The verified answer
As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Vatn Systems: 1 model, 2 deployments across 2 regions, $73.0M raised. 3 sources back the record.
CategoryMaritime
Overview
Vatn Systems is a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the U.S. military and allied nations. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Vatn's flagship platforms include the Skelmir S6 compact Modular underwater effector and the Skelmir S12, a 12.75-inch diameter AUV-torpedo hybrid designed for ISR, electronic warfare, and swarm operations at scale. Both vehicles are powered by INStinct, Vatn's proprietary GPS-free inertial navigation system.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries A post-money
Key facts
CEO
Total fundingsee investors →
Manufacturing capacity
Navigation system
Manufacturing location
Data & sources
Press releases
1
Web sources
2
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company Vatn Systems has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Palantir1× joint
Most recent
- Vatn Systems x Palantir2025-04-22with Palantiroperating
Vatn Systems on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 2 regions, newest verified Jun 2024. Explore where Vatn Systems's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Vatn Systems deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Nelson Mills CEO & Co-founder
- Brendan Smith Director of Manufacturing
Founders (1)
- Nelson Millsno longer at company
Safety record
No incidents on record for Vatn Systems.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Vatn Systems2 deployments
Recent coverage
Vatn Systems in third-party press
Peers
8 peers across 1 segment. Every Vatn Systems competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
usv(8)
2 companies in this segment · highly_concentrated (HHI 5766.949001814165) · leader Kraken Technology Group at 6958%
- Kraken Technology Groupdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Ulyssesdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- ACUA Oceandirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Babcock Internationaldirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Havocdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Rekise Marinedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $73.0M
- Employees
- 74
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
1 total · 1 operating
Every company Vatn Systems has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Vatn Systems x Palantir2025-04-22with Palantiroperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Palantir1× joint
All 1 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Vatn Systems x PalantirwithPalantirtechnology2025-04-22operating
Funding rounds (2)
Vatn Systems’s 2 disclosed rounds, $73M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A2025-12-10
$60M · $360M post
Investors: BVVC (lead), Hanwha, Geodesic Capital, Airbus Ventures, Dauntless Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, Veteran Ventures Capital, DYNE Ventures, Propeller Ventures, Decisive Point Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Centre Street Partners, Cubit Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures
- Seed2024-11-12
$13M · $52M post
Investors: DYNE Ventures (lead), Lockheed Martin Ventures, RTX Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Propeller Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Cubit Capital, Centre Street Partners, The Veteran Fund, Blue Collective, Decisive Point Ventures, Fortitude Ventures
Timeline
Every recorded move in Vatn Systems’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2025-12-10Series A raising $60000000
PartnershipVatn Systems x Palantir
2025-04-22Vatn Systems partnered with Palantir to digitize its manufacturing process and provide AI-driven insights to accelerate production of AUVs at its Rhode Island facility.
Funding roundSeed funding round
2024-11-12Seed raising $13000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 27, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
Skelmir S12 at United States (multiple hotel chains)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
Skelmir S12 at Germany, Europe
Sources (3)
- https://www.vatnsystems.com/skelmir-s12
- Vatn Systems: Official Site · https://www.vatnsystems.com
- Vatn Systems Raises $60M Series A · https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vatn-systems-raises-60-million-series-a-to-redefine-underwater-naval-warfare-at-scale-302637203.html
Common questions
What is Vatn Systems?
What does Vatn Systems make?
Who competes with Vatn Systems?
Who is the CEO of Vatn Systems?
Where is Vatn Systems headquartered?
How much funding has Vatn Systems raised?
Where does Vatn Systems operate robots?
How many robots has Vatn Systems deployed?
Is Vatn Systems a top robotics company?
Is Vatn Systems safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Vatn Systems.Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- BAE Systems3 models
- Blueye Robotics3 models
- Cellula Robotics3 models
- Kongsberg Maritime3 models
- Rekise Marine3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Vatn Systems from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Vatn Systems, Taiwan's NCSIST to Explore Subsea Autonomy for Maritime Defense
Vatn Systems, a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles and Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), announced an…
Vatn Systems unveils SIGURD modular mine countermeasure system
Defence technology firm Vatn Systems has launched SIGURD, a modular mine countermeasure system designed to autonomously detect and neutralise naval mines. The post Vatn Systems…
Vatn Systems Launches Autonomous Mine Countermeasure System
Vatn Systems, a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles for the U.S. military, allied nations, and commercial customers, announced the launch of SIGURD,…
Vatn Raises $60M Series A
Vatn Systems raised $60M in Series A and $13M in seed funding from investors including DYNE Ventures, RTX Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and In-Q-Tel.
Vatn Systems Raises $60 Million Series A to Redefine Underwater Naval Warfare at Scale
Vatn Systems raised $60M in Series A led by BVVC, bringing total funding to $76.5M, with participation from Hanwha, Airbus Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and others.
Dual Role AUV Torpedo Expands Undersea Warfare Capabilities
Vatn Systems confirmed the Skelmir S12 AUV configuration completed its first operational exercise, demonstrating key undersea warfare capabilities.
Vatn Systems Launches New AUV and Rhode Island Manufacturing Facility
Vatn Systems unveiled the Skelmir S12 AUV-torpedo product line and opened a Rhode Island manufacturing facility capable of producing 2,000+ vehicles annually.
Vatn Systems Raises $13 Million Seed Round to Advance Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for US Defense
Vatn Systems raised an oversubscribed $13M seed round led by DYNE Ventures with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, RTX Ventures, and In-Q-Tel.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/vatn-systems.md
- RSS feed: /companies/vatn-systems/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/4bb79e4b-80c4-431a-a1d3-c1a7a20fe313
- Revision history: /companies/vatn-systems/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- BAE Systems3 models
- Blueye Robotics3 models
- Cellula Robotics3 models
- Kongsberg Maritime3 models
- Rekise Marine3 models
Video
Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems, building autonomous undersea vehicles for the U.S. military.
Autonomous underwater vehicles that operate in cooperative swarms, offering modular navigation software and customizable hardware.
Explore the transformative world of underwater drones with Nelson Mills, CEO and co-founder of VATN Systems, revolutionizing maritime autonomy.
Nelson Mills, CEO and Founder of Vatn Systems, went from startup idea to delivering autonomous underwater vehicles to government customers.
Reality vs attention
Vatn Systems draws attention at the 56th percentile but verifies reality at the 55th percentile among underwater robots. Hype Gap +1.6, 13th widest among underwater robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Funded with institutional backing on record. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Aug 29, 2026