Blueseed
Blueseed was a Silicon Valley-based startup company and a seasteading venture to create a startup community located on a vessel stationed in international waters near the coast of Silicon Valley in the United States. The intended location (outside the territorial seas of the United States, 12 nautical miles (24 kilometers) from the coast of California, in the so-called "contiguous zone") would enable non-U.S. startup entrepreneurs to work on their ventures without the need for a US work visa (H1B), while living in proximity to Silicon Valley and using relatively easier to obtain business and tourism visas (B1/B2) to travel to the mainland.
Architectural drawing of two Blueseed "habitat units" at sea | |
Company type | Private |
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Genre | Startup incubator |
Founded | July 31, 2011 (incorporated March 29, 2012 as Blueseed, Inc.) |
Founder |
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Headquarters | Palo Alto, California |
Key people |
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Number of employees | 3 |
Website | blueseed |
The project received wide media coverage and the promise of funding from venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who also supports the Seasteading Institute, who ultimately did not invest in the seed round. Blueseed later obtained US$300,000 in seed funding, Bitcoin investments, and $9M from an undisclosed investor, and claimed plans to lease a ship for its platform. The launch was planned for summer 2014, assuming that $18M more would be raised.
Blueseed went on hold due to insufficient funding in 2013.