Company Profile: Seasats / Lightfish — Autonomous Surface Vehicles for Maritime Defense

Technologies
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Lightfish is the flagship autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) developed by Seasats, a San Diego-based defense technology and maritime autonomy company. Founded in 2020 by Mike Flanigan, Dan Flanigan, Dylan Rodriguez, and Max Kramers, Seasats builds long-endurance, cost-effective uncrewed surface vehicles for defense, scientific, and commercial applications [1]. The company’s platforms are designed to illuminate maritime blind spots by maintaining persistent situational awareness across vast ocean areas [2].

Company Overview and Founding

Seasats’ origins trace back to a 2010 teenage garage project in Rhode Island, where the founders built an autonomous boat to send a message across the Atlantic. This project, known as the Scout Transatlantic project, eventually led to the incorporation of SeaSatellites, Inc. (doing business as Seasats) in October 2020 [1]. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California [3].

The founders aimed to address a gap in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market, which they believed was producing prohibitively expensive products that required large launch and recovery teams [4]. Seasats’ approach focuses on building low-cost, reliable, and portable systems that can be easily managed and deployed [4].

Leadership Team

  • Mike Flanigan: Co-Founder and CEO. Flanigan holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and previously worked at DMC and Ocean Aero [1].
  • Dan Flanigan: Co-Founder [3].
  • Dylan Rodriguez: Co-Founder [3].
  • Max Kramers: Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) [3].
  • Tom Reynolds: Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) [4].

Product and Service Description

Seasats’ primary product line is the Lightfish series of ASVs, classified by the U.S. Navy as “Very Small Class USVs” (under 7 meters in length) [5].

The base Lightfish model is 11.4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and weighs approximately 305 to 340 pounds [5] [6]. It is a solar-electric vessel with a hybrid reserve, capable of multi-month endurance (up to 6 months) and ranges exceeding 6,000 nautical miles [6]. The vessel is designed to be highly portable, fitting in the back of a pickup truck and deployable by one or two personnel without the need for cranes or specialized equipment [6] [7].

The Lightfish features a modular payload system, allowing it to be configured for various missions, including:

  • Security Lightfish: Equipped with marine radar, HD and thermal cameras, AIS broadcast/receive, and LiDAR for maritime domain awareness and threat monitoring [6].
  • Environmental Lightfish: Fitted with subsurface water quality and current sensors, a profiling winch, and a weather station [4].
  • Hydrographic Lightfish: Includes a high-quality multi-beam echosounder for seafloor mapping [4].

Seasats also offers a “Quickfish” model, a high-speed (35+ knots), rapid-response vessel designed for intercepting or interdicting maritime threats [7], and is developing a “Heavyfish” model for heavy payload and long-range missions, expected in 2026 [7].

Funding History

Seasats has raised over $40 million in venture funding to date [8]:

  • Initial Funding: Early funding included a $120,000 investment from Techstars in 2021, followed by a $1 million round from Monozukuri Ventures, Techstars, and angel investors [1]. The company also received a $256,000 SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation [1].
  • Series A (2022): In October 2022, Seasats closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by defense contractor L3Harris [1] [9].
  • Series A Extension (2025/2026): In early 2025, Seasats announced a $10 million funding round led by Shield Capital [10]. In February 2026, the company announced the close of a $20 million Series A financing led by Konvoy Ventures, with participation from Shield Capital, DNS Capital, Techstars, and others [8].

