CEO and Co-Founder, Blue Water Autonomy
Rylan started his career in the U.S. Navy as an engineering & surface warfare officer before pivoting into robotics after Harvard Business School. As an early leader at Amazon Robotics, he deployed thousands of industrial robots to warehouses around the country. When he saw a gap in the market, he founded 6 River Systems, a warehouse automation company that quickly commercialized the first collaborative, autonomous mobile robots for logistics. Rylan raised $45 million while growing 6 River, and sold it to Shopify for $450 million.
Beyond Shipyards: Scaling the Fleet Through Innovation
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
2:45 PM - 4:00 PM PT