Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering, which builds autonomous underwater drones to steward the ocean, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round. The funding will enable the company to expand its engineering team as well as expanding geographically.
Founded in 2023, the company develops drones that automate restoring ocean habitats, particularly seagrass meadows. Ulysses’ autonomous robots collect seagrass seeds from healthy donor meadows and replant them in degraded areas while monitoring the new vegetation’s growth. This approach has been shown to speed up restoration compared to manual planting at a significantly lower cost.
Akhil Voorakkara, CEO and co-founder of Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering said, “Every year, we lose seagrass meadows the size of a small country, taking with them critical marine habitat and powerful carbon sinks. We’ve proven that autonomous restoration can reverse this trend at a fraction of the traditional cost.”
Seagrass is crucial for sequestering carbon, protecting coastlines and supporting marine biodiversity. Nearly a third of seagrass has been lost, globally, in the last century, which threatens both ocean and terrestrial health. Scientists estimate 10% of the total organic carbon sequestered in the ocean is buried in the soils below seagrass meadows, which also buffer coastal communities from the full impact of waves and protect coastlines from erosion. Experts estimate that one-fifth of the world’s most-landed fish species use seagrass as nursery areas, including many commercially important species. Seagrass roots also stabilize ocean sediments.
New regulations, such as the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, mandate large-scale habitat restoration, driving the demand for Ulysses’ services. The company has already generated $1 million in revenue from seagrass restoration projects, partnering with the University of Western Australia, The Nature Conservancy in Virginia, and government agencies in Florida.
Funding was led by Lowercarbon Capital with participation by VC firms Superorganism and ReGen Ventures, as well as angel investors Eoghan McCabe and Ciaran Lee, co-founders of Intercom.
Lowercarbon Capital partner Ryan Orbuch said, “Seagrass is the little-known hero of the ocean, capturing 35 times more carbon per acre than rainforests and providing critical habitat for coastal species. Until now, hand planting was the only way to restore it. Ulysses’ underwater drones make it 10x cheaper and are ready to scale restoration efforts today.”
