Saronic Rethinks the Idea of the Shipyard for an Autonomous Future

A vessel-autonomy company led by a management team of Navy, Tesla and SpaceX veterans plans to start its own U.S. shipyard with $600 million in venture-capital financing – and it has the cash in hand. Austin-based Saronic is planning the most ambitious infrastructure venture in autonomous navigation in the West, and it hopes to bypass shipyard labor constraints through advanced automation. 

Saronic’s primary client is the U.S. Navy, and to date, Saronic’s vessel classes have been at the small end. It has models measurin…