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On a cold, windy day, the co-founder and CEO of Navier, Sampriti Bhattacharyya, took Katie for a ride in the startup's electric, "flying" hydrofoil boat in the San Francisco Bay.

Why it matters: With the battery and the hydrofoils, the boat can be 10 times more efficient than a gas-powered boat and if it takes off could unlock new avenues of maritime transportation.

Driving the news: This week San Francisco-based Navier announced a deal to shuttle Stripe employees between Larkspur in the North Bay and Oyster Point in South San Francisco.

The battery and the hydrofoils will offer a quiet, smooth ocean ride for up to 6 Stripe employees, helping them get out of the bumper-to-bumper commuter traffic on the road. 

Bhattacharyya says Navier is interested in having more of its boats used around the waterways of the Bay Area as well as other cities like New York and Miami.

She added that the company is talking to Sausalito about piloting routes into that city's bay.

Navier CEO and co-founder Sampriti Bhattacharyya and head of operations Sam Seder riding in the N30, the company's electric hydrofoil boat on San Francisco Bay. Photo: Katie Fehrenbacher/Axios

Details: On Thursday afternoon, Navier head of operations Sam Seder drove Katie and Bhattacharyya across the bay,

It was pretty choppy. Then, after hitting 16 knots (about 18 mph), the boat lifted onto the hydrofoils and instantly delivered a smooth ride.

"It's a boat and it's a plane," Bhattacharyya noted, explaining how the foils act as wings to lift it up at the right velocity. 

"Batteries and hydrofoils go hand in hand," she added. The vessel's efficiency is 10 times greater than gas-powered ones, she said.  

Big picture: Bhattacharyya is highly focused on production this year, aiming to get Navier's boats out to more customers and into bays around the world. 

The company says it has raised $12 million in seed funding from high-profile investors like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Android co-founder Rich Miner, singer Will.i.am and ocean climate investor Propeller. 

What's next: Navier will likely need to raise more funding to make more of its boats and meet customer demand. 

We take a ride in San Francisco startup's electric "flying" boat

The "flying" hydrofoil is 10 times more efficient than gas boats.

Navier's electric hydrofoil boat driving in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Katie Fehrenbacher/Axios

Electric vehicles

On a cold, windy day, the co-founder and CEO of Navier, Sampriti Bhattacharyya, took Katie for a ride in the startup&#x27;s electric, &quot;flying&quot; hydrofoil boat in the San Francisco Bay.Why it matters: With the battery and the hydrofoils, the boat can be 10 times more efficient than a gas-powered boat and if it takes off could unlock new avenues of maritime transportation.

We take a ride in San Francisco startup's electric "flying" boat

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