Eric Laakmann helped launch three generations of the Apple Watch. Then he sailed 30,000 nautical miles to New Zealand and ended up staying. Now he runs Vessev, an Auckland company building electric ferries that fly.
Who is behind it
Vessev was founded in Auckland in 2017. CTO Max Olson is an Aucklander who previously co-founded Halter, the cattle collar company. Laakmann, born in Seattle, is co-founder and CEO.
How it works
The VS-9 rides on carbon fibre foils. Once it gets up to speed, the hull lifts clean out of the water, so there is far less drag. Less drag means a battery can actually carry a ferry a useful distance.
- 10 passengers
- 25 knots, about 46km/h
- Up to 50 nautical miles (around 90km) of range
- More than 11,000 nautical miles logged across New Zealand and Australia
One VS-9 already runs commercially with Fullers360 in Auckland, which Vessev describes as the world’s first certified electric hydrofoil in a commercial ferry fleet.
The raise
Vessev raised NZ$32.6M (reported as about A$27M) in a Series A led by Blackbird. GD1 and Rypples came in as new investors, alongside existing backers including K1W1 and Icehouse Ventures. The plan is to build a VS-9 every five weeks by 2027.
Where it goes next
Sydney, Perth and Hobart all have projects underway. In Hobart, Fly Derwent has reportedly doubled its order to 10 vessels. The first US customer is at Lake Tahoe.
My read
Electric cars got all the attention, but boats burn a lot of fuel for the distance they cover. Lifting the hull out of the water is the trick that makes batteries work on a ferry. It is a Kiwi company selling into Australian harbours and the US, and that is the kind of export story ANZ needs more of.