Rhode Island home to 10th annual Blue Innovation Symposium
by Blue Venture Forum 5 Feb 2025 06:34 PST
February 10-13, 2025
Blue Innovation Symposium © Blue Venture Forum
Blue Venture Forum's (BVF) 10th Annual Blue Innovation Symposium is all set for February 10-13, 2025, at the Wyndham Newport Hotel in Middletown, Rhode Island.
The Symposium brings together leaders from the marine and oceanographic investment world with key industry stakeholders from the public and private sector.
"It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since we started," says Toby Stapleton, BVF's Director and Co-Founder. "We've seen several new products launched directly through conference involvement, and many startups have found investments and key initiatives have been announced at the conference as well. Our partnership with the Consulate General of Canada has also helped us connect dozens of US-based organizations with their Canadian counterparts; this had led to new investments, commercial partnerships and the development of new research opportunities."
The Symposium has grown into one of the largest blue technology conferences in the United States; its first editions featured about 65 attendees and has grown to feature 340+ this year. The event attracts a diverse audience including industry leaders, startup founders, investors and key professionals from research organizations, resource providers and government.
"The Symposium is one of the must attend events for startups like mine," says Ian Estephan Owen, CEO & Co-Founder of Jaia Robotics. "It gives us the opportunity to increase brand awareness through flash talks, affordable sponsorship and exhibit booth. Jaia has been a supporter of BIS since we launched in 2021 - we've really benefitted from the support Toby and the BVF team has given us with new business opportunities, new investors and wider industry connections."
In addition to Jaia, key participants this year include the Boston-based Consulate General of Canada, the Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC), DTN Ventures, Boston Engineering Corp., MITRE Corp., Commerce RI, Kraken Robotics, the New Bedford Ocean Cluster, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Flux Marine, VATN Systems and Roger Williams University.
"The Symposium has led to increased awareness in our space which is catalytic and inspiring," says Ben Sorkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Flux Marine. "The event pulls together like-minded individuals and groups that support each other on a variety of levels. It also gives us an unparalled way to showcase our electric propulsion technology, connect with investors and customers, and support peer companies through shared experiences."
This year's conference will discuss several topics of interest to the industry, including how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to enable the collection and analysis of data for several different use cases. The event also showcases over 16 start-ups who are hoping to raise investment, engage with strategic partners, and identify opportunities for demonstration.
"Networking is still at the heart of what we do. We make sure that we develop a program that affords plenty of time for mingling and meeting with exhibitors," says Stapleton.
For further information about all aspects conference, go to blueinnovationsymposium.com