Nauticus Robotics Become a Publicly Traded Company Via Merger with CleanTech Acquisition Corp.

Nauticus Robotics, Inc., a Houston-based developer of cloud-based surface and subsea robots, software, and associated services, and CleanTech Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: CLAQ), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in Nauticus becoming a publicly listed company.




Upon closing of the transaction, CLAQ will be renamed Nauticus Robotics, Inc. and is expected to remain listed on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol “KITT” (the “Combined Company”).

Nauticus develops revolutionary cloud-based autonomy software to enable a smarter and more sustainable ocean industry using its fleet of autonomous robots from the surface to the seabed. These robots are enabled by the Nauticus Software Suite, a platform of AI/ML technologies designed to disrupt the legacy methods in the marine industry. Its first product offering, Aquanaut, is the world’s first tetherless underwater robot capable of robust decision making for both long distance ocean data collection and close-in dexterous manipulation of the subsea environment, supporting government & defense and other commercial industry sectors. Nauticus’ software, robots, and services provide customers the necessary data collection, analytics, and subsea manipulation capabilities to support and maintain assets, while significantly reducing their operational and carbon footprints to improve offshore health, safety, and environmental exposure.

Nauticus operates in the $2.5 trillion ocean economy where it targets the rapidly expanding multibillion dollar bluetech robotics, data, and services market with a disruptive product offering. Some incumbent solutions utilize large vessels that can have severe drawbacks, including operating costs that can reach as high as $100,000 per day with large fuel emissions of up to 70 metric tons of CO2 per day and largely utilize antiquated, maintenance-heavy, hydraulic machines with little to no advanced technologies. In contrast, Nauticus’ expected service pricing would save customers over 50% compared to traditional methods while eliminating nearly the entire greenhouse gas emissions with a significant reduction in required onsite personnel needs.

The Company’s estimated revenues in 2021 are approximately $8.2 million, with strong visibility to achieve robust growth in subsequent years, including currently contracted orders that would more than double revenue in 2022. Nauticus’ robotic systems and services will be delivered to commercial and government-facing customers primarily through a Robotics as a Service (RaaS) business model but could also include strategic partnerships for unit sales. The strong unit economics of the RaaS model target long-term corporate EBITDA margins of approximately 60%. Nauticus Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Nicolaus Radford and the current management team will continue to lead the Combined Company.

Radford said: “The passion and conviction of our team at Nauticus has fueled the creation of a truly disruptive 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 substantial core of our team has been together, first starting at NASA and now at Nauticus for 15 to 20 years and I am inspired by their relentless pursuit toward this dream. Their talent and efforts are second to none and I could not be prouder of what we have and will accomplish. The ocean will be the epicenter in our fight against climate change and the offshore ocean services industry has signaled the beginning of a major technology revolution to combat it. Toward that end, we have brought to market a suite of products and services that can make a significant impact on our customers’ cost profile, carbon footprint, and safety by reducing the reliance on costly and carbon intensive surface assets that traditionally service the many sectors of this industry.”

Eli Spiro, CEO of CLAQ, commented: “CLAQ was created to find a great business that has a positive impact on the world’s carbon footprint. We set a high bar for ourselves and could not be more impressed with Nic and the entire Nauticus team. We believe Nauticus’ RaaS model has the potential for strong returns while operating in a market in dire need of disruption. The high caliber of partners and investors Nauticus has attracted, including blue-chip customers in the offshore industry, is impressive and we believe this validates their technology and solution. On a personal note, it has been a tremendous pleasure to get to know and work with Nic – he’s a true leader and has been an inspiration to all of us at CleanTech throughout this transaction.”


Location: Houston, TX, USA & New York, NY, USA