SeaDrone
SeaDrone (OROBOTIX INC.) builds underwater ROVs and surface USVs with integrated iPad-based control software for ship hull inspections, offshore infrastructure monitoring, and naval surveillance. The Menlo Park company serves maritime, offshore energy, and defense customers through hardware sales, subscriptions, and custom defense contracts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SeaDrone does
SeaDrone (legal entity OROBOTIX INC.) is a private subsea and surface robotics company founded in 2014 by Stanford Robotics AI Laboratory graduates and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company designs and builds remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)—the portable MINI, the offshore-class XROV, and the hull-inspection Inspector 3—along with unmanned surface vessels (USVs) such as the Sead 23 developed for the Spanish Navy. All vehicles are unified by an iPad-based control application that provides mission planning with waypoints, autopilot functions including mid-water dynamic positioning and station keeping, live streaming for remote surveyors, and automated generation of GPS-indexed encrypted PDF inspection reports.
The product portfolio is anchored by a proprietary sensor-fusion "Zero Drift Localization" algorithm, custom underwater photo-enhancement software, multibeam sonar integration, and UN 38.3-certified battery systems, allowing the MINI in particular to be air-transported as carry-on baggage. SeaDrone has pursued class-certified underwater inspection in lieu of dry docking (UWILD), positioning its workflow to feed classification society reporting requirements directly. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of ROVs and accessories via an e-commerce storefront, a subscription-based ship hull inspection service, ROV rentals, and bespoke USV development contracts—most visibly a €1.1 million Sead 23 USV delivered to the Spanish Navy's CEVENTA unit in November 2024 through a partnership with Spanish defense group Zelenza.
The company serves three primary customer segments: commercial maritime ship owners and operators requiring UWILD-compliant hull inspections; offshore energy operators inspecting subsea infrastructure; and naval/defense organizations procuring unmanned surface vessels for surveillance and maritime support. The firm remains 100% founder-owned, operates with a 1–10 person engineering team, and has not publicly disclosed venture or growth equity financing beyond a $225,000 National Science Foundation grant awarded in January 2021.
SeaDrone firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SeaDrone
- Legal name
- OROBOTIX INC.
- Website
- https://seadronepro.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SeaDrone (OROBOTIX INC.) builds underwater ROVs and surface USVs with integrated iPad-based control software for ship hull inspections, offshore infrastructure monitoring, and naval surveillance. The Menlo Park company serves maritime, offshore energy, and defense customers through hardware sales, subscriptions, and custom defense contracts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SeaDrone industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marine / Subsea Robotics
- NAICS
- Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) & Autonomous Submersible Manufacturing (IMAJAOAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms (IMABAIAE), Underwater Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (UWILD, Diving/ROV, In-water Cleaning) (IMAJAFAJ), Maritime Unmanned Systems (USV/UUV) & Control Stations (IMABAKAJ)
Keywords
Where SeaDrone is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Menlo Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SeaDrone business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- ROV Hardware Sales: SeaDrone sells ROV vehicles including MINI, XROV, and PRO models along with attachments and accessories through their e-commerce store.
- Ship Hull Inspection Subscription: Ship hull inspections offered as a subscription service enabling operators to perform class certified underwater inspections in lieu of Dry Docking (UWILD).
- Custom USV Development: Development of custom unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for military and defense customers, such as the Sead 23 for the Spanish Navy.
- ROV Rental Program: ROV rental program allowing customers to rent underwater vehicles for specific inspection missions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Vehicle products with various configurations |
| Subscription | Annual | Ship Hull Inspection Subscription |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Custom USV Development - Sead 23 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
SeaDrone product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SeaDrone designs and sells underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) — the MINI (portable, 300m), XROV (offshore), and Inspector 3 (class-certified UWILD ship hull inspection) — and develops custom unmanned surface vessels (USVs) such as the Sead 23 for naval customers. The vehicles run on an iPad-based control application with mission planning, autopilot controls, live streaming, multibeam sonar, and automated encrypted PDF reporting that compresses traditional 10-hour inspections to 1 hour. The company also offers subscription-based ship hull inspection services and an ROV rental program.
Product overview
SeaDrone provides drone-based end-to-end ship hull inspection solutions enabling operators to perform class-certified underwater inspections in lieu of Dry Docking (UWILD), reducing inspection time from ten hours to one hour. The product portfolio includes three ROV vehicle tiers (MINI portable, XROV offshore, and Inspector 3), unified by the company's iPad-based control software featuring mission planning, live streaming, automated reporting, and autopilot controls. Additional offerings include Remote Live Streamer for remote collaboration and an ROV Rental Program.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SeaDrone MINI A portable professional ROV designed for non-technical users, capable of diving to 300 meters depth at 3 knots speed. Features Top Gun Mode 6-degree-of-freedom control, optimized hydrodynamics, HD camera stabilization, and modular payload skids for additional accessories. Powered by UN 38.3-certified batteries (under 100Wh) that can be carried as airline baggage.
- SeaDrone XROV Offshore-class ROV designed for demanding subsea operations, positioned as a larger capability tier for professional offshore maritime inspection missions.
- SeaDrone Inspector 3 Ship hull inspection ROV system enabling class-certified underwater inspections in lieu of Dry Docking (UWILD), capable of completing vessel inspections in 1 hour with automatically generated certified reports for ship owners and operators.
