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Blueseed is a Palo Alto, California-based startup accelerator. It began as a seasteading venture.
The original idea of Blueseed was to create a startup community located on a vessel stationed in international waters near the coast of Silicon Valley in the United States. The initial 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 B visa (B1/B2) to travel to the mainland.
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 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, but later resumed services in 2020 after raising funds from investors. Moreover, the board decided to abandon the initial seaseeding venture in other to focus as a business incubator establishing its headquarters in California. Since then the company has spent over $10M in seed funding to develop startups. The company also give out grant to startups both within and outside the United States. It has also led a lot of serial funding for startups who are willing to scale up.
The stated motivations of the project included providing an entrepreneurial alternative to the Startup Visa Act and creating "a vibrant workplace for innovative industries to bloom, unencumbered by onerous regulations on new technology-sector businesses".
On November 30, 2011, venture capitalist Peter Thiel offered to lead Blueseed's seed financing round. The number of startups that expressed interest in locating on Blueseed grew from 31 on November 14, 2011, to 60 a month later, to over 100 by February 2012, 133 on May 7, 194 as of May 9, and 336 on December 13, 2012.
In March 2013, Blueseed announced the project's launch cost to be $27M, of which $9M was reserved for an existing investor.
On July 31, 2013, two years after its founding, Blueseed co-founder Marty announced that he was stepping down from his day-to-day activities at the company and taking the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dascalescu, the erstwhile CIO/CTO, became the COO of Blueseed, while Mutabdzija took the role of CEO.
Blueseed originally estimated a launch timeframe of Q3 2013. It revised its launch estimate to Q3-Q4 2014.
The project was put on hold due to lack of funding.
A Los Angeles Times article about Blueseed noted that another company called SeaCode, led by Roger Green and David Cook, had attempted something similar in the past but had to put the project aside because they were unable to raise enough money to launch.
Following the precedent set by the cruise shipping industry, the Blueseed ship would have flown the flag of an open registry country such as Marshall Islands or The Bahamas, which would determine the de jure laws applying on board.
Businesses that are generally illegal in the United States, such as gambling or prostitution, would have been forbidden on the ship.
History
Blueseed was co-founded in July 2011 by Max Marty and Dario Mutabdzija, who had worked together at The Seasteading Institute as Directors of Business Strategy and Legal Strategy, respectively. Blueseed's CIO/CTO (later COO), Dan Dascalescu, who joined the company shortly after its incorporation, is also an ambassador for the Seasteading Institute.
Origins of the idea
Blueseed co-founder Marty claims that the idea of Blueseed came to him while on a Reason Cruise in February 2011.
Logistics
Blueseed planned to either convert a cruise ship or remodel a hotel barge in order to provide living accommodations, coworking space, and entertainment facilities for approximately 1,000 customers paying an average of USD 1500 in monthly rent (ranging between $1200 and $3000, and combined with a small equity stake). The vessel would be stationed 12 from the coast of California, near the port of Half Moon Bay, and would have a crew of 200-300. The location was to be situated outside the territorial waters of the United States of America; the founders considered that it would thus not be subject to US immigration laws. Internet connectivity would have been provided via a point-to-point microwave link, submarine communications cable or a laser link.
Legality
The Blueseed ship planned to be stationed in the contiguous zone outside the territorial waters of the United States. The theory was that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would allow the ship to be present as long as it did not engage in the exploitation of natural resources, and exhibited no intent of infringing on the customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations of the United States.
Reception
Fox News anchor Melissa Francis called Blueseed a "genius idea".
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