Tethys Robotics

What Tethys Robotics does

Tethys Robotics is a Swiss robotics company and ETH Zurich spin-off headquartered at Wyss Zurich that develops the Tethys ONE, a compact autonomous underwater drone combining ROV and AUV capabilities for inspection of subsea infrastructure in turbid, high-current, and confined environments. The platform uses dual GNSS, USBL positioning, DVL, side- and front-facing sonar, a multibeam echosounder, and 100° tiltable full HD cameras integrated with proprietary navigation algorithms that enable autonomous position hold in currents up to 3.5 knots, 360° terrain awareness, and 3D reality capture with centimeter-level georeferencing in zero-visibility conditions. A modular payload architecture supports mission-specific add-ons including manipulator arms, cavitation cleaning lances, CP and ultrasonic thickness probes, and metal detectors.

The company generates revenue primarily through hardware sales of the Tethys ONE under a quote-based enterprise model, supplemented by service and inspection-campaign revenue delivered through strategic partners. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with channel/reseller partnerships, notably SeaRenergy in Europe (offshore wind and cable inspection in the North Sea and Baltic Sea) and SepcoTech in Denmark (defense and offshore). Customer segments span offshore oil & gas (Aramco Europe), offshore wind, hydropower and nuclear, telecom cables, search & rescue (Police Geneva), EOD and humanitarian demining (Swiss EOD Command), maritime/ports, and marine science.

Tethys has raised over CHF 8 million cumulatively, including a €3.5 million pre-seed round in October 2025 led by Redstone with Euregio+ and Alpine VC, an ESA BIC Switzerland grant in May 2026, and prior support from Wyss Zurich, Bridge, InnoBooster/Gebert Rüf Stiftung, and Venture Kick. With 18 employees and 30+ disclosed pilot projects, the company is positioned in the early commercialization phase, with stated intent to pursue a next growth-stage funding round for global expansion.

Name

Tethys Robotics

Legal name

Tethys Robotics AG

Website

https://tethys-robotics.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tethys Robotics is a Swiss ETH Zurich spin-off that builds the Tethys ONE, a compact autonomous underwater drone for inspecting subsea infrastructure in turbid, high-current environments. It serves enterprise and government customers in offshore energy, defense, search and rescue, and maritime sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Subsea Inspection Robotics

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (811210)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) & Autonomous Subsea Platforms (IMABAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH), Maritime Unmanned Systems (USV/UUV) & Control Stations (IMABAKAJ)

Keywords

• Autonomous underwater drones
• Subsea inspection robots
• Remotely operated vehicles
• Underwater 3D mapping
• Marine robotics systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Underwater Drone Hardware Sales: Tethys Robotics generates revenue primarily through the sale of its Tethys ONE autonomous underwater drone. The drone is sold as a ready-to-use unit with a standard sensor package, and customers can add modular payloads (sonar, DVL, manipulator arms, cleaning systems, etc.) as add-ons. The product targets enterprise buyers in offshore energy, defense, and maritime sectors who require underwater inspection capabilities.
2. Service and Support: Tethys Robotics provides demonstration services, pilot projects, and inspection campaign support through strategic partners like SeaRenergy. The company also collaborates with partners for subsea inspection services, generating service revenue through training, operational support, and managed inspection services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tethys Robotics designs, develops, manufactures, and sells the Tethys ONE, a compact autonomous underwater drone (hybrid ROV/AUV) built for inspection and assessment of critical subsea infrastructure in harsh, high-current, low-visibility environments. The company also delivers the Automated Inspection software/service layer, which provides AI-powered 3D reality capture, centimeter-level georeferencing, and structured sensor analytics for enterprise customers across offshore energy, subsea cables, defense, ports, search and rescue, and marine science sectors.

Product overview

Tethys Robotics offers the Tethys ONE as its primary autonomous underwater drone platform, which combines ROV and AUV capabilities in a single compact system designed for challenging underwater environments. The product portfolio centers on this core drone with a modular payload architecture that supports various sensors and tools including sonar systems (M-Series, Surveyor MBES), navigation units (DVL, USBL), inspection probes (CP, UT), manipulation tools (cavitation cleaner, manipulator arm), and detection sensors (metal detector, magnetometer). The companion Automated Inspection service layer provides AI-powered data analysis and 3D mapping capabilities. Together, the hardware platform and software service enable inspection, monitoring, and assessment across energy (offshore wind, oil/gas, hydro, nuclear), infrastructure (cables, civil engineering), search and rescue, maritime, surveillance (EOD, demining), and marine science sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tethys ONE: Compact autonomous underwater drone for inspection in rough waters, capable of operating in currents up to 3.5 knots and depths up to 300 meters

