Nothing poses a bigger mystery to unravel than vast and open water bodies. How deep is the ocean? How blue is it? What hides beneath its surface as well as at its greatest depths? Answering all of those questions and then some are Joe Wolfel and Judson Kauffman.

Struck by the immensity of water and the ever-secluded world expanding beyond the waves, Judson and Joe created Terradepth to enrich the knowledge-starved world with essential details on nature’s deepest treasures.

Both ex-Navy Seals, Judson and Joe ought to be familiar with every corner of the world. However, the deep blue ocean hides its secrets so well that only a robotics’ touch could really dig deep under the surface and fish for answers.

Through introducing Terradepth, Judson and Joe aimed to create a know-it-all and Earth-friendly platform that helps unravel the deepest, most obscure ocean and sea mysteries, some of which we’ve heard of, and some of which we have not at all. How did a two-veteran project contribute to untangling the oceans’ greatest riddles?

The Navy Bond

Judson and Joe have been friends ever since childhood. While both shared many joys throughout the years, they also faced countless challenging times while serving in the Navy.

The bond they created as a result of their shared experiences urged the duo to nurture strong respect for one another and helped them develop a mutual passion for discovery and curiosity. Carrying a strong sense of belonging, hardships, hard work, and perseverance, Judson and Joe exited the world of Navy just as swiftly as they entered the world of entrepreneurship.

Jud, a true adventurist, nature lover, outdoorsman, an amateur musician, and an ocean enthusiast has always been more than just a uniform. In fact, Judson holds a degree and an MBA from Belmont University and McCombs School of Business and has served as a member on various different boards including Advena Defense, Desert Door Distillery, and Cold Bore Capital.

Alongside his experience as a Navy Seal, Judson has worked as a qualified intelligence analyst, a rescue and a search swimmer, and as support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from where he received several combat recognitions.

Following Jud’s military career, the US Navy’s Special Operations together with the Special Warfare Mentor Program selected him to lead the entire operation and support recruiting and selecting efforts nationwide. Joe, on the other hand, was a gym fanatic, a man who loved spending time with friends and family, and even reading a great book when not serving his country. Raised with the mission to upgrade and improve himself by the day, Joe has been ranked 8th in his Navy Distinguished Scholar class.

He graduated with Honors at the US Naval Academy and has been deployed on various occasions, both in the Middle East and Africa. Among other assignments, Joe had worked on several leadership roles throughout his career, including groups like Sunexxus Inc and McChrystal Group, both fast-growing companies.

The Greater Mission

Although both born in Austin, Texas, Judson and Joe first crossed paths in 2004, while serving in the Navy. During their military years, the twosome has had the time to properly bond and develop a strong connection which helped them recognize and combine their mutual knowledge, ultimately resulting in countless business ideas to be realized as soon as their Navy days were done.

Together, Jud and Joe have come to an idea to start a business on human capital solutions, where both would provide an array of strategic advisory services. The two soon founded Exebellum, a company, or more likely a boutique consultancy, that provided different solutions to users in need. While Judson was more oriented to providing customer service, Joe was the brains of the operations, solving unique capital problems users faced.

Working together on countless platform projects, the two friends turned business partners felt quite pleased with their collaborative ways, brainstorming ideas, perceptions, contemplating life, and sharing their mutual passion for undiscovered places on Earth. Combining all that love for the unknown, Jud and Joe uncovered a joint likeness for oceans, their depths, and everything lying beneath the surface.

Triggered by this, the two friends excitedly embarked on their new mission. They sold Exebellum in 2018, and put all their focus and determination into new and deeper challenges, ultimately giving birth to Terradepth.

The Ocean at Your Service

Following their Navy days, Jud and Joe became aware that humanity is being ignorant about Earth’s ocean as a whole. Keeping this ignorance in mind, the duo aimed harder and stronger in launching Terradepth.

Driven by the fact that humankind is mostly unaware of our oceans and their abundance, Jud and Joe’s platform strived to change just that. Initially, their platform intended to provide quality information on oceans, unearthing its depths in detail and discovering as much as possible, all through the use of smart technology and robotics.

Judson and Joe founded Terradepth in 2018, and since then, the two have been pushing their limits in achieving the company’s full potential.

Terradepth focuses on an in-depth understanding of oceans as a whole, whilst relying on robotic autonomy and the latest technological marvels.

The main and ultimate purpose of the company is to be of service to society and, of course, our planet. The reason why Terradepth is so remarkably relevant to our society is that it can share smartly acquired data and findings on oceans and large body waters, and paint them all into an attainable and easy-to-grasp picture.

Judson and Joe are firm believers that all discoveries their robotics come up with can offer different environmental possibilities, such as solving historical puzzles, inform their audience on environmental regulations, and help advance the medical industry.

Even more, and for the first time in history, Terradepth will enable humans to acquire a holistic understanding of Earth’s deepest, underwater layers.

In other words, Terradepth provides high-resolution and cost-effective data sourced from the depths of the ocean and intended for all customers interested in this data as well as raising eco-awareness and responsibility.

Terradepth, Today

The idea for gathering comprehensive ocean data was quickly recognized by many quality researchers as well as companies eager to collaborate with Terradepth.

However, one of the very first companies and among the most important ones for the platform was Seagate Technology. Having gathered the best engineers to work on the platform’s concept, Judson and Joe presented the prototype to Seagate technology as a project rather than an idea. Remarkably, the entire project was welcomed with open arms by Seagate Technology, which seeded the platform with $8 million.

Using the seed’s funds, Terradepth was able to build a cloud-based prototype system with a robot that recharges itself at sea, along with advanced machine-learning software enabled to support these components. Headquartered in the heart of Austin, Terradepth has approximately 10 employees, and, as a pre-revenue company, they are lacking initial revenue numbers.

Nonetheless, the company is hoping that 2021 will be the year when they can break ground and both demonstrate and test their prototype in real circumstances - otherwise known as the actual ocean.

In terms of the pandemic, the company experienced expanded digital reach, indicating that human presence is less dependent on the usage of ocean data, which is also one of the primary goals the platform is aiming for! Jud and Joe hold enormous faith that humanity, science, and history will all find Terradepth’s mission more than satisfactory, informative, and resourceful.

To everyone else interested in learning the same, let’s join Terradepth’s mission and support its majestic discovery of our oceans’ widest widths, deepest depths, and Earth’s yet untouched underwater wonders!