Apeiron Labs is building low-cost vehicles that travel 400 meters up and down the water column (the vertical section of ocean from surface to seafloor), sampling temperature, salinity, and acoustics once or twice per day. Apeiron currently sells to both civilian and defense customers, Pappu said.
To build more of its autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), Apeiron Labs recently closed a $9.5 million Series A round led by Dyne Ventures, RA Capital Management Planetary Health, and S2G Investments, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Assembly Ventures, Bay Bridge Ventures, and TFX Capital participated.
At three feet long, five inches in diameter, and just over 20 pounds, the startup’s AUVs can be deployed from boats or airplanes. Not coincidentally, they also fit into the U.S. Navy’s existing launch equipment. Once the AUV hits the water, it gets its bearings and connects to a cloud-based operating system, where it logs its data.