🪸 20 Ways to Harness Robotics for Ocean Restoration

The oceans cover over 70% of our planet, yet up to 80% of their depths remain unexplored. A vast, mysterious frontier facing mounting threats from climate change, pollution, and overfishing.

Enter ocean robotics: a new wave of autonomous and remote-operated technologies that are revolutionizing how we study, monitor, and restore marine ecosystems.

From coral nurseries tended by underwater drones to autonomous vehicles mapping the seafloor with unprecedented precision, these innovations are helping us protect and revive our blue planet, one robot at a time.

Hear from Experts:

Alberto Lopez of Sunfish

“What excites me is visibility. You cannot protect or restore what you cannot see. Robotics gives us persistent, high-resolution access to the most critical and challenging marine environments. This data is the foundation for all effective ocean restoration. It moves us from guessing to knowing.”

Joyeeta Das of Samudra Oceans

"The ocean is a harsh environment, kind of like space, so it is ideal for robotics. However once we tie that in with the operational domain of the sectors that physically operate in the oceans, the outcomes are infinite. It is going to be thriving time for all of us!"

Will O’Brien of Ulysses

“Robotics lets us act at ocean scale with precision and persistence. Autonomous fleets can map, plant, and monitor ecosystems faster and cheaper than people, even in harsh conditions. That unlocks restoration at kilometer scales, continuous protection of habitats, and real-time data loops that make stewardship measurable and unstoppable everywhere."

Jean Crosetti of Bubble Robotics

“Ocean robotics in 2025 can do for restoration what smallsats did for climate monitoring in the 2010s: bring scale, continuity, and insight.

By collapsing the cost of offshore operations, robots unlock new tools for carbon capture, biodiversity recovery, and coastal resilience, forming an integrated infrastructure for planetary regeneration and life exploration.”

Sidhant Gupta of Clear Robotics

“Electric, solar-charged boats are pioneering clean maritime operations today. We imagine a near future where autonomous, solar-powered ocean cleaning robots actively restore our seas, healing vital ecosystems within the decade.”

Mike Allen of SeaGen

“The simple truth is that the anthropogenic induced problems facing the environment are legion, and quite frankly scary. Often, they know no borders and the sheer scale of destruction, disruption and damage can feel insurmountable. This is not the case though.

Autonomous robotics provide the opportunity to work in the marine environment safely – leaving the humans on land where we belong - whilst offering the indefatigable diligence, dynamism and scale to tackle the problems head on. Oil and industrialisation got us into this mess; data, understanding and sustainable solutions will get us out of it. SeaGen’s tech generates the high quality data we need, allows intelligent assessment, so we can take informed and decisive action.”

Andrea Faltynkova of F & Z Solutions

“I’m hopeful because robotics can democratize science and restoration. By reducing human bias and automating processes, we can collect better data. Expanding access to robotics empowers more people to contribute efficiently, and at scale, this can greatly improve our global understanding and response to climate change.”

Michael Poirier of HiViz Consulting

“Having seen how limited divers are with one tank, buoyancy challenges, and distance to shore, I am inspired by how robotics can transform ocean restoration.

Robots can monitor, plant, clean, map, and manage ecosystems like reefs, seagrass, and seaweed, removing invasive species and accelerating recovery through sustainable, intelligent automation.”

20 Ocean Robotics Startups to Know

🐚 ALIEN Limited 

CEO and Founder: Carole Fonty
🇨🇭 Lausanne

What: ALIEN Limited is a ground-breaking provider of circular, nature-positive solutions that help public authorities address the challenges linked to the spread of a harmful freshwater invasive species, the Quagga mussel. 

Why it matters: They are turning blight into an ecological, social and economic opportunity by transforming this inedible invasive species into bio-based raw materials and renewable energy. Shells are for example used as an alternative to mined limestone for making local and low carbon cement. 

🐟 Aquaai

Co-CEO, CTO and Chief Visionary Officer: Simeon Pieterkosky
Co-CEO: Liane Thompson
🇺🇸 California. Subsidaries in Norway and the UAE

What: Aquaai addresses issues in water bodies by providing advanced autonomous monitoring and data analytics solutions through the use of AI, the cloud (a web dashboard), and 3D-printed fishlike autonomous underwater vehicles (fAUV). 

Why it matters: Aquaai delivers the most affordable data insights on water quality, pollution levels, subsurface infrastructure and ecosystem health, enabling better management for numerous Blue stakeholders, such as aquaculture, ports, biodiversity conservation, mCDR, city water management, coastal tourism & development, reinsurers, disaster (flooding).

🔦 Bedrock Ocean Exploration 

CEO, CTO, Co-Founder: Charles Chiau
🇺🇸 California

What: Bedrock Ocean Exploration is a platform for underwater vehicles. Their technology allows collection of seafloor data and makes ocean mapping safer, with minimal environmental impact, risk of endangered animal takes, and infrastructure damage.

Why it matters: Designing, building, and operating Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) optimized for nearshore geophysical surveys to provide high resolution seafloor data needed for critical decision-making.

