Economics

Unit economics, pricing structure, and repeatable deployment model

WaveShift is built to win on unit economics and repeatable deployments, not on flashy one-off hardware.

Business Model

How WaveShift makes money and expands per customer

Core thesis: ports don't want to buy a boat — they want persistent coverage with measurable outcomes and predictable cost.

🔁 Revenue Model
  • Paid pilots → annual contracts
  • Per-site base + per-vessel expansion
  • Recurring, contract-driven revenue
🛡️ What Customers Buy
  • Guaranteed coverage hours
  • Verification + response workflow
  • Reporting & audit trail
📊 Why This Isn't Hardware Sales
  • Value = coverage, not hulls
  • Human-in-the-loop workflows
  • Reliability & uptime over time
From Pilot to Recurring Revenue Paid Pilot Initial deployment + validation Annual Site Contract Recurring revenue starts Add Vessels Expand per site Expand Coverage ARR growth
Revenue compounds per site — expansion is structural, not aspirational.

Initial Product Scope

What Sentinel-ASV delivers in early deployments

A practical first configuration: port monitoring + patrol + verification, designed to plug into existing security operations.

WaveShift's early product is intentionally commercial and compliance-friendly: monitor, verify, document, coordinate response.

✔ Included

  • • Uncrewed ASV platform (hull + propulsion)
  • • Comms & remote ops (LTE/5G + sat backup)
  • • Core sensing: radar, EO/IR, AIS
  • • Autonomy & safety (geofencing, collision avoidance)
  • • Operator console + deployment support

🚫 Not Included (By Design)

  • • Weapons or armed payloads
  • • High-end military mission sets
  • • National-defense scope claims

Unit Economics

Per-vessel costs, margins, and operating assumptions

Strong unit economics are what make this model repeatable at scale.

Hardware BOM (Per Vessel)

Cost driven by sensors, comms, and redundancy — not bespoke hardware

  • Estimated BOM range: ~$75k–$250k+
  • • Radar: Commercial marine radar (low-$k to ~$10k+ depending on capability)
  • • EO/IR: Entry stabilized EO/IR (~$10k+) to higher-end options
  • • Connectivity: Maritime LTE + satellite backup (e.g. Starlink Maritime class)
  • • AIS: Class-dependent transponder (~$200–$2k+)

WaveShift does not require bleeding-edge sensors on day one — reliable detection and verification at port ranges is sufficient.

Annual Operating Run-Rate (Per Vessel)

Recurring costs tied to uptime, connectivity, and monitoring

  • Estimated annual run-rate: ~$40k–$150k
  • • Connectivity: Cellular primary with satellite backup where required
  • • Maintenance & spares: Marine environment realities
  • • Insurance & compliance: Docking, charging, and coverage
  • • Software & monitoring: Ops tooling, updates, training
Per-Vessel Unit Economics (Annual) Service Revenue $350k Connectivity -$20k Maintenance -$25k Ops + Monitoring -$30k Insurance & Compliance -$15k Indicative Gross Margin ~$250k– $300k (≈70%+) $400k $250k $100k $0 Illustrative per-vessel economics based on early service configuration; ranges vary by coverage hours, sensor suite, and SLA.

Strong unit economics are driven by recurring contracts and disciplined operations, with hardware amortized over the service lifetime.

Why This Beats Crewed Patrols

More coverage, less labor, predictable cost

Crewing stacks labor, fuel, scheduling, and utilization inefficiency.

  • • Conservative benchmark: U.S. Coast Guard reimbursable rate of ~$3.7k–$4.8k per hour for a port security boat
  • • Labor dominates cost: Crewed patrols incur fixed staffing regardless of utilization
  • • Utilization loss: Gaps in coverage driven by shifts, downtime, and scheduling

WaveShift does not need to beat this hourly rate on day one.
It wins by delivering more coverage hours with fewer human minutes
under a predictable annual contract.

Annual Cost Stack Comparison Crewed Patrol (labor-heavy model) Labor (55%) Fuel (25%) Maint. (15%) + Limited Coverage + Scheduling Inefficiency Sentinel-ASV Service (capex amortized + ops) Hardware Amortized (35%) Software + Ops (30%) Connectivity (20%) Maint. (15%) + Persistent Coverage + Minimal Downtime High Cost → ← Optimized

Pricing Structure

How contracts are structured and justified

What the port buys: guaranteed coverage capacity + reporting + integration into their workflow.

