What is Saildrone?
Wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles for ocean data, surveillance, and maritime security.
- Category
- Maritime autonomy / ocean data
- Headquarters
- Alameda, CA
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- Private; roughly 201-500 reported
- Total funding
- About $325M reported
- Valuation
- Not disclosed
What is Saildrone?
Wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles for ocean data, surveillance, and maritime security.
Saildrone designs, builds, and operates uncrewed surface vehicles that collect ocean data and support maritime surveillance missions. Its fleet serves science, mapping, climate, fisheries, border, critical-infrastructure, and defense customers. Saildrone closed a $60M financing in May 2025 led by Denmark’s EIFO for European maritime autonomy expansion, and private-market sources report about $325M total funding. Sacra estimates FY2024 revenue around $43M, driven by U.S. Navy and defense adoption, but Saildrone does not publish audited revenue.
As of June 2026, the important sales context is that Saildrone is still in a build-and-scale phase rather than a mature public operating company. Revenue, customer count, and exact pricing are not fully public unless noted, so the durable facts are its domain, leadership, disclosed financings, offices, and public product direction.
What does Saildrone offer?
Saildrone offers the products and capabilities listed below.
- Saildrone Explorer· Core product
- Saildrone Voyager· Core product
- Saildrone Surveyor· Core product
- Ocean data missions· Capability
- Maritime domain awareness· Capability
- Seafloor mapping· Use case
- Defense payload integration· Use case
How does Saildrone make money?
Saildrone makes money through enterprise, government, or commercial contracts tied to maritime autonomy / ocean data.
Saildrone monetizes through data-as-a-service, vehicle missions, government contracts, defense integrations, mapping programs, and platform operations. Pricing is mission-specific and depends on vehicle class, sensor payload, endurance, region, data products, and support.
For sellers, the budget center is usually tied to maritime autonomy / ocean data, deployment reliability, security, engineering velocity, and customer operations. Strong fits include infrastructure, hiring, test and simulation, manufacturing, data, compliance, field operations, and integration tooling where the product can reduce schedule risk or expand production capacity.
Who leads Saildrone?
Saildrone is led by the founders and operating executives below.
- Richard JenkinsFounder & CEOFounder, since 2012Leads Saildrone strategy and vehicle development.
- Mission operations leadershipOperations teamScaling functionOwn fleet missions, sensors, and customer delivery.
- Defense partnerships leadershipBusiness developmentScaling functionOwn defense and critical-infrastructure programs.
How do you contact Saildrone's leadership?
Saildrone publishes company contact routes, but verified personal executive emails were not found in reviewed public sources. Use the official contact route below or verified first-party channels instead of guessing personal addresses.
Official contact form; personal executive email format not verifiedHow much funding has Saildrone raised?
Saildrone has About $325M reported; latest valuation/status signal: Not disclosed.
2012-2021: Seed through growth rounds - valuation not disclosed; Early and growth financing for ocean autonomy. May 2025: Growth financing - valuation not disclosed; $60M led by EIFO with Lux Capital, Washington Harbour Partners, Crowley, Academy Securities, Pinegrove, and others reported. Oct 2025: Strategic investment signal; Sacra PDF reports Lockheed Martin made a $50M strategic investment for defense integration work.
The latest valuation/status signal is Not disclosed. Where valuations or revenue are not company-disclosed, this profile labels them as reported signals rather than verified company metrics; Saildrone remains private as of June 2026.
How did Saildrone get here?
Saildrone's milestones show the path from founding to its current June 2026 scale.
- 2012FoundedRichard Jenkins starts Saildrone.
- 2021Large growth financing eraCompany scales USV fleet and data services.
- May 2025$60M financingEIFO leads European maritime security expansion round.
- 2025Defense integration signalLockheed Martin strategic investment reported.
- 2026Maritime autonomy expansionSaildrone continues defense and critical-infrastructure mission growth.
Who are Saildrone's competitors?
Saildrone competes with the following companies and incumbents.
- SaronicAutonomous surface vessels for defense missions.
- Sea MachinesAutonomous vessel technology company competing in maritime autonomy and unmanned surface operations.
- MARTACUnmanned surface vehicle provider for defense and security.
- Liquid RoboticsWave-powered ocean robot company.
- AndurilDefense autonomy company with maritime systems.
Saildrone — frequently asked questions