🫧 Bubble Robotics 

Co-Founder and CEO: Jean Crosetti
🇨🇭Zurich

What: Bubble builds fleets of small, modular underwater robots that dock, recharge, and persist at sea. Paired with embodied AI, they deliver continuous subsea data, replacing dangerous $100k/day vessel inspections with affordable, automated monitoring. Like cubesats in space, Bubble transforms the ocean into an observable, actionable domain for energy, security, and life on Earth.

Why it matters: Nearly 80% of ocean operation costs come from ships and crews. Removing them is like landing boosters in space: unlocking massive value that was once too expensive to reach, from blue carbon and offshore clean energy to nature restoration and bioprospecting for new medicines.

🪼 Clear Robotics

Founder: Sidhant Gupta
🇭🇰 Hong Kong

What: Clearbot develops advanced electric robotic boats equipped with cutting-edge sensors and computing, designed for efficient, agile, and autonomous ocean cleanup. They use iterative build-test-build engineering to transform prototypes into reliable, scalable robot products.
Why it matters: By automating ocean cleanup, Clearbot tackles marine pollution at scale, protecting marine ecosystems, promoting sustainability, and ensuring cleaner oceans for future generations while advancing robotics innovation in environmental applications.

💦 F & Z Solutions

Co-Founder: Andrea Faltynkova
🇳🇴 Trondheim

What: F & Z Solutions creates robotic platforms which simplify data collection and sampling in coastal and freshwater environments.

Why it matters: Reliable data is essential for better environmental decisions, but traditional collection methods are often resource-intensive, slow, and difficult to scale. Whether sampling eDNA, detecting microplastics, or tracking temperature and salinity, Pamela provides a flexible, cost-effective alternative to manual fieldwork.

🌊 InX Tech

CEO and Co-Founder: Aryan Shah
🇬🇧 London

What: InX Tech aims to innovate the maritime data collection industry by bringing forward renewable, long range and scalable AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) to the table.

Why it matters: Powered by hydrogen fuel and enabled by bespoke gliding technology, InX Tech hopes to achieve the longest endurance possible on an underwater system and bring the power of ocean data to all. Their versatile vehicles allow us to diligently serve several industries at once, such as Oil & Gas, Offshore Renewables, Conservation and Defence.

🛰️ Maritime Robotics

Founder and CEO: Vegard Evjen Hovstein
🇳🇴 Trodheim

What: The company develops advanced maritime drones (USVs) and autonomous navigation systems (ANS) for safe, efficient, and remote-controlled or fully autonomous operations at sea. Their technology supports seabed mapping, situational awareness, ocean research, and marine infrastructure operations.

Why it matters: By enabling safer, more sustainable, and fuel-efficient maritime operations, the Maritime Robotics improves navigation, protects people and assets, and meets growing demand across defence, security, hydrography, marine construction, and energy sectors.

🤖 Nauticus Robotics

CEO: John Gibson
🇺🇸 Texas

What: Nauticus Robotics develops autonomous ocean robots, software, and services for commercial and government customers, offered via Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) and direct sales. Their technology supports data collection, analytics, subsea manipulation, and retrofitting legacy systems to improve offshore operations.

Why it matters: By integrating advanced robotics and AI, Nauticus enables safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly ocean operations. Their solutions reduce operational costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and human exposure to offshore hazards, transforming traditional ocean services with smarter, autonomous technology.

♾️ Ocean Infinity

CEO: Oliver Plunkett
🇺🇸 Texas

What: Ocean Infinity operates large-scale marine robotic fleets to capture ocean data and deliver maritime solutions. They develop advanced robotic technologies and data handling capabilities to provide safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible operations across the maritime industry.

Why it matters: By leveraging robotics and innovation, Ocean Infinity enables safer, more sustainable, and cost-effective maritime operations while generating critical ocean data. Their work helps industries minimize environmental impact, improve operational efficiency, and unlock new possibilities for ocean exploration and stewardship.

🌞 Open Ocean Robotics

CEO: Julie Angus
🇨🇦 British Colombia

What: Open Ocean Robotics is building solar powered autonomous boats providing real time information to understand and protect our oceans.

Why it matters: Their oceans are full of information. Information that can protect at-risk whale species, allow ships to voyage more fuel-efficient routes, crack down on illegal fishing, and enable us to better understand the impacts of climate change. Their boats are equipped with sensors, cameras and communication devices so that they can capture information from anywhere on the ocean and have instant access to it. 

🦾 Reefgen

Founder: Daniel Hennage
🇺🇸 California

What: Reefgen designs and deploys cost‑effective underwater robotic vehicles and systems that mechanise restoration of vital marine habitats such as seagrass meadows and coral reefs. They deliver a “Robotics‑as‑a‑Service” (RaaS) model to restoration practitioners, enabling large‑scale planting, monitoring and enhancement of underwater ecosystems.

Why it matters: Coastal ecosystems like seagrass meadows and coral reefs are in steep decline, yet they play a critical role in carbon sequestration, supporting fisheries, protecting shorelines, and sustaining biodiversity. Manual restoration is slow, costly, and difficult to scale, leaving these vital habitats increasingly vulnerable. Reefgen’s robotic, service-based approach makes restoration faster, more affordable, and scalable, enabling meaningful impact on climate mitigation, ecosystem health, and the resilience of coastal communities, while unlocking new opportunities for sustainable ocean stewardship.

