Ulysses
Low-cost autonomous underwater and surface vehicles for the world's most strategic and underserved domain.
The product
Ulysses builds networked fleets of small autonomous underwater and surface vehicles, anchored by the Mako AUV (~2m, 400 lb, 5,000 ft depth, 72-hour endurance) and the Kraken launch / recovery / recharge platform, with a larger Leviathan vessel slated for 2026. The systems pair modular swappable payloads with onboard compute that the company claims is roughly 40x denser than comparable medium-class vehicles, enabling autonomy on the edge for inspection, surveying, and contested-water operations. A base Mako sells for around $50,000 versus $1M-$20M for legacy primes, putting drones into commercial reach for the first time.
The thesis
Maritime autonomy is the next industrial frontier: the U.S. Navy needs cheap attritable undersea robots to outpace China and clear threats like Strait of Hormuz mines, and offshore energy / domain awareness markets have been gated by million-dollar legacy hardware. Ulysses moves the cost curve by an order of magnitude and bends the supply base back toward American builders, sitting squarely in the a16z American Dynamism thesis.
How it runs
Builds and operates modular autonomous underwater and surface vehicles as integrated hardware-and-software fleets. Customers can configure Mako vehicles with swappable payload modules or engage Ulysses for scalable surface and subsea operations, spanning ecological restoration, infrastructure work, ocean science, and maritime security.
How it earns
Earns revenue through direct vehicle sales—Mako starts at approximately $50,000—and mission or service work in which Ulysses operates vehicles and delivers results such as survey or restoration reports. Exact service pricing and government contract terms are not public.
Why it wins
A modular vehicle and payload architecture, high onboard compute, and vertically integrated surface/subsea operations let the same low-cost platform be reconfigured across missions and deployed as networked fleets; Ulysses says its vehicles cost up to 50 times less than legacy alternatives.
Evidence ledger
- website · 2026-04-28
Ulysses identifies as a reindustrialization company.
https://www.theoceancompany.com - web · 2026-09-29
Ulysses's current first-party site continues to describe the Mako, Kraken, and coming Leviathan vehicle family The published Mako endurance, payload, depth, modularity, and onboard-compute claims remain consistent with the dossier
https://www.theoceancompany.com/ - web · 2026-09-29
Ulysses describes autonomous surface and subsea vehicles for scalable ocean operations
https://www.theoceancompany.com/technology - web · 2026-07-27
Seabed 2030 announced its partnership with Ulysses for ocean observation and mapping before the dossier's September 16 research date
https://seabed2030.org/2026/07/27/seabed-2030-and-ulysses-partner-to-unlock-new-possibilities-in-ocean-observation/
Articles, news, and updates
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