Booz Allen Ventures has made its first foray into the maritime sector with a strategic investment in Ulysses, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in high-volume, low-cost autonomous surface and underwater vehicles. The investment was part of a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s "American
The partnership represents the first joint venture between Booz Allen and a16z since the two firms announced a collaboration in January to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology for national security. Ulysses’ platforms are designed to bridge the "ocean monitoring gap" by combining inexpensive hardware with advanced onboard computers, allowing for mass deployment at a fraction of the cost of current crewed operations. For Booz Allen, the deal adds a critical robotics and autonomy layer to its $300 million venture fund, which has recently tripled in size to target deep tech and defense innovations.
The strategic pivot toward maritime dominance comes as institutional focus shifts to the undersea domain, which Ulysses CEO Akhil Voorakkara describes as "the last great frontier" yet to experience an autonomy revolution. By backing dual-use startups like Ulysses, Booz Allen aims to integrate venture-backed robotics into its existing Navy-Marine Corps portfolio. The goal is to move beyond the current reliance on bespoke, expensive submersibles toward a model of "disposable" or high-volume autonomous systems that can survey, protect, and inspect at a global scale.