{"id":"e5c70808-b691-4050-b849-879a13bf9110","companyId":"f251f52f-405c-40cc-91e2-16649370d204","modelName":"Blue Water autonomous ship (Liberty Class)","slug":"blue-water-usv","description":"Blue Water Autonomy, an early-stage startup based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, is building toward a full-sized long-range autonomous ship and is recorded in the maritime form factor at research, pre-deploy maturity, completing the cohort's maturity ladder at its bottom rung. It was founded in 2024 by chief executive Rylan Hamilton, a former US Navy surface warfare officer and early Amazon Robotics leader who co-founded 6 River Systems, alongside Scott Miller, an early iRobot engineer, and Navy veteran Austin Gray, and has raised about $64 million, a $14 million seed in April 2025 plus a $50 million Series A led by GV, and signed a production agreement with Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana in September 2025. Its verified-versus-claimed profile is the load-bearing point: verified are the company's existence, its $64 million in funding, the GV-led Series A, the Conrad production deal, and a credentialed team, while its roughly 190-foot Liberty-class autonomous ship designed to cross the Pacific and operate for months, and a 2026 first deployment, are claimed and unproven, with no fielded vessel and no DARPA or Navy program-of-record contract as of mid-2026, correctly placing it at research and pre-deploy. Several corrections to common priors apply: it was founded in 2024 rather than 2023, with 2023 a possible stealth-inception; its vessel is described by the company at about 190 feet rather than 100 to 150 feet, the framing having grown; the often-cited Sea Machines founder link could not be confirmed, with the verified pedigree being Navy, Amazon Robotics, and iRobot; and the 2026 first deployment is a forward claim rather than a fielded result.","formFactor":"maritime","maturityStage":"research","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Verified","value":"Blue Water Autonomy (Boston/Cambridge MA) is an early-stage autonomous-ship startup. Founders: Rylan Hamilton (CEO; ex-US Navy Surface Warfare Officer + early Amazon Robotics/Kiva + co-founded 6 River Systems), Scott Miller (ex-iRobot), Austin Gray. $14M seed (Apr 2025) + $50M Series A led by GV (Dave Munichiello to board) = $64M total. Conrad Shipyard production agreement (Sept 2025). maturity=RESEARCH / pre-deploy - completes the cohort's maturity ladder at the bottom rung."},{"label":"Verified-vs-claimed (the pre-deploy-vs-ambition gap)","value":"VERIFIED: the company exists, $64M raised, GV-led Series A, Conrad production deal, credentialed team. CLAIMED/unproven: the ~190ft autonomous Liberty-class ship, Pacific-crossing endurance, a 2026 first deployment. As of mid-2026 there is NO fielded/delivered vessel and NO DARPA/Navy program-of-record contract. Correctly research/pre-deploy."},{"label":"CORRECTIONS (vs dispatch priors)","value":"(1) Founded 2024 (primary sources: GV/Series A PR/Boston Globe), NOT 2023 (the dispatch's '2023' is unsupported; flag as possible stealth-inception). (2) Vessel is ~190ft 'Liberty Class' per the company - NOT '100-150ft' (the company framing has GROWN). (3) The 'ex-Sea Machines' founder link could NOT be confirmed (cap-flag; verified pedigree is Navy/Amazon Robotics/iRobot). (4) 2026 first deployment is a FORWARD claim, not verified-as-fielded."},{"label":"Re-verify 2026-06-03","value":"First deployment did NOT happen: the claimed-2026 milestone slipped to a still-UNREALIZED H2 2026 launch. Liberty-class formally UNVEILED Feb 11 2026 (190ft, >10,000nm range, ~150t payload, 90-day autonomy); Damen hull-license (Stan Patrol 6009 / Axe Bow); lead-hull CONSTRUCTION started at Conrad Shipyard (Morgan City LA) Mar 2026, first completion/delivery targeted H2 2026. As of Jun 2026: no vessel launched, christened, or sea-trialed; still NO awarded Navy contract (company asserts 'program of record' alignment, no binding award); no new funding closed ($64M stands, a larger round is reported as intended only). maturityStage stays research/pre-deployment - NOT advanced to fielded."