Full-Time
Posted on 9/4/2026
Autonomous surface vessels for defense, research
$120k - $160k/yr
No H1B Sponsorship
San Diego, CA, USA
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Seasats designs and builds long-endurance autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) for defense, research, and commercial uses. Its flagship Lightfish is a solar-powered ASV that can be deployed by one or two people from a pickup truck, runs up to six months, and travels up to 8,000 nautical miles with modular payloads for ISR, environmental monitoring, and mapping. The company also offers the Quickfish and is developing the Heavyfish to handle larger missions, with systems powered by solar energy and autonomous navigation for data collection in rough seas. Seasats differentiates itself through portability, long endurance, modular payloads, and demonstrated real-world missions supported by government contracts and investor funding, aiming to provide persistent maritime capabilities that lower costs and expand reach.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Series A
Total Funding
$60.5M
Headquarters
San Diego, California
Founded
2018
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Health Insurance
401(k) Company Match
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Meal Benefits
Stock Options
San Diego USV maker says Quickfish has entered production. Sep 3, 2026 Modified date: Sep 3, 2026 Key Points * Seasats said its Quickfish interceptor USV has entered production, offering 40-plus knot speeds and weeks-long endurance at sea. * The company deployed Quickfish and four other USVs during the Navy's Silent Swarm 2026 electromagnetic warfare exercise in Alpena, Michigan. San Diego-based unmanned surface vessel maker Seasats said its Quickfish interceptor-class USV has entered production and is now available at scale. The company said Quickfish is built on Seasats' existing technology stack and can sprint at more than 40 knots (74 km/h) while remaining at sea for weeks at a time. It has a large modular payload bay designed to carry a range of mission systems, including unmanned aircraft, according to Seasats. The company said the hull is self-righting and built to survive Sea State 10 conditions, the roughest classification on the World Meteorological Organization's sea state scale. Seasats took part in Silent Swarm 2026, a two-week Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations experimentation event run by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. The exercise took place July 13 to 24 at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan, part of the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, and drew participants including the Michigan National Guard, NOAA, the Army's C5ISR Center and the Air Force Test Center. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - Discover more Military technology reports Seasats said it deployed a fleet of five autonomous surface vessels during the exercise, including its Lightfish and Quickfish platforms, to demonstrate coordinated multi-platform operations with a small number of operators. The company said the event also involved integrating maritime sensing and electromagnetic spectrum equipment across the fleet. A production-run Quickfish completed the full two-week exercise while carrying multiple payloads, Seasats said. The company described Quickfish as built on the Lightfish hull and electronics stack, adding high sea state performance, long range and a payload bay sized for aerial vehicles. Seasats also said the boat includes an on-station patrol mode that allows it to stay deployed for weeks without refueling. Seasats credited the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division for the opportunity to test the technology. The company said Quickfish's payload bay is watertight and can hold several unmanned aircraft of different types and sizes. That allows a single vessel to be reconfigured for different missions, such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, communications relay or strike, without modifying the boat itself, according to Seasats. Because the aircraft ride inside the enclosed bay, the company said a Quickfish on patrol gives no outward sign of what it is carrying. Seasats linked that capability to the Defense Innovation Unit's Suitable Warfighting Adaptive Payloads program, known as SWAP-USV, which is seeking mature, affordable unmanned surface vessels that can integrate with unmanned aircraft to counter asymmetric threats at sea. The company said Quickfish is in production now and can be delivered on DIU's timeline. Readers who wish to follow its weekly coverage can subscribe to the Weekly Defense Roundup. If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let Iniaes LLC. know by using the online form. Executive Editor Support The Defence Blog
Seasats has completed an eight-day continuous sea trial of its Quickfish unmanned surface vessel, demonstrating extended endurance capabilities for the interceptor-class platform. The high-speed USV reaches over 35 knots and is designed for multi-week on-station operations, supporting port security, border protection and coastal defence missions. The Quickfish features a payload bay for delivering unmanned aerial vehicles and combines low-speed electric propulsion with high-speed jet drive. This distinguishes it from similar vessels typically limited to one or two days of endurance. San Diego-based Seasats has secured significant Department of War contracts, including deals with the US Marine Corps in 2025 and 2026. The company previously completed record-setting endurance runs and ocean crossings with its proven Lightfish USV platform.
Seasats raises another $20m for uncrewed surface vehicles. Seasats has closed a US$20 million Series A financing round to scale the production of its small uncrewed surface vehicles (sUSVs). The funding, led by Konvoy Ventures, brings the total capital raised by the San Diego−based company to more than $40 million. The investment follows the recent award of over $100 million in US government contracts. The funding is intended to support the expansion of new facilities and the development of additional product lines. Seasats currently produces the Lightfish, a 3.5-metre autonomous vessel designed for long-endurance operations. The solar-electric craft weighs 138 kg and has demonstrated its reliability through a 12,000 km autonomous crossing of the Pacific Ocean. The company focuses on automating tasks that are considered unsuitable for crewed vessels. Its platforms are used for tasks such as port security, coastal patrols, and subsea mapping. "Robotics typically deliver value by automating tasks across one or more of the three D's: dirty, dull, and dangerous," said Mike Flanigan, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Seasats. "We've focused on attacking the 'dull' problem, making vessels that can reliably operate for weeks or months, just like Navy and utility ships do. That approach has won tremendous support from users and investors, and this funding underscores that." The company is currently preparing for the launch of its Heavyfish platform, a 4,082 kg long-range vessel expected to be released in autumn 2026. Rob is Chief Network Officer and one of the founders of Smart Maritime Network. He also serves as Chairman of the Smart Maritime Council. Rob has worked in the maritime technology sector since 2005, managing editorial for a range of leading publications in the transport and logistics sector. Get in touch by email by clicking here, or on LinkedIn by clicking here. Further reading. Navigation and Autonomous Vessels November 7, 2023 Navigation and Autonomous Vessels March 15, 2022 Connectivity and IoT August 31, 2020
Seasats, a San Diego-based manufacturer of small uncrewed surface vehicles, has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Konvoy Ventures. Shield Capital, DNS Capital, Techstars and other strategic investors participated. The company has now raised over $40 million in total funding. The startup has recently secured over $100 million in US government contracts, including deals with the Marine Corps and Navy. Seasats was also selected for the Department of War's APFIT programme, which funds innovative technologies ready to scale. Seasats' vessels have completed trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic crossings, with its interceptor platform operating continuously for over a week. The funding will support production expansion, new product lines and team growth as demand accelerates for autonomous maritime platforms across defence, commercial and scientific sectors.
Seasats, a developer of long-endurance autonomous surface vessels, has been awarded $24 million under the Department of War's Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies programme. The funding, recommended by the US Navy and Marine Corps, will accelerate production and scaling of the company's maritime technologies. The San Diego-based company was selected following growing Navy adoption of its autonomous vessels for critical maritime applications. Over the past year, Seasats has advanced multiple Navy and Marine Corps programmes, including an $89 million SBIR Phase III contract and operational demonstrations in US and allied waters. APFIT, established in 2022, provides procurement funding to small businesses whose technologies have completed development and are ready for rapid operational deployment.