Gander raises $1.1 million to build search and rescue robots
Current rescue protocols depend on human reaction time, visual searches and manual deployment of rescue swimmers, a process measured in minutes or hours when every second counts. Gander Robotics’ Autonomous Rescue Swimmer (ARS) is designed to change that equation.
Gander Robotics, a US-based defense and dual-use robotics company developing autonomous rescue systems for maritime operations, has announced it has closed a USD 1.1 million pre-seed funding round to help mitigate the maritime industry’s “man-overboard” crisis.
The round was co-led by Impellent Ventures and Underscore VC, marking Gander’s official launch, according to a press release.
In the US Navy, the survival rate for personnel who fall overboard is just 28 percent. In the cruise line industry, it drops to 17 percent. Current rescue protocols depend on human reaction time, visual searches, and manual deployment of rescue swimmers, a process measured in minutes or hours when every second counts.
Gander Robotics’ flagship product, the Autonomous Rescue Swimmer (ARS), is designed to change that equation. The ARS is hand-tossed in a man-overboard event, uses AI-powered sonar to locate victims even in low-visibility and rough-water conditions, and delivers a three-part rescue package: an auto-inflating flotation device to secure the victim, a high-visibility flare for position signaling, and an RF transmitter for continuous location tracking, the press release said.
“Every sailor and mariner in the world knows the fear of a man-overboard call,” said Michael Autery, CEO and Founder of Gander Robotics. “I built this company because this problem hits home for me, and I know we can do better. Our technology is a fundamentally new approach to saving lives at sea.”
“The military’s non-kinetic challenges — search and rescue, logistics, safety — are among the most underfunded and under-innovated areas in the entire defense ecosystem,” said Phil Beauregard, Partner at Impellent Ventures. “Gander is going directly at that gap, and the reception from the Coast Guard and Navy has made clear that the need is real and urgent.”
“We see Gander Robotics as a platform for maritime autonomy that starts with rescue but extends to the entire ‘non-kinetic’ defense space,” said Lily Lyman, Managing Partner at Underscore VC.
