A drone that moves underwater autonomously or remotely: This is the product of Tethys Robotics from Switzerland – a spin-off from ETH Zurich.
Founded in 2024, the startup has now completed pre-seed financing of 3.5 million euros. The round was led by Alpine VC, the joint growth vehicle of Redstone and Euregio Plus. Also involved are Zürcher Kantonalbank, the ETH Foundation, Kickfund and Venture Kick.
Operations under water
The drones from Tethys Robotics are intended to be used where it becomes too dangerous for divers, for example when inspecting and maintaining offshore facilities and underwater cables, searching for people and detecting obsolete war munitions.
According to the startup, the drones can reach a depth of up to 300 meters, weigh 35 kilos and are ready to go underwater within ten minutes. They are also designed to be suitable for both cloudy waters and waters with strong currents.
The drones are equipped with multiple cameras. As they move underwater, they collect data, provide live footage and provide 3D models afterwards. Depending on the application, the drones can be equipped with additional functions so that they measure more environmental data, such as electricity, pressure, temperature and oxygen content.
Team with seven founders
Tethys One is backed by a team of seven founders: Jonas Wüst (CEO), Johannes Lienhart (COO), Pragash Sivananthaguru (CTO), Gallus Kaufmann (CCO), Andrej Studer (Mapping Lead), Florin Kümin Robotics Software Lead) and Bastian Schildknecht (User Software Lead).
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In 2018, the founding team began its first dives with the first prototype, which it developed within four months, according to the website. The second prototype followed three years later and was able to dive to a depth of 300 meters.
With the fresh capital, the startup plans to further develop and scale its current drone model called Tethys One.
Click here for the pitch deck
Source: https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/technologie/unterwasserdrohne-fuer-gefaehrliche-einsaetze-startup-sichert-sich-35-millionen-euro-seht-hier-das-pitchdeck/
