A brand new shipbuilding startup known as Blue Water Autonomy has emerged from stealth with the promise of growing captain-less naval ships.

The Boston, Massachusetts-based firm has raised a $14 million seed spherical from Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The startup was based in 2024 by former members of the U.S. Navy, leaders of Amazon Robotics, and iRobot.

Blue Water Autonomy joins an ever-growing checklist of startups which are profiting from a splurge in protection funding. Protection tech funding set a new record in 2024, led by Anduril’s $1.5 billion Sequence F spherical and Saronic — one other autonomous maritime startup that notched a $175 million Sequence B.

The startup says it has developed a full-stack autonomy suite and idea ship designs in “below a yr.” It’s already salt-water testing a 100-ton autonomous check vessel simply outdoors of Boston, a spokesperson for the corporate advised TechCrunch.

The seed funding will assist Blue Water Autonomy increase its engineering group and speed up testing, based on a release.

“No different firm is tackling this drawback on the ship degree like Blue Water,” Seth Winterroth, a associate at Eclipse, stated in a press release. “The group is a uncommon mixture of roboticists and Navy veterans that positions them to be a essential associate to the Navy, the complete Division of Protection, and may have a significant influence on the maritime trade.”