Sea Machines is the third maritime business model in DEPLOY's category: not a captive operator (Saildrone) and not a defense vessel-maker (Saronic), but the autonomy vendor, the pick-and-shovel of maritime autonomy that runs on other companies' hulls.
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The substance is verified: a real shipping product, class-society approval, and more than 200 systems delivered worldwide. The September 2025 SM300-NG adds class-approved hardware, full voyage control, and worldwide remote command.
Price
No reviewed price is on record. We do not treat unverified analyst estimates as pricing data. There is no published consumer price. Sea Machines is a B2B autonomy licensing business: it sells the autonomy brain (the SM300/SM200 retrofit kit) to vessel operators, not a consumer product, so DEPLOY records zero price points.
Availability
Internal use only
Sea Machines sells to vessel operators, not consumers. Its SM300/SM200 kits are installed on existing or new-build workboats from 10 to 300 feet in two days or less, with more than 200 systems delivered worldwide.
Real-world status
Sea Machines Robotics (Boston; founded by Michael Johnson) is the autonomy-system-vendor archetype of the maritime category: it makes the autonomy brain, not the boat. Its SM300 and SM200 autonomous-command systems are vessel-agnostic retrofit kits, so the customer owns and operates the hull while Sea Machines licenses the autonomy onto it. The September 2025 SM300-NG adds class-society-approved hardware, a 200-percent compute increase, full voyage control with collision avoidance and sensor fusion, and worldwide remote command, alongside an attritable SM300-SP defense variant. DEPLOY records it at commercial maturity on a real shipping product, class-society approval, and more than 200 systems delivered, and credits it with units delivered rather than sea-days, since its autonomy runs on other companies' hulls.
Cap-flag: the attritable SM300-SP defense variant's claim of more than 100 units a month is a stated production rate, not a verified one. DEPLOY credits Sea Machines with units delivered rather than sea-days, since its autonomy runs on hulls it does not own.
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There is no published consumer price. Sea Machines is a B2B autonomy licensing business selling to vessel operators, so DEPLOY records zero price points.
Maritime autonomy: Sea Machines vs Saildrone vs Saronic
Not as a consumer⊘absence. Sea Machines is a B2B autonomy vendor: it licenses the SM300/SM200 retrofit kit to vessel operators. No consumer price is published.
What is the SM300?
A vessel-agnostic autonomy retrofit kit installed in two days or less on workboats from 10 to 300 feet🟢verified. The customer owns the boat; Sea Machines supplies the autonomy brain.
How many Sea Machines systems are deployed?
More than 200 systems delivered worldwide🟢verified, credited as units delivered rather than sea-days, since the autonomy runs on other companies' hulls.
Does Sea Machines have a defense variant?
Yes, the attritable SM300-SP🟢verified. Its claimed production rate of more than 100 units a month is a stated figure🟠claimed, not verified.
How does Sea Machines compare to Saildrone and Saronic?
All three are commercial maritime autonomy, but Sea Machines is the autonomy vendor🟢verified (runs on others' hulls), while Saildrone is a captive data operator and Saronic sells defense USVs.
Pricing and availability are tagged verified or claimed against primary sources. Manufacturer targets are reported as targets, not prices you can pay today.