Blue Water Autonomy Secures $50 Million Series A

Blue Water Autonomy just secured a major boost for its mission to reshape naval shipbuilding. The Boston-based startup announced a $50 million Series A round led by GV, with Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures also joining in. The raise comes just four months after a $14 million seed round in April, pushing total funding to $64 million. As part of the deal, GV’s Dave Munichiello is taking a seat on the company’s board.

Photo Credits: Blue Water Autonomy

The new capital is fueling the build and deployment of Blue Water’s first long-range, full-sized autonomous ship next year. Since its seed round, the company has quadrupled its team, run successful water tests, and locked in long-lead parts from more than 50 suppliers. “There is an urgent need for autonomous ships designed specifically for maritime security and logistics. This funding gives our team the resources to build long-range autonomous ships from the keel up that will operate on the open ocean for months at a time,” said CEO Rylan Hamilton.

The funding news lands as pressure mounts for the U.S. Navy to keep pace with China’s shipbuilding dominance. China currently has more than 200 times the shipbuilding capacity of the U.S. and continues to expand its fleet while American production lags. To counter, the Pentagon is leaning heavily on autonomous ship programs, with $2.1 billion in Congressional funding now aimed at medium-sized unmanned vessels that companies like Blue Water are working on.

Blue Water’s strategy is focused on a single platform class to speed production and ensure reliability. While defense is the immediate market, the company also sees potential in commercial maritime sectors where repetitive, hazardous, and labor-intensive work could be automated. Its leadership team is a mix of Navy veterans and shipbuilding engineers who have collectively delivered over 30 ships to the U.S. Navy, from destroyers to DARPA’s NOMARS autonomous vessel.

Munichiello, who worked with Hamilton during the Kiva Systems and Shopify years, praised the company’s mission. “As a former military officer myself, I’ve seen how great leaders are forged through experience, and Rylan exemplifies that—pairing vision with disciplined execution. At Blue Water, he’s assembled a world-class team to autonomize maritime defense, addressing a mission as urgent as it is consequential,” he said.

The company, founded in 2024, has now expanded into Washington D.C. as it pushes forward with the first of its autonomous ships designed to operate on open seas for months without human crews.