Innovative 36-year-old Scientist
Sampriti Bhattacharyya, CEO of U.S. Electric Boatbuilder, returns to teenage bedroom in Kolkata after 7 years.
She shows her past relics that inspired her aerospace engineering journey in the U.S., including Stephen Hawking’s book, her first internship search on a Compaq computer, and a ’90s boy band poster.”
At 36, Bhattacharyya defied expectations. Despite attending a local college in Kolkata and being underestimated, she pursued her passion for space, ocean exploration, and robotics, even though others expected less of her.
She soon fell in love with machines and specifically, how technology could help solve what she calls the world’s hard problems.
This idea became her modus operandi, driving her subsequent start-ups. During an internship at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Bhattacharyya was inspired by the youthful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, like Mark Zuckerberg, who planted the idea of starting her own company.
She earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT and at 28, two years before her robotics doctorate, founded Hydoswarm, a company focusing on underwater drones for ocean floor mapping. Inspired by Jeff Bezos, she persevered with her vision despite numerous setbacks and failures.
Bhattacharyya pivoted to create an operating system for self-piloting fleets, but the pandemic disrupted her plans to retrofit existing boats. She shifted her focus to designing next-generation vessels from scratch, believing in the potential of the electric revolution in water-borne transport.
In 2020, Bhattacharyya tapped fellow MIT-trained engineer Roe Baird to help launch Navier, in the hope of creating a cleaner, more efficient way to travel on the waves and, in the process, alleviating congestion on the roads.
The duo established a core team of seven industry experts by selling them the dream. Bhattacharyya recruited hydrofoil specialist Paul Bieker as the lead naval architect.
I told him, ‘Scaling this technology will revolutionize water transportation, tragedy struck and after initial reluctance, Kenneth Jensen, now Navier’s CTO, joined the cause.
Her persistence also saw the start-up draw $10 million in seed funding from the likes of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Android cofounder Rich Miner, and other venture capitalists.
Working out of its San Francisco headquarters, Navier designed a 30-foot, eight-passenger electric foiling yacht (the N30) that progressed from sketch to full-scale, finished boat in 11 months.
Three months later, a second vessel was complete. “What amazed me was that they worked in the first sea trial,” Bhattacharyya says.
The N30 soars four feet above the water, propelled by three carbon foils that enhance speed and efficiency while minimizing wake and drag.
While the foil concept dates back to the early 19th century, Navier’s proprietary operating system distinguishes the N30 from the rest.
The vessel’s sensors adjust the foils for a smooth ride based on wave conditions, and it even offers ‘one-click docking,’ making it remarkably peaceful.
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