}],"specs":"Ambition: a full-sized long-range autonomous ship - ~190ft 'Liberty Class', designed to cross the Pacific + operate for months. Conrad Shipyard (Louisiana) production agreement (Sept 2025). First-deployment target 2026 (CLAIMED, not fielded). Founded 2024, Boston/Cambridge MA; founders Rylan Hamilton (CEO, ex-US Navy / Amazon Robotics / 6 River Systems), Scott Miller (ex-iRobot), Austin Gray (Navy veteran). $14M seed (Apr 2025) + $50M Series A (GV-led) = $64M total.","formFactor":"maritime (autonomous SURFACE vessel / full-size long-range autonomous ship; PRE-DEPLOY)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-water-autonomy-announces-50-million-series-a-led-by-gv-to-strengthen-us-maritime-power-with-autonomous-unmanned-ships-302538277.html","title":"Blue Water Autonomy $50M Series A led by GV ($64M total); ~190ft 'Liberty Class' autonomous ship","sourceName":"Blue Water (PR Newswire)"},{"url":"https://breakingdefense.com/2025/09/maritime-tech-startup-blue-water-autonomy-signs-deal-with-conrad-shipyard-for-usv-production/","title":"Blue Water Autonomy + Conrad Shipyard production agreement (Sept 2025)","sourceName":"Breaking Defense"},{"url":"https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/11/business/blue-water-autonomy-captainless-ships/","title":"Blue Water Autonomy (Boston; ex-Navy/Amazon Robotics/iRobot founders; $14M seed Apr 2025)","sourceName":"Boston Globe"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-water-autonomy-introduces-liberty-class-a-190-foot-autonomous-ship-for-the-us-navy-302684880.html","title":"Blue Water introduces Liberty Class, a 190ft autonomous ship (Feb 11 2026; >10,000nm, ~150t payload, 90-day autonomy)","sourceName":"PR Newswire (Blue Water Autonomy)"},{"url":"https://www.damen.com/insights-center/news/damen-and-blue-water-announce-agreement-for-autonomous-ship-for-the-us-navy","title":"Damen + Blue Water hull-license agreement (Stan Patrol 6009 / Axe Bow) for the autonomous ship","sourceName":"Damen Shipyards"}],"aliases":["Blue Water Liberty Class","Blue Water autonomous ship"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T23:02:21.322Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T02:39:59.914Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/blue-water-usv","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/blue-water-usv","name":"Blue Water autonomous ship (Liberty Class)","alternateName":["Blue Water Liberty Class","Blue Water autonomous ship"],"description":"Blue Water Autonomy, an early-stage startup based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, is building toward a full-sized long-range autonomous ship and is recorded in the maritime form factor at research, pre-deploy maturity, completing the cohort's maturity ladder at its bottom rung. It was founded in 2024 by chief executive Rylan Hamilton, a former US Navy surface warfare officer and early Amazon Robotics leader who co-founded 6 River Systems, alongside Scott Miller, an early iRobot engineer, and Navy veteran Austin Gray, and has raised about $64 million, a $14 million seed in April 2025 plus a $50 million Series A led by GV, and signed a production agreement with Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana in September 2025. Its verified-versus-claimed profile is the load-bearing point: verified are the company's existence, its $64 million in funding, the GV-led Series A, the Conrad production deal, and a credentialed team, while its roughly 190-foot Liberty-class autonomous ship designed to cross the Pacific and operate for months, and a 2026 first deployment, are claimed and unproven, with no fielded vessel and no DARPA or Navy program-of-record contract as of mid-2026, correctly placing it at research and pre-deploy. Several corrections to common priors apply: it was founded in 2024 rather than 2023, with 2023 a possible stealth-inception; its vessel is described by the company at about 190 feet rather than 100 to 150 feet, the framing having grown; the often-cited Sea Machines founder link could not be confirmed, with the verified pedigree being Navy, Amazon Robotics, and iRobot; and the 2026 first deployment is a forward claim rather than a fielded result.","identifier":"e5c70808-b691-4050-b849-879a13bf9110","category":"maritime","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}}}