SEEDING THE BLUE ECONOMY

From AI-powered coral-reef monitoring to an AI-enabled finance platform for ocean farmers, Seaworthy Collective showcases the inaugural cohort of its $14M NOAA Ocean Enterprise Accelerators partnership

Photo Courtesy of Seaworthy Collective

For the past five years, Seaworthy Collective has been bringing together what it calls Sea Change Makers — a growing community of entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators who believe ocean solutions should be open, inclusive, and accessible.

Now, the Miami-based nonprofit is entering a new chapter through a $14 million partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the launch of its sixth startup cohort.

This new initiative, known as The Continuum, is a national network of ocean-enterprise accelerators designed to fast-track solutions that leverage ocean data to better heal, understand, and sustain our blue planet. It connects seven partners — from Florida’s Gulf Coast to California, — but its beating heart is unmistakably Miami.

“The Continuum is the culmination of intentional design and collaboration; built around years of feedback and demonstrated needs across the hundreds of entrepreneurs we’ve collectively supported,” says Daniel Kleinman, Seaworthy’s Founder and CEO.

"Our model will more effectively mobilize shared networks, resources, and opportunities to break down the systemic barriers keeping much-needed resilience solutions from getting to market."

Photo Courtesy of Seaworthy Collective

From Coral Collective to SkyWind Solutions

The Blue Economy is experiencing an unprecedented investment surge, with venture capital funding reaching $2.4 billion in 2024 — a tenfold increase over the past decade. While traditional industries such as shipping and ports still command the lion’s share, emerging sectors like ocean observation, marine robotics, AI-driven monitoring systems, and blue renewable energy are rapidly gaining traction.

Within this global momentum, Seaworthy Collective stands out for its community-driven and collaborative model.

Since its founding in 2020, Seaworthy Collective has supported 100 founders across 50 startups, helping raise more than $25 million for blue economy ventures. Yet its greatest success may be harder to quantify: a vibrant community of over 2,500 ocean advocates — from entrepreneurs and investors to artists and educators — all aligned around a single purpose.

This year, the Miami-based accelerator is supporting seven pioneering ocean startups — including one startup that is co-created — building solutions to expand ocean observation, measurement, and forecasting capacity, or deliver operational ocean information products and services. The ventures were selected from a highly competitive nationwide pool, with less than 10% accepted into the program.

“This first cohort of startups under our NOAA partnerships are  demonstrating the ascending value and developing market for ocean data — from automating coral-reef health assessments to developing high-resolution tidal forecasts and new financial tools for coastal resilience,” adds Daniel.

Seaworthy Collective at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, Nice, France

Among the sixth cohort is Coral Collective, founded by Annalee Herrera in Waianae, Hawai‘i — an AI-powered platform that transforms community-driven coral-reef monitoring into scalable, actionable insights. By merging citizen science with data analytics, it gives local conservationists real-time tools to protect their reefs.

In Honolulu, Allison Rowe’s Kelp Cover is pioneering affordable insurance for ocean farmers through an AI-enabled finance platform backed by blue nature credits, bringing financial resilience to those on the front lines of ocean restoration.

In Florida, Roberto Lama’s Endur Inc. in West Palm Beach is reshaping the marine-permitting process by integrating real-time data, predictive analytics, and compliance automation — a potential game-changer for industries that depend on streamlined approvals for restoration projects.

In Tampa, Nithesh “Waz” Wazenn and his team at DOLGO are transforming the tacit expertise of field engineers into shared institutional knowledge — building the experience infrastructure for the ocean workforce of the future.

Further north in Boca Raton, Bonnie Schneider’s SkyWind Solutions is delivering AI-powered, hyperlocal forecasts for total coastal water levels — addressing sea-level-rise impacts and even forecasting red-tide conditions with striking precision.

On the Pacific Coast, Vital Ocean, co-founded by Joi Danielson, Vincent Kneefel, Luke Dallafior, Vlad Shifrin, and Madhu Reddiboina in Portland, Oregon, is using artificial intelligence and digital twins to decode the ocean’s complexity and accelerate recovery and resilience efforts.

Rounding out the cohort is a new co-created venture — to be revealed at the Fall Startup Showcase — co-founded by Sandra Fogg, an aspiring innovator whose deep-rooted love for the sea has guided a career spanning marine ecology, aquaculture, and coastal resilience.

 Sixth Cohort in Miami|Photo Courtesy of Seaworthy Collective

Full participation in the program comes at no cost to founders. Scholarships are fully funded through the NOAA partnership, allowing startups to focus fully on impact and innovation without paying any fees or equity.

“Our new partnership adds even more resources and connections, while keeping Seaworthy’s personal, mission-driven spirit,” notes Tamara Kahn Zissman, Seaworthy’s Director of Founder Success.

The three-month Ocean Enterprise Studio and Incubator connects founders to Seaworthy’s global ecosystem — a network of 250 mentors and collaborators, along with grantors and investors managing over $2 billion in combined assets. Participants gain access to tailored mentorship, business-growth tools, grant support, and high-visibility opportunities.

“As a co-lead of The Continuum, Seaworthy takes great pride in not only supporting this sixth cohort of changemaking startups but also building a new standard for collaborative acceleration in ocean innovation,” Daniel adds.  

“This milestone marks our founding vision coming full circle — proving that Miami can be a global hub for solutions that regenerate our ocean and our planet.”

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