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| Sea Bubbles wants to be the Umber for waterborne charge |
When our streets become too congested, why not take to the open water to get around? Sea Bubbles
is a startup that aims to revolutionize waterborne transportation
through fleets of sleek, hydrofoil-equipped shuttles designed to make
city travel more convenient, leisurely, and sustainable.
Think of them as futuristic water taxis. Alain Bathsheba
and Anders Bridal, a sailor and windsurfer respectively, started the
company seven months ago and have already raised $500,000, with a goal
of raising $1 million more by next year. Backers include the founder of
drone-maker Parrot, Par tech Ventures, and the French government-backed
BPI fund. The founders hope to have a prototype to show off at next
year’s CES, and are aiming to have over a dozen vessels in the River
Seine in Paris by summer 2017.
“We have cities stuck in traffic jams, there’s pollution
everywhere, and we’ve got something that could actually help this,” Bridal said over drinks at a Manhattan club last week. “We have a boat
that is green, it leaves no noise, it leaves no waves.
Sea Bubbles’ electric-powered shuttles will be made of
fiberglass and high-density foam, with linen interiors. The foils
affixed to the hulls reduce the amount of drag, allowing the “bubbles”
to travel as fast as 30 mph in water around a city. They will be able to
carry up to five passengers and a driver, though Bridal and Bathsheba
hope to eventually have a self-driving system. Specially designed docks
would also serve as charging stations. The vessels will be hailed by
smartphone app like Tuber, with whom the founders say they’ve spoken to
about possibly partnering up. Paris Mayor Anne Homicidal is also a
supporter, they say.
Sea Bubbles faces enormous financial and regulatory
challenges. Bridal and Bathsheba have to build a working prototype, woo
investors, convince city officials to allow them to operate in their
waterways, and build an app for passengers. Umber just built an app. Sea Bubbles will have to create an entire transportation network from
scratch.
Bridal and Bathsheba know a thing or two about
high-speed sea travel. In 2009, they broke the record for speed on a
floating sailboat they designed called the Hydrophone. (The vessel was later abandoned in Hawaii, and then finally sold this year.)
The founders admit they may have to start small — fleets
sold to island resorts or for corporate use — before they can realize
their dream of Sea Bubbles servicing cities like Paris or New York.
“It is not that complicated. The boatyards are there that
can build them, the docks are quite easy to build, the app is already
there if we chose to work with Umber,” Bridal said. “If everything we
say we do, there will be an explosion.”