New Ocean Glider Lands Big Fish – $45 Million In Venture Capital
Ocean data startup Liquid Robotics raises $45M
Liquid Robotics, whose ocean robots generate their power from waves and gather data on the seas, said on Tuesday it has closed a $45 million Series E round of funding.
The funding of the Sunnyvale company led by CEO Bill Vass is the latest example of a Silicon Valley start-up getting later stage backing from a private equity firm, in this case Menlo Park-based Riverwood Capital. Existing investors, including VantagePoint Capital Partners, also participated.
Liquid Robotics said the funds will be used to expand its global sales, partner, and services organizations for its ocean observation and monitoring services. It will also fund development and delivery of new cost products and services aimed at the defense, science, research, oil and gas markets.
Michael Marks, a founding partner of Riverwood Capital, said in a prepared statement: “We look forward to contributing our operational, strategic, and technical expertise to the company’s unique and disruptive approach to this high growth market.”
Liquid Robotics was a finalist for an Emerging Technology award from the Business Journal in 2010 because of its WaveGlider technology that allows its robots to remain at sea for long periods of time, powered by energy generated from the shifting ocean. Crazy amount of money.
Our project with the Haida village of Old Massett invented, tested, and is continuing in product development a number of drifting and powered autonomous ocean instrument platforms. Because of our long term side by side studies from our research vessel we’ve been able to refine and calibrate our new technology in an extraordinary fashion. We anticipate beginning to make our new technology available to other researchers and ocean stewards beginning in 2013 through our technology company.