Vatn- Why We Invested

For centuries, the ocean has been a domain of isolation, a vast, opaque expanse where humanity struggles to project presence. But as Jules Verne presciently imagined, the deep is not empty; it is waiting to be awakened and explored. At Airbus Ventures, we invest in the architects of the future who do not merely iterate on existing paradigms but rewrite the fundamental rules of their industries. From the edge of space to the depths of the ocean, we seek out founders capable of delivering planetary scale impact. We believe Vatn Systems is building the definitive platform for the next era of maritime autonomy and intelligence. The global maritime order is facing a critical deficit in underwater mass, and the ability to project presence and sensing across millions of square miles of ocean without risking high value manned assets. Recent geopolitical and technological shifts have demonstrated that the traditional reliance on exquisite, expensive platforms is being challenged by the asymmetry of cost. We have seen this pattern in space, where small satellites disrupted large monolithic systems, in air, where low cost drones and attritable systems reshaped modern security architectures. Both these shifts displayed how resilience through low cost scale enabled new capabilities, and now in the sea. In order to maintain security and resiliency, the future naval fleet must be networked and scalable. Enter Vatn Systems, which has emerged as the answer to this challenge; by fusing advanced materials, novel propulsion, and a breakthrough approach to navigation, Vatn is delivering truly scalable autonomous underwater vehicles. Succeeding in underwater autonomy requires navigating a complex physical environment where GPS is unavailable and communication is constrained. For the past century, a key challenge in maritime sensing has been balancing precision with accessibility. Vatn is addressing this by evolving beyond a reliance on solitary, high-cost platforms toward integrated, resilient networks that offer greater flexibility and coverage. Vatn has overcome this barrier by vertically integrating its own proprietary navigation solution, INStinct. In the GPS-denied depths, vehicles rely on inertial navigation to estimate position based on movement alone. Historically, this required calibrated fiber optic gyroscopes costing upwards of $100,000 per unit. Vatn has shattered this cost curve by developing a microelectronic mechanical sensor based inertial navigation system that fuses silicon photonics with advanced error correction algorithms.This breakthrough delivers the precision and shock tolerance of traditional performance at a fraction of the legacy cost, making the economics of underwater autonomous networks more viable. This navigation capability powers Vatn’s flagship vehicle families: Skelmir for defense and Torsk for commercial use. Unlike traditional AUVs that are hand-built for research, Vatn designed its product from the ground up for mass production and rapid configurability. The line includes the man-portable Skelmir S6 and the endurance-focused Skelmir S12. With ranges exceeding 200 nautical miles and a modular bulkhead design, these vehicles allow operators to swap payloads in the field, so the platform evolves as fast as the mission does. The true force multiplier is Vatn’s collaborative autonomy software, which allows a single operator to seamlessly oversee an entire network of assets. Constant human control is impossible to scale in the constrained underwater domain. Vatn’s software enables complex swarming behaviors where vehicles share data, coordinate movements, and distribute sensor webs autonomously. By combining attritable, high performance hardware with intelligent software, Vatn isn't just building a better drone, they are establishing a new standard for maritime presence and persistent awareness. At the core of our conviction in Vatn is a founding team that balances technical ambition with operational pragmatism. Co-founders Nelson and Freddie Mills, bring a combination of venture expertise and "saltwater reality." Nelson embodies this duality; he is a rare operator who draws on both his experience in venture capital and leading hull development for electric boats keeps the company grounded in engineering reality. Freddie brings deep domain knowledge built from years as a captain and managing maritime logistics and composites integration at Mills Composites & Salvage. This founder DNA is amplified by a leadership team that brings specialized domain expertise to the table. CTO Geoff Manchester brings mechanical engineering expertise, and a track record with hydrofoiling electric boats providing the specific hydrodynamic expertise required for Vatn. The commercial roadmap is guided by CRO Dan Hendrix, a former Special Forces Dive Unit Commander. We are thrilled to back this team as they scale. By combining the speed of a startup with the rigor of a new defense prime, Vatn Systems is building the infrastructure for a secure ocean - so that we will know who and what is stirring on all sides. Welcome to the portfolio, Vatn Systems. By Mike Walsh