Max Olson is the Co-Founder and CTO of Vessev, a New Zealand-based deep tech marine company building electric hydrofoiling vessels that lift above the water to dramatically reduce drag and energy consumption.

Max grew up on and around the water in Auckland and earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Auckland, where he co-founded Halter, a breakthrough virtual fencing agritech company, before launching Vessev in 2017.

Driven by a passion for solving big engineering challenges, Max pioneered the application of America's Cup hydrofoiling technology to commercial electric marine propulsion, engineering Vessev's proprietary VS-Drive pod system from a clean-sheet design.

At Vessev, Max leads all technology and innovation, overseeing the development of the VS-9 electric hydrofoiling catamaran now in commercial passenger service in New Zealand, with expansion into Europe and the U.S. underway.

Vessev has raised $19M in Series A financing led by Blackbird Ventures, secured customers across five continents, and is targeting a global fleet of 33 million vessels with its zero-emission hydrofoiling platform.