{"id":"7701505c-cdd4-4e2c-b447-8609aaed0ede","companyId":"9f2e1c6c-f15a-4889-9089-c97f68c241ba","modelName":"SM300 / SM200","slug":"sea-machines-sm300","description":"Sea Machines Robotics (Boston; founded by Michael Johnson) is an autonomy-system vendor for surface vessels rather than a vessel maker: its SM300 and SM200 autonomous-command systems are vessel-agnostic retrofit kits, about ten components installed in two days or less on existing or new-build workboats from 10 to 300 feet, so the customer owns and operates the boat while Sea Machines supplies the autonomy brain. The September 2025 SM300-NG adds class-society-approved hardware, a 200-percent compute increase, full voyage control with collision avoidance and sensor fusion, and worldwide remote command, alongside an attritable SM300-SP defense variant. A late-2024 leadership transition saw David Wasson, formerly of Huntington Ingalls, become CEO with founder Johnson moving to president and chief technology officer, a defense-pull hire rather than a distress signal given record 2024 sales and a defense expansion, on a $10 million Series C in March 2025 and about $52 million total raised. The registry records it at commercial maturity on the strength of a real shipping product, class-society approval, and more than 200 systems delivered worldwide, and it credits the company with units delivered rather than sea-days, since its autonomy runs on other companies' hulls and operational scale at sea is not directly attributable to it. Its autonomy is genuine, with edge perception, collision avoidance, path-following, and remote command, and it holds the strongest regulatory signal of the commercial set in its class-society-approved hardware, while the specific class society, named commercial customers, the SM300-SP hundred-units-per-month throughput, and specific defense contract values are not verified.","formFactor":"maritime","maturityStage":"commercial","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Verified","value":"Sea Machines Robotics (Boston; founder Michael Johnson) is an autonomy-SYSTEM vendor: it sells the autonomy brain (SM300/SM200), the customer owns/operates the boat. Late-2024 leadership: David 'Chip' Wasson (ex-Huntington Ingalls) became CEO, Johnson -> President/CTO - a defense-pull hire, NOT a distress signal (record 2024 sales + defense expansion). '200+ systems delivered worldwide'. $10M Series C (Mar 2025); ~$52M total raised."},{"label":"Model + maturity (distinct)","value":"Autonomy-system SALE (B2B technology vendor), distinct from Saildrone (operator) and the vessel makers. The registry should credit it with UNITS DELIVERED (200+), NOT sea-days (its autonomy runs on others' hulls). maturity=commercial (real shipping product, class approval, 200+ deliveries); pilot-to-commercial in defense. Strongest regulatory signal of the commercial set: explicitly class-society-approved hardware."},{"label":"AI-substance: genuine (system)","value":"Edge perception, COLREGS-style collision avoidance, path-following, remote command - substantive autonomy stack, not veneer. Honest caveat: it is autonomy software/hardware on someone else's hull, so 'operational scale at sea' is not directly Sea-Machines-attributable."},{"label":"Claimed but NOT verified","value":"Specific class society (unnamed); named commercial customers; SM300-SP '100 units/month' actual throughput (stated capability); exact funding total; specific Navy program/contract value."}],"specs":"SM300 / SM200 autonomous-command systems: vessel-agnostic autonomy retrofit kits installed on existing/new-build workboats (10-300 ft), ~10 components, install in <=2 days. SM300-NG (Sept 2025): class-society-approved hardware, +200% compute, full voyage control, COLREGS-style collision avoidance, ENC/radar/AIS/video fusion, worldwide remote command. SM300-SP: attritable/volume-production defense variant (claimed >100 units/month). Founded by Michael Johnson; Boston.","formFactor":"maritime (autonomous-command SYSTEM retrofit for surface vessels; vessel-agnostic, not a vessel)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.workboat.com/coastal-inland-waterways/sea-machines-names-new-ceo","title":"Sea Machines: Wasson CEO (ex-HII), Johnson -> President/CTO (late 2024; defense-pull, not distress)","sourceName":"WorkBoat"},{"url":"https://sea-machines.com/news/sea-machines-sm300-ng-launch/","title":"Sea Machines SM300-NG (class-society-approved; +200% compute; full voyage control) + SM300-SP defense","sourceName":"Sea Machines (official)"},{"url":"https://sea-machines.com/products/","title":"Sea Machines SM300/SM200 autonomous-command systems (vessel-agnostic retrofit; 200+ delivered)","sourceName":"Sea Machines (official)"}],"aliases":["Sea Machines SM300","SM300-NG","SM200","SM300-SP"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T21:44:14.395Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T21:44:14.395Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/sea-machines-sm300","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/sea-machines-sm300","name":"SM300 / SM200","alternateName":["Sea Machines SM300","SM300-NG","SM200","SM300-SP"],"description":"Sea Machines Robotics (Boston; founded by Michael Johnson) is an autonomy-system vendor for surface vessels rather than a vessel maker: its SM300 and SM200 autonomous-command systems are vessel-agnostic retrofit kits, about ten components installed in two days or less on existing or new-build workboats from 10 to 300 feet, so the customer owns and operates the boat while Sea Machines supplies the autonomy brain. The September 2025 SM300-NG adds class-society-approved hardware, a 200-percent compute increase, full voyage control with collision avoidance and sensor fusion, and worldwide remote command, alongside an attritable SM300-SP defense variant. A late-2024 leadership transition saw David Wasson, formerly of Huntington Ingalls, become CEO with founder Johnson moving to president and chief technology officer, a defense-pull hire rather than a distress signal given record 2024 sales and a defense expansion, on a $10 million Series C in March 2025 and about $52 million total raised. The registry records it at commercial maturity on the strength of a real shipping product, class-society approval, and more than 200 systems delivered worldwide, and it credits the company with units delivered rather than sea-days, since its autonomy runs on other companies' hulls and operational scale at sea is not directly attributable to it. Its autonomy is genuine, with edge perception, collision avoidance, path-following, and remote command, and it holds the strongest regulatory signal of the commercial set in its class-society-approved hardware, while the specific class society, named commercial customers, the SM300-SP hundred-units-per-month throughput, and specific defense contract values are not verified.","identifier":"7701505c-cdd4-4e2c-b447-8609aaed0ede","category":"maritime","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}}}