Deeptech start-up Bubble Robotics has announced a US $ 5 million pre-seed round to deploy persistent autonomous systems that transform offshore operations and ocean monitoring.

While satellites have revolutionised understanding of space and the planet’ s surface, the underwater world remains comparatively opaque, expensive to monitor and operationally dangerous.

A new generation of start-ups is attempting to change that equation and among the most ambitious is Swiss-based Bubble Robotics, a deeptech company emerging from stealth with a bold vision: to build a persistent, autonomous workforce for the ocean.

Founded in 2025 by robotics engineers Jean Crosetti and Patricia Apostol, Bubble Robotics has announced a US $ 5 million pre-seed funding round led by Episode 1 Ventures and Asterion Ventures, with participation from Norrsken Evolve and several prominent industry operators.

The company’ s mission is straightforward but transformative – replace vessel-based offshore operations with intelligent robotic systems capable of living and working at sea continuously, without human crews.

At the heart of Bubble’ s approach is a simple observation: today’ s offshore operations are fundamentally inefficient. Whether inspecting subsea cables, maintaining offshore wind turbines or monitoring marine ecosystems, most missions still rely on ships, specialised crews and heavy equipment.

These operations can cost up to US $ 100,000 per day, limiting their frequency and scalability. As a result, vast portions of critical infrastructure and ocean environments remain under-monitored, with data collected only intermittently.

“ The current model is episodic,” Crosetti said.“ You send a vessel out, gather data and then leave. But the ocean is dynamic. Important changes happen between those missions, and we simply don’ t see them.”

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