AI Summary
5 min readIn 1964, the GM Futurama exhibit at the World’s Fair showed 26 million visitors a vision of the future: a lunar base on one side, and a subsea hotel called Hotel Atlantis on the other, complete with ocean-floor oil rigs and submarine trains carrying critical minerals to shore. President Kennedy had commissioned the undersea equivalent of the space program, tripling funding year over year. Then the death of an aquanaut, the Vietnam War, and Cold War classification buried that ambition. Fifty years later, we are still working with the same tools in the ocean. This episode of the a16z Show profiles three portfolio companies—Ulysses, Mariana Minerals, and Radiant—that are trying to finish what the 1960s started, rebuilding America’s capacity to operate in three hostile, neglected domains: the ocean, the mine, and the grid.
The Ocean as the Next Frontier
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:39) **Ulysses: Building the Ocean Company** - Founder Brian introduces Ulysses as a builder of autonomous surface and underwater robots for critical ocean tasks.
- 2 (03:40) **Why So Few Ocean Companies?** - Brian explains the historical and cultural reasons for the lack of ocean-focused startups compared to space or land robotics.
- 3 (07:55) **The China Question in the Undersea Domain** - Brian assesses the competitive landscape, arguing the US can still create a decisive advantage in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
- 4 (10:18) **The Revival of Seasteading** - Brian argues that seasteading is now tractable because the necessary enabling technologies have finally arrived.
- 5 (14:11) **Defending Subsea Infrastructure** - Brian describes the full-stack approach needed to protect vulnerable oil pipelines and internet cables from sabotage.
- 6 (15:34) **The Hamilton Society: A Social Institution for San Francisco** - Brian discusses founding the Hamilton Society as a reaction to San Francisco's tech social scene, aimed at fostering high-quality debate.
- 7 (20:08) **The Ultimate Vision for Ulysses** - Brian outlines the company's mission to drive abundance through ocean stewardship by creating a global network of autonomous vehicles.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
This week, a16z American Dynamism Films premiered three short documentaries highlighting companies tackling some of America's biggest industrial challenges: Ulysses, Mariana Materials, and Radiant. Before watching those films, we're revisiting conversations with the founders behind each company.
You'll hear Will O'Brien explain why autonomous underwater robots could unlock a new era of ocean exploration and security, Turner Caldwell discuss rebuilding America's critical minerals supply chain and modernizing mining, and Doug Bernauer share why portable nuclear microreactors could transform how we generate power. Together, these conversations offer a look at the technologies—and the founders—working to rebuild the industrial foundations of the United States.
Resources:
Follow Will O'Brien on X: https://x.com/Willob
Follow Turner Caldwell on X: https://x.com/tbc415
Follow Doug Bernauer on X: https://x.com/dougbernauer
Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://x.com/espricewright
Follow Ryan McEntush on X: https://x.com/rmcentush
Follow Theo Jaffee on X: https://x.com/theojaffee
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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