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blueseed

A floating metropolis for startups

Imagine a floating city of entrepreneurs; a veritable Googleplex of the sea. That's the vision behind Blueseed, a San Francisco startup.

The company plans to deploy a cruise ship 12 nautical miles from Silicon Valley -- in international waters -- and convert it into a metropolis of floating offices so foreign workers can launch their companies without obtaining work visas.

Despite a number of bills currently in Congress that aim to expand immigrant work visas, "there is no entrepreneurial visa," says co-founder Max Marty. "I think that's a terrible problem."

The answer, according to … Read more

Peter Thiel floats cash to floating tech incubator

Famed Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur Peter Thiel is helping to launch a floating technology incubator 12 miles off the coast of Northern California.

Blueseed, which is planning an offshore "seastead" for foreign entrepreneurs who have difficulty obtaining visas to live or work in the U.S., said this evening that that Thiel has agreed to lead the company's initial financing round.

"We're all totally psyched," Blueseed CEO and cofounder Max Marty told CNET. It's "hard to imagine this was just an idea some months ago." (See CNET's profile of Blueseed.) … Read more

Visa problems? 'Seasteading' your startup may be the answer

PALO ALTO, Calif.--A new incubator for Silicon Valley startups is hoping to make waves by being located outside of Silicon Valley. In fact, it won't be anywhere near terra firma.

A recently formed company called Blueseed is planning an oceangoing hub for foreign entrepreneurs who have difficulty obtaining visas that would allow them to live in this sprawling megalopolis that so many venture capitalists and technology companies call home.

Blueseed's pitch is as ambitious as it is unproven. They hope company founders can be convinced to move to a platform floating 12 miles off the coast of … Read more