Contract Structure

  • Base site contract: Foundation subscription per location
  • Per-vessel add-ons: Expand coverage within the same site

Typical service pricing target: $250k – $600k per vessel-year (service contract)
(Varies by coverage hours, sensor suite, response workflow, and SLA.)

Customers aren't comparing to "buying a boat." They're comparing to staffing crews (overtime, turnover, compliance), fuel + maintenance + downtime, limited coverage hours, and lack of auditability.

If a small crewed security boat can effectively cost thousands per hour on a fully-loaded basis in official reimbursable tables, ports can justify a contract that delivers persistent coverage with fewer human hours.

Initial Market Footprint (SOM)

A focused path to $10–15M ARR

WaveShift's early SOM is intentionally tight and operationally realistic:

SOM Math Breakdown (3–5 Year Horizon) 20–50 Ports Initial Target Sites × 1–5 Vessels Per Port (avg ~2) × $250k– $400k Per Vessel Annual Contract = $10– $15M ARR Target Range
A disciplined, pilot-led approach to a repeatable deployment pattern.

This is why WaveShift starts with monitoring/patrol: it's a repeatable deployment pattern across many ports.

Customer Success Metrics

What customers track — and renew on

WaveShift should sell with a dashboard that ties directly to outcomes: coverage delivered, operator efficiency, verified incidents, and audit-ready reporting.

Sentinel Operations Dashboard — Customer View (Port Authority) Last 30 Days COST EFFICIENCY $87 / Coverage Hour 1,581 Coverage Hours / Operator Hour 2,847 Coverage Hours Verified Patrol Time ↑ 11% vs. prior month 847 Alerts Verified Visual Confirmation False Positive: 3.4% 52 sec Avg Time-to-Verify Alert → EO/IR Confirm ↓ 6 sec improvement 1.8 Operator Min/Hour Human Attention Req'd Target: <2.0 min/hr Coverage by Zone (Weekly Hours) Terminal A Terminal B North Basin South Basin Anchorage Incident Clips Logged 114 Total Incidents Documented Video + Track + Metadata • 78 Vessel Intrusions • 22 Security Alerts • 14 Safety Events
Customers renew based on measurable outcomes — not robot demos.

Capital Plan

What this round unlocks economically

WaveShift is seeking a $500,000 pre-seed round to execute Phase I, focused on demonstrating a modular, open-architecture Sentinel-ASV platform with minimal autonomy and remote-operations stack over a 15-month timeline.

This capital takes WaveShift from concept risk to paid-pilot readiness.

This funding is intentionally scoped to reach a pilot-ready prototype, not full commercialization.

Use of Funds (Phase I)

40%
Prototype Build & Materials

Hull fabrication, propulsion, power systems, mechanical integration, and sensor mounting for the first Sentinel-ASV prototype.

30%
Design, Testing & IP

Finalizing platform architecture, autonomy integration, control systems, simulation, bench testing, and protection of core intellectual property.

25%
Salaries & Stipends

Engineering labor, integration support, and stipends for focused development and testing periods.

5%
Operations & Contingency

Insurance, logistics, test site access, and contingency buffer for hardware iteration.

Budget Allocation Pie Chart

This capital converts technical risk into commercial pilot readiness.

What This Capital Unlocks (Economically)

  • Build and test a first Sentinel-ASV prototype
  • Validate hardware cost assumptions used in unit economics
  • Prepare for paid pilot discussions with ports and maritime operators
  • De-risk the transition from prototype to annual service contracts

References & Cost Benchmarks

Key sources informing WaveShift's unit economics and market positioning

U.S. Coast Guard — Standard Reimbursable Rates for Maritime Security Assets

Official reimbursable rate tables including hourly rates for port security operations and maritime patrol vessels.

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Starlink — Maritime Connectivity: Hardware and Service Pricing

Satellite connectivity solutions for uncrewed maritime systems, including hardware costs and service plans for remote operations.

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Commercial Marine Radar Systems — Representative Open-Array Radar Pricing

Commercial marine radar systems pricing data, including Garmin open-array radar systems and similar surface detection sensors.

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Commercial EO/IR Payloads — Maritime & Uncrewed Systems Market Overview

Electro-optical and infrared payload options for maritime surveillance, ranging from entry-level stabilized systems to advanced sensors.

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AIS Transponders — Commercial Availability and Pricing

Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder specifications, commercial availability, and pricing across different vessel classes.

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