🐠 Robocean

Founder: Niall Mcgrath
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

What: Robocean builds a full‑stack ocean robotics solution to mechanise the restoration of seagrass meadows—from seed to sapling—using autonomous and remotely operated subsea systems. Their technology accelerates and scales restoration by replacing labour‑intensive manual tasks with robotic platforms.

Why it matters: Because seagrass meadows are critically declining yet deliver massive ecosystem services — including supporting fisheries, sequestering carbon far faster than tropical forests, and protecting biodiversity — Robocean’s scalable robotics‑based restoration technology makes it possible to restore these vital systems at global scale, affordably, and at speed. Their approach helps tackle climate change, safeguard marine life, support coastal communities, and turn the tide on ocean ecosystem degradation.

🌊 Samudra Oceans

CEO and Co-Founder: Joyeeta Das
🇬🇧 London

What: Samudra is building the world’s first full-stack ocean intelligence platform combining smart marine robotics, edge sensors, and AI-driven analytics to enable scalable MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification), ESG compliance, and impact assurance across coastal and offshore sectors.

Why it matters: By providing real-time, AI-driven visibility into ocean operations, Samudra enables scalable environmental accountability and impact measurement. This helps industries manage ESG compliance, protect marine ecosystems, optimize coastal and offshore operations, and unlock sustainable blue economy opportunities at scale.

🪸 SeaCrop

CEO: Arik Pinto 
🇮🇱 Haifa

What: SeaCrop harvests marine phytoplankton at scale using innovative technology that passively attracts it to electrically charged fibers, then converts it into a premium, affordable ingredient ($1/kg) for food, feed, and aquafeed.

Why it matters: Phytoplankton is a vast, renewable, and eco-friendly nutritional resource responsible for nearly half of global photosynthesis. By tapping this overlooked biomass, SeaCrop provides a sustainable solution to global food insecurity, reduces environmental harm, and supports marine restoration.

🍙 SeaGen

Founder and CEO: Patricia Estridge
🇬🇧 Exeter

What: SeaGen’s technology network is built to observe and assess water spaces to understand issues, highlight opportunities and establish baseline data. They respond with robots, by removing pollutants and adding infrastructure to grow beneficial species, like seaweed. And then repeat the process to ensure a continuous and measured response.
Why it matters: There is no future for humanity that doesn't include healthy oceans, lakes and rivers, and so the urgency increases to monitor and restore marine ecosystems and develop innovative solutions to the ocean's biggest problems.

💧 SR Robotics

CEO and Co-Founder: Tomasz Hartwig
🇵🇱 Katowice

What: SR Robotics designs and develops remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and aquatic scanning systems for industrial and scientific applications. Their solutions integrate high-pressure capabilities, automation, robotics, Industry 4.0 technology, and augmented/virtual reality to perform complex underwater tasks safely and efficiently.

Why it matters: By enabling operations in hazardous or previously inaccessible underwater environments, SR Robotics increases safety, efficiency, and productivity for industrial and scientific clients. Their innovative, modular, and cost-effective solutions push the boundaries of what is possible underwater, supporting safer infrastructure maintenance, resource exploration, and specialized underwater work.

☀️ Sunfish

CEO and Co-Founder: Alberto Lopez
🇺🇸 Texas

What: Sunfish addresses the challenge of remote, autonomous underwater inspection and exploration of complex systems.

Why it matters: Sunfish provides high-resolution maps from the most challenging underwater environments, from coastal infrastructure to inland waterways. By autonomously inspecting critical assets where traditional methods fail , they empower industries and governments to protect marine ecosystems, ensure infrastructure safety, and manage our vital freshwater resources.

🌊 Ulysses

Founder: Will O’Brien
🇺🇸 California

What: Ulysses is building a vertically-integrated ocean autonomy stack: Our ASVs (Leviathan) launch, recover, and recharge swarms of AUVs (Mako), with on-board AI and payloads for mapping, inspection, manipulation, and restoration. We operate this platform for partners around the world to restore critical ecosystems, collect ocean data, inspect infrastructure, and keep our oceans safe.

Why it matters: The ocean is entering a robotics decade. Energy, cables, and critical minerals are scaling, defense spending is rising, and ocean health is deteriorating. Cheap, persistent, dual-domain autonomy unlocks total coverage, measurable outcomes, and new operating procedures at swarm scale, improving safety, prosperity, and ecosystem recovery.

💧 WATERTRACKS

CEO and Founder: Raphael Gaillard
🇫🇷 Perols

What: WATERTRACKS designs and deploys underwater robots to provide automated services for renewable energy producers, ports, water management authorities, and industrial sites. Their robots operate in lakes, rivers, locks, ports, wastewater plants, and industrial basins.

Why it matters: By combining robotics with environmental expertise, WATERTRACKS ensures safer, more efficient, and reliable underwater operations while protecting ecosystems, maintaining infrastructure performance, and supporting sustainable water management.

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