The venture Kick jury has awarded Tethys Robotics CHF 150,000 to allow the startup to complete its pilot programs for its underwater drone that can operate autonomously in all waters to ensure safety, reliability and efficiency while reducing the risks faced by divers.
Professional divers are often used to search and recover objects and people underwater - a task associated with permanent or lethal damage risk, dangers and difficulty, including decompression sickness, carbon dioxide toxicity, drowning, exposure to cold, nitrogen narcosis, and significant psychological and physical stress. These fundamental risks can be traced back to the challenges faced by the underwater industry, such as poor visibility, fast-flowing waters, and high personnel demands.
Targeting the industrial inspection and search and rescue segments, Zurich-based startup Tethys Robotics has developed a compact underwater drone with a VR-enabled user interface that can operate autonomously in all waters and recover objects up to 300m deep in harsh conditions, enabling operations in strong water flows with poor visibility. The solution will mitigate significant risks divers face daily while drastically reducing the needed personnel involved in underwater work.
The obtained Venture Kick award prize of CHF 150,000 will flow into enhancing the business development initiatives to accelerate the completion of pilot programs with first customers, as well as increase the international demonstration and promotion of the company. This solution is set to revolutionise a USD 8+ billion market where demand is driven by the increasing need for renewable energy solutions (137,500 new offshore wind turbines until 2050) and applications for autonomous oceanographic exploration and inspection.
The team has been working together for five years. It consists of co-founder and project manager Jonas Wüst, co-founder and operations lead Pragash Sivananthaguru, and so-founders Andrej Studer, Johannes Lienhart, Bastian Schildknecht, Florin Kümin and Gallus Kaufmann. Together, they are an interdisciplinary team that brings everything to take underwater robotics into a new era.
“Since we started, we have had the opportunity to hone our pitching skills at the Kickers Camp, which enabled us to secure sufficient funding to move forward with our product and business development. At the same time, we were able to launch several pilots with early adopters, whose feedback allowed us to make an informed decision on our market entry strategy. By winning the Venture Kick, we now have the means and the financial support to bring Swiss underwater robotics onto the international stage”, said Jonas Wüst.
(Press release/RAN)
Photos: Tethys Robotics co-founders: Andrej Studer (Mapping Lead), Pragash Sivananthaguru (COO), Jonas Wüst (CEO), and Johannes Lienhart (CTO)
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