We are thrilled to have partnered with REGENT, joining their $60M Series A, alongside 8090 Industries, Founders Fund, Mark Cuban, Point72 and Lockheed Martin. The new money will help Co-Founders, Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker, deliver a full-scale seaglider prototype, bringing us one step closer to a new, 100% electric mode of transportation.
Seagliders are a new mode of transportation that enables fast, affordable, zero-emission travel along coastal routes. Coupling several advanced technologies, seagliders operate like a boat that takes off from wave-tolerant hydrofoils and flies within one wing-span of the surface over open water. They reach cruise speeds of up to 180 mph while traveling up to 180 miles on a single charge.
REGENT demonstrated this unique “float, foil, fly” mission with a subscale prototype in 2022, marking the first time a vehicle has successfully combined the wave tolerance of a foil with the speed of a wing. The company’s next major milestone will be to achieve crewed flight with its full-scale prototype, which it plans to do next year.
“Decarbonisation of regional transport is critical in combatting climate change, but it’s not easy. You need founders and engineers with the vision and execution to build real hardware solutions capable of changing how we live. That’s why Alex Shadbolt and I are excited to come on board with Billy [Thalmeier, Co-Founder] and Mike [Klinker, Co-Founder] to transform our coastal communities and redefine marine transport.”
This marks the 6th investment from Future Planet Capitals’s Blue Economy strategy. We look forward to working with REGENT to achieve crewed flight in 2024 and certifying, manufacturing and delivering seagliders to customers by mid-decade.
As seen in TechCrunch.