Defense and Government Relevance

Seasats has established a significant presence in the defense sector, securing over $100 million in U.S. government contracts [8]. The company’s low-cost, persistent ASVs are utilized for maritime domain awareness, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

Key defense milestones and contracts include:

  • U.S. Navy Task Force 59: Seasats has worked extensively with the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59 in the Middle East, deploying Lightfish ASVs for maritime domain awareness missions [4].
  • BALTOPS 2025: Multiple Lightfish vessels were deployed during the NATO BALTOPS 2025 exercise in the Baltic Sea, demonstrating their operational capabilities [11].
  • APFIT Award (2026): In January 2026, Seasats received a $24 million award from the Department of Defense’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program to scale production of the Lightfish for the Navy and Marine Corps [12].
  • SBIR Phase 3 IDIQ (2025): In October 2025, Seasats was awarded an $89 million ceiling SBIR Phase 3 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract by Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic to support Marine Corps USV efforts [5] [11].
  • Taiwan Strait Transit (2026): In May 2026, a Seasats Lightfish completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, covering over 1,000 nautical miles and tracking Chinese warships, demonstrating its utility in contested waterways [2].
  • Task Force 66 (2026): In February 2026, the U.S. 6th Fleet’s Task Force 66 launched a Lightfish USV from a partner nation’s vessel during the Cutlass Express exercise in the Indian Ocean, marking the first joint maritime launch of the system [13].

Online Presence

References

[1] Lux, M. (2022, December 21). ND Founders Profile #127: From Garage to Open Seas, this FouNDer Is Taking the Sea by Storm with Autonomous Surface Vehicles. IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame. ND Founders Profile #127: From Garage to Open Seas, this FouNDer Is Taking the Sea by Storm with Autonomous Surface Vehicles // News // IDEA Center // University of Notre Dame
[2] Seasats. (2026, May 27). Seasats Completes First Autonomous Transit of the Taiwan Strait. PR Newswire. Seasats Completes First Autonomous Transit of the Taiwan Strait
[3] Crunchbase. (n.d.). Seasats. Retrieved June 11, 2026, from https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/seasats
[4] Ocean News & Technology. (2025, March 14). TAKE 5: The ON&T Interview with Seasats. TAKE 5: The ON&T Interview With Seasats
[5] Dewey, B. (2025, October 7). Exclusive: Seasats Snags $89M US Navy IDIQ Contract for USVs. Tectonic Defense. Exclusive: Seasats Snags $89M US Navy IDIQ Contract for USVs
[6] Seasats. (2025, May 14). Seasats Introduces the Lightfish Security System: A Cost-Effective, Modular ASV for Persistent Maritime Domain Awareness. PR Newswire. Seasats Introduces the Lightfish Security System: A Cost-Effective, Modular ASV for Persistent Maritime Domain Awareness
[7] Seasats. (n.d.). Ocean Autonomy That Works. Retrieved June 11, 2026, from https://seasats.com/
[8] Seasats. (2026, February 17). Seasats Raises $20 Million Series A to Scale Production of Small Uncrewed Surface Vehicles. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seasats-raises-20-million-series-a-to-scale-production-of-small-uncrewed-surface-vehicles-302688401.html
[9] L3Harris Technologies. (2024, June 18). L3Harris and Startup Seasats Accomplish Milestone in Proving Resilient, Distributed Maritime Autonomous Operations. L3Harris and Startup Seasats Accomplish Milestone in Proving Resilient, Distributed Maritime Autonomous Operations | L3Harris® Fast. Forward.
[10] GlobalData. (2025, February 6). Seasats raises funding to expand autonomous maritime solutions. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/seasats-raises-funding-expand-autonomous-180939809.html
[11] Seasats. (2025, October 7). Seasats Awarded $89M U.S. Navy SBIR Phase 3 IDIQ Contract, Building on Series of Operational Milestones. PR Newswire. Seasats Awarded $89M U.S. Navy SBIR Phase 3 IDIQ Contract, Building on Series of Operational Milestones
[12] Biesecker, C. (2026, January 15). Seasats Discloses $24 Million APFIT Award For Lightfish ASVs. Defense Daily. https://www.defensedaily.com/seasats-discloses-24-million-apfit-award-for-lightfish-asvs/navy-usmc/
[13] U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs. (2026, February 10). Lightfish Unmanned Vessel First Joint Maritime Launch. U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa / U.S. Sixth Fleet. https://www.c6f.navy.mil/Press-Room/News/Article/4401969/lightfish-unmanned-vessel-first-joint-maritime-launch/

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