to build and deploy its first long-range, full-size autonomous ship in 2026. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/blue-water-autonomy-raises-50m-series-a-led-by-gv-to-build-a-full-size-3feca37a.md) · [original source](https://www.therobotreport.com/blue-water-autonomy-nets-50m-to-build-autonomous-ships/))

## Funding

| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Leads |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Aug 2025 | Series A | $50M |   | GV |
| Apr 2025 | Seed | $14M |   |   |

## Partners, customers and investors

- Damen Shipyards (supplier): Licensed the Stan Patrol 6009 hull design.
- Conrad Shipyard (supplier): Builds the first Liberty-class hull in Louisiana.
- GV (investor): Led the $50M Series A (Aug 2025).
- Naval Oceanographic Office (customer): Multiple-award seafloor-mapping IDIQ with a $40M ceiling.

## People

- Rylan Hamilton, Co-founder and CEO
- Austin Gray, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer

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