Former CEO, Google · Co-founder, Schmidt Ocean Institute
b. 1955 · SOI founded 2009
“The ocean has always needed a moonshot.”
R/V Falkor (too) commissioning, 2023.
R/V Falkor (too)
Eric and Wendy Schmidt founded the Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2009 with a single principle: provide free ship-time to oceanographers and require, in return, that the findings be open-published within 90 days. The original R/V Falkor (a converted German fisheries research vessel) ran 95+ expeditions over a decade, discovering dozens of new species, mapping uncharted seafloor, and contributing to a fundamental change in how marine science is funded. In 2023 SOI commissioned Falkor (too) — a purpose-built 110-metre research vessel from VARD in Norway — currently one of the most advanced civilian research platforms in the world.
Schmidt's ocean philanthropy through SOI has funded an estimated $200M+ in oceanographic research. SOI's open-data model has been adopted by NOAA, the European JPI Oceans programme and others as a reference standard. Schmidt also funds Schmidt Futures, which runs ocean-AI fellowships, and is a major backer of climate technology more broadly. The Schmidt Ocean Institute is widely cited as the gold standard of how private wealth can accelerate civilian ocean science without distorting it.
R/V Falkor (too) (110 m) — purpose-built 2023, twin ROV systems (SuBastian to 4,500 m), wet/dry labs, broadcast-grade media suite, 4 fast-track research cranes, accommodation for 28 scientists. R/V Falkor (the original, 83 m) — operated 2012–2023, now donated to Italy's National Research Council and renamed Gaia Blu.
Falkor (too) and Wind Voyage 110 are siblings in spirit. Same scale (110 m), same philosophy — that a private vessel can do serious work in the open ocean if you build it that way from the keel up. Schmidt set the modern playbook for what private ocean science looks like; Wind Voyage extends that playbook into wind-power for the long-range owner who wants both the science platform and the family yacht.
If ocean voyaging is something you’d like to pursue, we have developed a way to do it using wind and solar power out of our respect for the oceans.
Discover the FlagshipFounded in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the Schmidt Ocean Institute provides free ship-time aboard its research vessel to oceanographers worldwide, on the condition that findings are open-published within 90 days. SOI has run 100+ expeditions and is widely regarded as the gold standard of private ocean science funding.
R/V Falkor (too) is the 110-metre research vessel commissioned by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2023, built by VARD in Norway. It carries ROV SuBastian to 4,500 metres, wet and dry labs, and accommodation for 28 scientists — currently among the most advanced civilian oceanographic platforms in the world.
Eric Schmidt does not own a recreational yacht. His ocean platform is R/V Falkor (too), operated as a non-profit research vessel through the Schmidt Ocean Institute. The original R/V Falkor was donated in 2023 to Italy's National Research Council as Gaia Blu.
