MRV Systems
MRV Systems manufactures autonomous oceanographic profiling floats and gliders, including the only commercially available DeepSOLO 6000m and S2-BGC platforms, supplying nearly 50% of the U.S. Argo program commitment to federal agencies and research institutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What MRV Systems does
MRV Systems, LLC is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of autonomous oceanographic vehicles founded in 2010 as a spin-off from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Headquartered in San Diego, California, with manufacturing in Wood Dale, Illinois, and engineering offices in Seattle, Washington, the company exclusively licenses SIO-developed profiling float and glider designs and is the sole commercial producer of the SOLO-II, Deep SOLO, BGC-SOLO floats, and the Spray2 glider. Its product line comprises seven platforms spanning core Argo (S2-A, ALTO), Deep Argo (DeepSOLO, 6000m), Biogeochemical Argo (S2-BGC), air-launched hurricane and ice-edge observation (ALAMO), autonomous underwater gliders (Spray2), and microstructure turbulence sensing (microALTO, co-developed with Rockland Scientific). All platforms share common Iridium satellite telemetry and Sea-Bird Scientific CTD sensor integrations and are designed for multi-year, autonomous ocean profiling.
The company's revenue model is built on direct hardware sales to U.S. federal oceanographic agencies (NOAA, the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Office of Naval Research), Tier-1 oceanographic research institutions (Scripps, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory), and academic programs (University of Washington, Florida State University). International markets are reached through exclusive distribution partners: Cyprus Subsea Consulting and Services for the European Economic Area (announced June 2021) and K.U.M. India for the Indian market (announced March 2022). These partners also provide training, deployment support, Iridium data services, and scientific consulting, forming a recurring services layer on top of unit hardware sales. With 341 floats sold at a 92% Argo reliability rate and approximately 50% of the U.S. Argo program commitment, MRV occupies a near-duopoly supplier position in the U.S. profiling float market.
MRV sells high-value, custom-configured scientific instruments under quote-based pricing with no public list prices, typical of government and academic scientific procurement. Products are specified per mission (depth rating, sensor package, battery chemistry, deployment method), and the company's small 1-10 employee footprint combined with its outsourced international channel structure suggests a lean operating model centered on engineering, customization, and high-value contract execution rather than mass-market distribution.
MRV Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MRV Systems
- Legal name
- MRV Systems, LLC
- Website
- https://mrvsys.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- MRV Systems manufactures autonomous oceanographic profiling floats and gliders, including the only commercially available DeepSOLO 6000m and S2-BGC platforms, supplying nearly 50% of the U.S. Argo program commitment to federal agencies and research institutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MRV Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Oceanographic Instruments
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) & Autonomous Subsea Platforms (IMABAIAF)
Keywords
Where MRV Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
MRV Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ocean Profiling Floats: Sale of Argo program floats (S2-A, ALTO, DeepSOLO, ALAMO, S2-BGC, microALTO) to research institutions and government agencies. MRV floats constitute nearly 50% of U.S. commitment to Argo program.
- Autonomous Underwater Gliders: Sale of Spray2 next-generation autonomous underwater gliders for ocean observation applications with 1000m depth rating and 100+ day mission endurance.
- Parts and Support Services: Distribution of parts kits and support services including Iridium data services, training, scientific consulting, and deployment support through distribution partners.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
MRV Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MRV Systems designs, manufactures, and sells autonomous oceanographic profiling floats and underwater gliders for ocean observation applications. The company holds exclusive licenses from Scripps Institution of Oceanography to commercially manufacture SOLO-II, Deep SOLO, BGC-SOLO floats and the Spray2 glider. MRV also provides integration, deployment support, Iridium data services, training, and scientific consulting.
Product overview
MRV Systems provides a family of vertically profiling autonomous vehicles for ocean observation applications. The product portfolio includes seven distinct oceanographic platforms: ALAMO® (air-launched A-size float for extreme environments, 1200m depth), S2-A™ (standard SOLO-II Argo float, Core Argo mission), ALTO™ (low-energy variant of S2-A with additional sensor capacity, 2000m depth), DeepSOLO™ (deep ocean version rated to 6000m for Deep Argo mission), Spray2™ (autonomous underwater glider, 1000m depth), S2-BGC™ (biogeochemical version with 6 BGC sensors for BGC-Argo mission), and microALTO™ (microstructure turbulence sensing version with Rockland Scientific probes). The products share common Iridium telemetry systems and CTD sensor integrations while serving different ocean observation missions from coastal to deep ocean applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ALAMO®
Quantifiable outcome
- 341 floats sold with 92% Argo reliability rate
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use MRV Systems
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MRV Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature7 records
MRV Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- K.U.M. India (KUMI)coreKUMI holds exclusive distribution for MRV products in the Indian Market. Part of internationally reputed K.U.M. Umwelt- und Meerestechnik Kiel GmbH in Germany. KUMI focuses on Indian Ocean and serving Indian market with engineering, custom design products, and turnkey deep-sea marine technology to academic and Government based research institutions. Discussions included collaboration on Make in India approach.
