TONOMUS, a world-leading technology enterprise powering the world’s first ecosystem of cognitive technologies at NEOM, is partnering with WAVE to offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity for purpose-driven entrepreneurs—and our oceans.
Water covers 71% of our planet and is a vital resource for all forms of life. In a world threatened by rising sea levels and disappearing shorelines, we want your help to pioneer innovative solutions that harness technology to restore, rebalance, and regenerate our oceans for generations to come.
Submit idea or ventureBig challenges create even bigger opportunities. Overfishing, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction have debilitated our oceans and their regenerative ability. But through technology, we can develop solutions that help revive damaged marine environments and their communities, protect them from future harm—and even discover new ocean-based business models that catalyze economic growth.
Whether you’re an aspiring or established entrepreneur, an early-stage startup, or a researcher, we invite you to apply to our venture competition. Winning teams will be invited to join the TONOMUS Venture Studio, where you’ll receive resources and support from Silicon Valley experts as you launch your new venture—and also gain the chance to test your idea with TONOMUS.
Submit idea or ventureTo help promote global ocean regeneration, we’re focusing on five key impact goals that closely align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for marine resources. The most competitive venture submissions will apply to one or more of the following priorities:
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Restore Marine Life
Accelerating conservation, restoration, and rewilding of coastal ecosystems and species.
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Catalyze the Blue Economy
Deploying and accelerating adoption of regenerative ocean-based solutions for food, energy, climate, tourism, transport, logistics, health and wellbeing, and more.
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Alleviate Ocean Pressures
Addressing ocean pressures—pollution of all forms, climate change, and more—and enhancing the capacity of humans and nature to withstand and recover from related stressors.
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Mobilize Collective Action
Raising awareness, building ocean empathy, and mobilizing diverse stakeholders to collectively take action and advocate for ocean regeneration.
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Reimagine Markets and Governance
Inspiring regenerative business practices and reimagining finance and governance systems with ocean regeneration at the heart of decision making.
It’s too late for incremental change. Ocean-dependent industries need to deploy innovative, scalable technologies that completely transform our relationship with the Earth’s oceans. We’re seeking bold, ambitious solutions that leverage the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, data analytics, and other cognitive technologies to regenerate and restore the ocean’s full life-sustaining potential.
There are many pathways to achieve our impact goals, but we’re focusing on areas with the most potential for change. Explore the competition challenge statements below to jumpstart your inspiration.
Many entrepreneurs talk about changing the world but often lack the skills and know-how. This is the chance to actually do it. Joining our Venture Studio will provide you and your team with invaluable resources that can help bring your venture to life and accelerate it by several years.
We are providing participants with learning sessions—from exploring current trends of the blue economy to determining your market size—to help share this opportunity with those who may be new to venture building. As you progress through the competition, you will gain more access to training resources, including seminars to strengthen your application, experienced mentors to push your ideas further, and networking opportunities with startup leaders and subject matter experts.
Select finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a final pitch event in front of TONOMUS and WAVE.
Submit idea or ventureIf you gain acceptance into our Venture Studio, you’ll have an experience unlike any you’ve had before. Competition winners will be invited to join the TONOMUS Venture Studio for an immersive series of sprints that feature Silicon Valley–influenced methodology and guidance, where you’ll focus on both concept and customer development, as well as refining your business plan. Other benefits include:
You’ll develop your idea in a state-of-the-art digital environment with a focus on design thinking, research, and prototyping.
Our design-focused process consists of finding customer pain points, determining the right product/service, designing the business, and prototype testing.
Our experts will guide you through early sprints and acceleration approaches.
We’ll help hire any additional team members and experts you need to complete the Venture Studio program.
Our team will provide hands-on support with digital prototype development.
Anticipating go-to-market, we’ll work with you to design the right business model and strategy for revenue generation.
We’ll help brand your business, including initial naming and logo development.
WAVE is a collective action platform striving towards the ambitious but essential goal of achieving ocean regeneration within a human generation. Led by HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud and powered by the Future Investment Initiative (FII), WAVE’s mission is to engage diverse stakeholders across geographies, industries, and sectors—and harness their collective energy to drive a global wave of regenerative ocean action. WAVE activates unique and diverse partnerships and provides access to resources that help generate actionable ocean insights, spark global awareness and engagement, catalyze blue innovation, and advance thought leadership.
The finalist teams will be integrated into WAVE’s ocean innovation community, ensuring access to a unique support network that straddles diverse industries, sectors, and geographies.
Mentorship | Seed Funding | Recognition |
Get feedback and advice from knowledgeable experts across the company. |
Winning teams receive funding for continued development and experimentation. |
Top teams will have the opportunity to present before the Senior Leadership Team. |
Meet the Judges
John Albright | Jane Nguyen | Diana Russo | Carl Collins |
VP of Product | Chief Strategy Officer | VP of Technology | VP of Sales |
Investment Criteria
Fulfills the Mission | Valuable Solution | Managable Risk |
Ensure your proposal is aligned with the sponsor's mission and meets all criteria | Fulfill a costly need in the target market and showcase your product differentation | Thoroughly research the risks and provide details on how they might be addressed |
Resources
Leverage the following resources for building your Proposals and Pitch presentations:
For Proposal Submissions
For Pitch Presentations
Contact Us
Have questions? Contact the Initiative Manager
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Terms and Conditions | Contact Us: TonomusCompetitions@brightidea.com |