Products and services

• Tethys ONE A compact autonomous underwater drone (hybrid ROV/AUV) capable of operating in rough waters with strong currents (up to 3.5 knots), turbid environments, and depths up to 300 meters. Features autonomous navigation, 360° terrain awareness, real-time 3D mapping, omnidirectional movement, hot-swappable batteries with 4-hour runtime, and a modular payload system supporting sonar, DVL, USBL, manipulator arms, cleaning tools, and inspection probes. Targeted at enterprise buyers in offshore energy, subsea cable infrastructure, defense/EOD, ports, search and rescue, and marine science.
• Automated Inspection AI-powered automated inspection solution that pairs with the Tethys ONE underwater drone to provide high-quality infrastructure assessments through autonomous deployment, eliminating risks to human divers. Includes 3D reality capture, centimeter-level georeferencing precision, and integration of acoustic, environmental, and positioning sensor data for comprehensive subsea infrastructure analysis. Designed for enterprise operators needing repeatable, data-rich inspections of subsea assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Setup time reduced from 24–36 hours to 16 minutes — a 90× improvement — enabling deployment from smaller vessels without heavy-duty cranes or containerized control stations.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• SepcoTechcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 29 July 2025Tethys Robotics expanded its European presence with SepcoTech as a new reseller partner in Denmark. SepcoTech's strong presence and technical insight within defense and offshore operations sectors in Denmark make them the ideal partner to represent Tethys' advanced subsea systems. Together, they offer operators a new level of capability with smart, field-ready robotic tools designed for complex maritime missions.
• SeaRenergy Offshore Holding GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 May 2025Tethys Robotics announced a strategic partnership with SeaRenergy Offshore Holding GmbH, a leading offshore service provider with expertise in complex subsea operations throughout Europe. SeaRenergy will offer offshore clients subsea inspection services powered by the Tethys ONE, starting with pilot projects in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions focused on offshore wind farm structures and subsea cables. The partnership combines SeaRenergy's extensive offshore footprint and technical expertise with Tethys Robotics' advanced inspection technology.
• Wyss ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWyss Zurich is a key supporting partner of Tethys Robotics. The company is co-located at Wyss Zurich and received translation support from this center, which provides resources for translating technologies from ETH Zurich into commercial applications.
• ETH Zurich (Spin-off)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTethys Robotics is a spin-off company from ETH Zurich, developing next-generation robotics systems for subsea inspection based on research from the university. The company benefits from ETH's research ecosystem and has relationships with ETH AI Center, ETH Pioneer Fellowship, and ETH Student Project House.
• VenturelabcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTethys Robotics was selected by Venturelab to join the Swiss National Startup Team 2026, participating in the Venture Leaders Mobile roadshow to Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026. Venturelab organizes and supports the Swiss startup ecosystem, providing pitch sessions, investor networking, and international expansion opportunities.
• MassChallengesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTethys Robotics participated in MassChallenge Bluetech & CH acceleration program, gaining access to mentorship, resources, and network support for the company's blue technology solutions.
• Sprint RoboticssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTethys Robotics is a member of Sprint Robotics, a network of companies focused on robotics for inspection and maintenance in the energy sector, facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing in the underwater robotics field.
• RepowersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepower is an industry partner of Tethys Robotics, collaborating on energy sector applications for the underwater drone technology.
• AxposupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAxpo is an industry partner of Tethys Robotics, collaborating on energy sector applications for the underwater drone technology, particularly in the Swiss energy market.
• armsuisse Science + Technology (Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Swiss Drone and Robotics Centre of armasuisse Science + Technology is carrying out research on a diving robot together with Tethys Robotics. This collaboration involves the EOD Command using Tethys Robotics' ROV prototype for inspection of lakes and rivers.
• SepcoTechcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSepcoTech is a reseller and industry partner of Tethys Robotics in Denmark, offering the Tethys ONE to defense and offshore service providers in the Danish market. SepcoTech participated in DALO Industry Days to promote the partnership.
• Geo MatchingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGeo Matching is listed as an industry partner of Tethys Robotics, providing a platform for showcasing and distributing information about the Tethys ONE to a wider professional audience in the underwater robotics sector.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Saab Seaeye: Subsidiary of Saab that manufactures electric underwater robotic systems including the Sabertooth AUV/ROV hybrid for inspection, EOD and defense missions. Competes directly with Tethys ONE in the autonomous subsea inspection segment targeted at defense and offshore customers.
• VideoRay: US-based leading manufacturer of small, portable underwater ROVs widely used for inspection of dams, infrastructure, ports and security applications. Targets the same compact underwater inspection market as Tethys ONE with similar enterprise and government customers.

Broad incumbents

• Kongsberg Maritime: Division of Kongsberg Gruppen supplying HUGIN AUVs, underwater cameras, sonars and subsea inspection systems for offshore energy, defense and ocean science. A much larger incumbent offering overlapping capabilities to the same offshore wind, oil & gas and naval customers as Tethys.
• Oceaneering International: Global subsea robotics and services company operating the world's largest fleet of work-class ROVs for offshore energy, telecom and defense clients. Competes with Tethys in offshore inspection but at the heavy-duty end of the market and as a service provider rather than hardware vendor.
• Teledyne Marine (Teledyne Technologies): Portfolio of subsea imaging, sonar, vehicle and instrument brands (e.g., Gavia AUV, BlueView, Oceanscience). Supplies many of the same sensor and AUV components integrated into Tethys ONE and competes in autonomous underwater inspection and survey.

Emerging players

• Bedrock Ocean: US-based startup building autonomous underwater vehicles for high-cadence seabed mapping and offshore asset inspection. Targets the same autonomous-subsea-inspection-for-offshore-energy thesis as Tethys with a fleet- and software-led approach.
• Hydromea: Swiss-based developer of underwater wireless communication, autonomous swimming robots and miniaturized AUVs for confined-space asset inspection. A local Zurich-area peer with overlapping miniaturized autonomous underwater inspection technology and similar ETH/Zurich research DNA.
• Blue Robotics: US-based low-cost underwater components and ROV platform provider (BlueROV2) widely used in research and light commercial inspection. An adjacent peer supplying enabling components and competing in the small-ROV inspection segment where Tethys also plays.

Regional players

• Beam (Beam Global / Beam Mobility): Provider of remotely operated and autonomous subsea robotic systems for hull, harbor and infrastructure inspection, primarily serving European ports, shipyards and navies. Direct competitive overlap with Tethys ONE in port and harbor inspection use cases across European markets.

Others

• Sprint Robotics: Industry network of robotics companies focused on inspection and maintenance in the energy sector, of which Tethys Robotics is a member. Not a direct competitor but an ecosystem peer that channels industry partnerships and standards relevant to Tethys' offshore energy go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tethys-robotics
• Facebookfacebook.com/tethysrobotics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tethys Robotics