- Cyprus Subsea Consulting and Services (CSCS)coreCSCS became MRV's first European distributor with exclusive position for MRV Systems products in all European Economic Area countries. CSCS provides autonomous platforms of ocean gliders (Hydroid) and surface drifters (MetOcean). They help customers select the right autonomous system, train customer teams, support deployment and piloting, provide Iridium data services at competitive rates, and provide scientific consulting.
- Rockland Scientific, Inc.strategicPartnership to develop microALTO float - a microstructure turbulence sensing version of MRV's ALTO Argo float. Rockland Scientific provides MAPLe microstructure turbulence probe kit with temperature and shear probes installed in the top-cap of microALTO floats. Two different or same type probes can be installed as pre-ordered by customers.
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)coreMRV founded in 2010 as spin-off from SIO with license to manufacture SOLO II Argo float. MRV holds licensing agreements for commercial manufacturing of SOLO-II, Deep SOLO, BGC-SOLO floats, and Spray2 glider. MRV products are commercial versions of SIO-developed technologies.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MRV Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Teledyne Webb Research: Teledyne Webb Research manufactures the APEX family of Argo profiling floats and Slocum underwater gliders — the most direct head-to-head competitor to MRV's SOLO-II and Spray2 platforms, serving the same Argo program buyers and research institutions.
- NKE Instrumentation: NKE Instrumentation (France) is one of the few other commercial manufacturers of Argo profiling floats, competing with MRV for international Argo program procurement from European and global research institutions.
- Kongsberg Maritime (Hydroid): Kongsberg Maritime's Hydroid unit manufactures the Slocum and REMUS autonomous underwater vehicles, directly competing with MRV's Spray2 glider in the research and defense underwater autonomous vehicle market.
- Sea-Bird Scientific: Sea-Bird Scientific is both a key sensor supplier to MRV (CTD, DO, pH, optics) and an oceanographic instrumentation manufacturer with adjacent float and glider offerings, making it a partner and adjacent competitor in the Argo ecosystem.
- Bluefin Robotics (General Dynamics Mission Systems): Bluefin Robotics manufactures the Bluefin family of autonomous underwater vehicles for defense, commercial, and research applications, competing with MRV in the underwater autonomous vehicle space, particularly for Navy and research institution customers.
Broad incumbents
- Saildrone: Saildrone develops wind- and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicles for ocean data collection, addressing overlapping ocean observation use cases as MRV (climate monitoring, hurricane tracking) but with a surface (USV) rather than subsurface platform.
- Liquid Robotics (Boeing): Liquid Robotics, a Boeing subsidiary, manufactures the Wave Glider autonomous surface platform for persistent ocean observation. It targets similar government and research buyers as MRV but operates at the surface rather than via subsurface floats and gliders.
Emerging players
- Anduril Industries (Dive Technologies): Anduril's Dive Technologies division builds large-displacement autonomous underwater vehicles (Dive-LD, Dive-XL) primarily for defense customers, representing an emerging deep-pocketed competitor in the U.S. underwater autonomous vehicle market MRV serves via ONR and the Naval Oceanographic Office.
- Bedrock Ocean: Bedrock Ocean develops autonomous underwater vehicles for high-resolution seafloor and water-column mapping. It addresses a partially adjacent ocean-observation market with overlapping government and research customers but focuses on survey rather than Argo-style profiling.
Others
- Rockland Scientific: Rockland Scientific supplies microstructure turbulence probes used in MRV's microALTO float under a co-development partnership. It is an enabling technology provider and oceanographic instrumentation peer serving the same turbulence and ocean-process research customer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MRV Systems social profiles
Digital presenceMRV Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MRV Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
MRV Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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MRV Systems 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 MRV Systems
What does MRV Systems do?
MRV Systems designs, manufactures, and sells autonomous oceanographic profiling floats and underwater gliders for ocean observation applications. The company holds exclusive licenses from Scripps Institution of Oceanography to commercially manufacture SOLO-II, Deep SOLO, BGC-SOLO floats and the Spray2 glider. MRV also provides integration, deployment support, Iridium data services, training, and scientific consulting.
Is MRV Systems a public or private company?
MRV Systems is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MRV Systems founded?
MRV Systems was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is MRV Systems based?
MRV Systems is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does MRV Systems make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Ocean Profiling Floats are the primary driver. The others are autonomous Underwater Gliders and parts and Support Services.
Who are MRV Systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Teledyne Webb Research, NKE Instrumentation, Kongsberg Maritime (Hydroid), Sea-Bird Scientific and Bluefin Robotics (General Dynamics Mission Systems). Broad incumbents are Saildrone and Liquid Robotics (Boeing). Emerging players are Anduril Industries (Dive Technologies) and Bedrock Ocean. Rockland Scientific is listed as an others.
Does MRV Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for MRV Systems.
What industry is MRV Systems in?
MRV Systems's product category is Oceanographic Instruments. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAIAH, Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs), with a secondary code of IMABAIAF, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) & Autonomous Subsea Platforms. Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3823.