Anthony DiMare says, “It seems quite odd that no one has built the SpaceX equivalent for the ocean,” “There’s no big, modern technology company that fits the space yet.”
Last year, DiMare and Charles Chiau cofounded Bedrock Ocean Exploration. DiMare has experience with the oceans, while the latter brought a variety of robotics knowledge to the space. Nautilus Labs, his former company specializing in ocean ship logistical preparation, raised an $11 million Series A round in 2019.
DiMare claims he met Chiau at a San Francisco diner after leaving the startup, where the two addressed the difficulties and opportunities of mapping the ocean floor. Eniac Ventures, Primary Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, and R7 led an $8 million seed round for Bedrock, which was announced today.
More than 80% of the ocean is still unmapped, according to the company. Moreover, such parts are frequently of low resolution. “A far greater percentage of the surfaces of the Moon and Mars have been mapped and studied than our own ocean floor,” says the CEO in a press release accompanying this morning’s news.
The money will be used to form partnerships and expand the company’s robotics and cloud platforms. The team, which includes several competitors from the recent Shell-sponsored XPrize ocean floor competition, is expected to develop.
Laying undersea cable is one of the technology’s most popular applications. “As of now, it’s done on basically a one-off basis,” DiMare says. “I know that if I need to lay a cable between the United States and China, I’ll make the best guess at the most productive route and conduct a survey in that region, hoping to get enough details to lay a cable. But if I come across anything, I’ll have to reroute it.”
Offshore wind turbines are also a significant future growth area for the group. DiMare says, “Right now, we’re not working with any oil companies.” “We didn’t know if we’d have to go that route,” says the author. Fortunately, offshore wind has recently grown. We should practically concentrate on the offshore wind area when there is so much work to be done.”