- SeaDrone iPad-based Control Software Integrated mobile control platform providing mission planning with waypoint creation, data review and annotation, automated PDF report generation with GPS-indexed images, photo enhancement, and autopilot controls including waypoint navigation, mid-water positioning, and station keeping. Bundled with SeaDrone vehicles.
- Ship Hull Inspection Subscription Subscription service enabling ship owners and operators to perform class-certified underwater inspections in lieu of Dry Docking (UWILD) with automatically generated certified reports, on annual billing.
- ROV Rental Program Rental program providing access to SeaDrone ROV vehicles and inspection capabilities on a mission basis without requiring purchase.
- Sead 23 USV Custom unmanned surface vessel (USV) developed for naval and defense customers, featuring advanced sensors, satellite communications, and modular payload options for maritime support and surveillance missions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Inspections that took 10 hours now completed in 1 hour
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use SeaDrone
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SeaDrone technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature10 records
SeaDrone partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Zelenza GroupcoreSeadrone operates as a subsidiary of Zelenza Group, a Spanish technology and defense company. SeaDrone developed the Sead 23 USV for the Spanish Navy, delivered through the Zelenza partnership. This relationship provides SeaDrone access to defense sector contracts and military customers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SeaDrone competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Deep Trekker: Deep Trekker manufactures portable, battery-powered ROVs used for underwater inspection, search and recovery, and aquaculture. It is a direct competitor to SeaDrone in the portable/observation-class ROV segment, with a comparable product philosophy targeting non-technical users.
- VideoRay: VideoRay is a leading manufacturer of small, portable, and mission-configurable ROVs used by militaries, first responders, and commercial operators worldwide. It is a direct competitor to SeaDrone across both defense and commercial inspection use cases.
Emerging players
- Bedrock Ocean: Bedrock Ocean provides autonomous underwater vehicle-based seabed mapping and inspection services, including ship hull and offshore infrastructure surveys. It overlaps with SeaDrone in delivering UWILD-style inspection outcomes but emphasizes service delivery over hardware sales.
- Saildrone: Saildrone builds wind- and solar-powered unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for ocean data collection, maritime security, and defense surveillance. It is comparable to SeaDrone's USV work (Sead 23) in target customers (navies) and platform category (autonomous surface vessels).
- MARTAC: MARTAC designs and manufactures high-performance unmanned surface vessels for defense, security, and commercial applications. It competes with SeaDrone's Sead 23 USV offering in the naval and maritime surveillance segment.
- Seasats: Seasats builds low-cost, solar-powered unmanned surface vessels for persistent ocean monitoring, defense, and hydrography. It is comparable to SeaDrone's USV activities in platform category and maritime surveillance use cases.
Broad incumbents
- Saab Seaeye: Saab Seaeye is the marine robotics division of Saab, producing underwater ROVs and AUVs for defense, commercial, and scientific use. As an established defense prime, it competes with SeaDrone in naval and security ROV deployments.
- Teledyne Marine: Teledyne Marine offers a broad portfolio of subsea imaging, instruments, and robotic vehicles including ROVs. It is comparable as a broad incumbent providing underwater inspection and survey solutions to commercial and defense customers.
- Kongsberg Maritime: Kongsberg Maritime supplies HUGIN AUVs, subsea robotics, sonar systems, and integrated maritime solutions for offshore and defense customers. It overlaps with SeaDrone in subsea inspection, naval applications, and offshore energy.
- Oceaneering International: Oceaneering provides subsea robotics, ROV operations, and marine services for offshore oil and gas, renewables, and defense. It is comparable as a broad incumbent providing underwater inspection and intervention services that overlap with SeaDrone's hull and offshore inspection offerings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SeaDrone social profiles
Digital presenceSeaDrone compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SeaDrone financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SeaDrone leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
SeaDrone funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SeaDrone M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SeaDrone
What does SeaDrone do?
SeaDrone designs and sells underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) — the MINI (portable, 300m), XROV (offshore), and Inspector 3 (class-certified UWILD ship hull inspection) — and develops custom unmanned surface vessels (USVs) such as the Sead 23 for naval customers. The vehicles run on an iPad-based control application with mission planning, autopilot controls, live streaming, multibeam sonar, and automated encrypted PDF reporting that compresses traditional 10-hour inspections to 1 hour. The company also offers subscription-based ship hull inspection services and an ROV rental program.
Is SeaDrone a public or private company?
SeaDrone is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SeaDrone founded?
SeaDrone was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SeaDrone based?
SeaDrone is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does SeaDrone make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. ROV Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are ship Hull Inspection Subscription, custom USV Development and ROV Rental Program.
Who are SeaDrone's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Deep Trekker and VideoRay. Emerging players are Bedrock Ocean, Saildrone, MARTAC and Seasats. Broad incumbents are Saab Seaeye, Teledyne Marine, Kongsberg Maritime and Oceaneering International.
Does SeaDrone have an API?
No public API is recorded for SeaDrone.
What industry is SeaDrone in?
SeaDrone's product category is Marine / Subsea Robotics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAJAOAC, Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) & Autonomous Submersible Manufacturing, with a secondary code of IMABAIAE, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms. Its NAICS code is 336611 and its SIC code is 3730.