Nauticus Robotics Goes Public Via SPAC Merger
Nauticus Robotics is merging with CleanTech Acquisition, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company says the deal is valued at $560 million.
CleanTech Acquisition is currently listed on NASDAQ. Once the merger is approved, the combined company will be called Nauticus Robotics and will continue trading on the exchange under the new ticker KITT.
Formerly known as Houston Mechatronics, Nauticus develops surface and underwater robots that perform various ocean tasks, including transportation, data collection, equipment maintenance and much more.
Nauticus's first product, Aquanaut, is an underwater robot designed both to collect ocean data over long distances and to perform precise manipulation of the underwater environment at close range. It serves government, defense and other commercial industry sectors.
Many robotics companies went public or announced plans to go public via SPAC in 2021. The list includes Aurora Innovation, Berkshire Grey, Bright Machines, Memic, Sarcos Robotics, Symbotic and Vicarious Surgical. Autonomous trucking company Plus abandoned its SPAC merger due to regulatory issues in China.
Nauticus estimates its 2021 revenue at about $8.2 million. The company said revenue will more than double in 2022, based on current contract orders. Its robots are available mainly through a Robotics as a Service (RaaS) business model, but the company is open to strategic partnerships and one-time sales.
The expected gross cash proceeds for the combined company are projected to consist of $174.2 million in trust from CleanTech and approximately $73 million from a fully private investment in public equity (PIPE Investment).
After the deal closes, CleanTech's public shareholders are expected to retain 33% of the combined company's shares, while Nauticus shareholders will own approximately 53%. The remaining 14% will be split between PIPE Investment investors and holders of CleanTech's founder shares. These figures do not include earnout shares worth $75 million.
“The enthusiasm and conviction of our team at Nauticus have helped create a truly revolutionary and innovative company in the ocean space, and we are eager to take the next step in our growth trajectory as a public company. A core part of our team has been together, first at NASA and now at Nauticus, for 15 to 20 years, and I am inspired by their tireless pursuit of this dream. Their talent and effort are unmatched, and I am very proud of what we have and what we will achieve”
According to him, the ocean will be the epicenter of the company's fight against climate change, and the marine and ocean services industry marks the beginning of a major technological revolution to combat it. To this end, Nauticus has brought to market a set of products and services that can significantly affect customers' cost profile, carbon footprint and safety by reducing dependence on expensive, carbon-intensive onshore assets that have traditionally serviced many segments of this industry.
“We believe Nauticus's RaaS model has the potential for high returns as it operates in the market. The high level of partners and investors Nauticus has attracted, including major clients in the offshore industry, is impressive, and we believe it validates their technology and solutions. Personally, it was a great pleasure to get to know Nick and work with him. He is a true leader and has inspired all of us at CleanTech throughout this deal”
Radford's and the entire Nauticus leadership team will continue to lead the combined company. Radford spoke at RoboBusiness Direct 2020 in a session titled "Opportunities for Commercial Unmanned Maritime Systems." He described the growing opportunities for unmanned maritime systems and highlighted the challenges of developing them.
Nauticus's Main Products:
- Aquanaut is an underwater robot that is as versatile as it is environmentally friendly. It can manage aquaculture projects, repair oil pipelines and scan the seabed, all without risking human lives. The device runs entirely on electricity.
- Hydronaut is where marine mobility meets robotics. It can be operated remotely. It can swim autonomously. It can transport goods and equipment from one place to another and even launch other robots at sea. The entire device can do all of this without a human present.
- Olympic Arm is fully electric strength and intelligence. It is difficult for humans to work underwater. For Olympic Arm, any complex underwater task poses no difficulty. The device can lift heavy objects and easily manipulate small parts. It is smart enough to work autonomously, or it can be controlled by someone even from a long distance.
- HaloGuard is a comprehensive monitoring solution that works with modern Orb cameras and Resource Gateway intelligent software. With HaloGuard, you can configure a monitoring device with the broad coverage and settings you need. Patented 3D scanning technology provides unmatched surveillance and detection capabilities for security zones, warning zones and restricted zones.
- Nauticus Software Suite is a software package that serves as the brain for every division, issuing instructions for processing and analyzing returned data. Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, Nauticus Software Suite only gets smarter over time.
