Case Study: Saildrone achieves growth for ocean data innovation with Silicon Valley Bank

Saildrone scales ocean drones with Silicon Valley Bank’s $20.6M financing

Saildrone, Inc., a company developing wind and solar-powered ocean drones, sought to finance its capital-intensive operations to provide comprehensive ocean data solutions. Their challenge was securing the funding necessary for growth and equipment acquisition at different stages of their development. Silicon Valley Bank provided the financial partnership and tailored solutions needed to meet this challenge.

Silicon Valley Bank implemented a relationship-based approach, supporting Saildrone with a series of financial solutions including a $3 million venture debt loan, a $20 million equipment term loan, and over $20 million in equipment and hardware-as-a-service lending. This partnership enabled Saildrone to scale its operations, resulting in its drones sailing nearly one million nautical miles and spending over twenty-thousand days at sea gathering critical climate and ocean mapping data for major organizations like NOAA, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Saildrone, Inc