The Ocean Company - Ulysses | a16z American Dynamism
a16z-backed Ulysses builds underwater robots for defense, infrastructure, and ocean restoration driven by AI supercycle demand
“AI super cycle is increasing demand for subcables. It's increasing demand for critical minerals. It's increasing demand for energy. These are all things which the ocean is a primary resource for.”
a16z's American Dynamism portfolio company Ulysses builds autonomous underwater vehicles, originally for ecosystem restoration but now targeting defense, offshore industry, and AI infrastructure dependencies like undersea cables and critical minerals. The company frames the AI supercycle as a demand driver for ocean robotics, citing supply constraints rather than demand as their bottleneck. The AI angle is indirect — Ulysses is downstream infrastructure for AI's energy and connectivity needs, not an AI product itself.