The Unexplored Depths of Our Oceans
The vast majority of our knowledge about the ocean only scratches the surface. We’ve amassed a considerable amount of data from satellites, but this information primarily pertains to the surface layer of the water. The picture becomes much murkier as we delve beneath the surface.
Recent additions to our understanding of the ocean depths have come from buoys, ships, and autonomous rovers, but this data is relatively sparse compared to the wealth of information we have about the surface. This lack of comprehensive deep-sea data is a source of frustration for a variety of stakeholders, from fishermen and the Coast Guard to meteorologists and offshore wind developers.
Challenges in Gathering Underwater Ocean Data
Ravi Pappu, founder and CEO of Apeiron Labs, shared with TechCrunch the difficulties of getting data about the sub-surface ocean. “It’s really slow. You need a ship that costs $100,000 a day, [and] evaporates slowly. Everything is an expedition,” he stated.
Pappu has a unique perspective on this problem, having previously served as CTO of In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the CIA. During his tenure, he repeatedly noticed the persistent lack of ocean data, which motivated him to found Apeiron Labs in 2022.
Apeiron Labs’ Solution
Apeiron Labs seeks to fill these data gaps by constructing low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that traverse the water column from the surface to the seafloor, sampling temperature, salinity and acoustics once or twice a day. The company sells to both civilian and military customers, according to Pappu.
The startup recently secured a $9.5 million Series A funding round led by Dyne Ventures, RA Capital Management Planetary Health, and S2G Investments. Assembly Ventures, Bay Bridge Ventures, and TFX Capital also participated in the round.
The AUVs developed by Apeiron Labs are three feet long, five inches in diameter, and weigh just over 20 pounds. They can be deployed from boats or planes, and conveniently fit into the US Navy’s existing launch equipment. Once in the water, the AUV connects to a cloud-based operating system, where it stores collected data.
Operational Details and Future Plans
As the AUV dives, the operating system uses models of the ocean to predict where it will surface. Upon resurfacing and reconnecting to the operating system, the cloud-based software integrates the newly obtained data to refine its models. The AUVs are deployed 10 to 20 km apart, forming a network that captures data with higher resolution than ship-based efforts.
Apeiron Labs plans to deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of its AUVs to a broad range of customers. The Pentagon could use them to detect submarines off the US coast, while fisheries might find more detailed data on the temperature and salinity of key fishing areas useful. The goal is to achieve continuous monitoring in critical ocean areas.
Pappu claims that at Apeiron’s current scale, the cost of ocean data has been reduced by a factor of 100. He aims to further reduce it by a factor of 1,000, a goal he believes Apeiron can achieve next year. Drawing a parallel to the field of space exploration, Pappu proudly proclaims, “We see ourselves as the CubeSat of the ocean.”
Note: The initial report of Apeiron raising $29 million was incorrect. The correct figure is $9.5 million.
Source: Here
