REGENT

REGENT (founded December 2020 by Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker) develops and manufactures the Seaglider, an all-electric wing-in-ground-effect vehicle that flies just above the water's surface. The vehicle is designed around a hard constraint set: it must operate from existing dock infrastructure, transition between displacement, foil-borne, and WIG flight regimes, and deliver airplane-like speed with boat-like accessibility. With current battery technology the Seaglider is specified for coastal routes up to 180 miles at a cruise speed of 180 mph; next-generation batteries are projected to extend range to 400 miles.

Engineering work spans the full stack of an electric WIG vehicle: flight and marine controls across multiple operating regimes, all-electric propulsion and battery system design, structural work at the aerospace/maritime boundary, and high-speed marine hydrodynamics. The team combines aerospace and maritime engineering backgrounds, and the technical domains listed internally include wing-in-ground-effect vehicles, electric propulsion, battery technology, aerospace engineering, maritime engineering, and high-speed marine vessels. REGENT has built what it describes as the world's first Seaglider manufacturing facility in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, moving the program from prototype toward series production.

Two product lines share the platform. The commercial Seaglider targets coastal and regional ferry routes, with over $10 billion in orders reported from ferry and airline operators worldwide. REGENT Defense offers high-speed, long-range, low-signature variants for logistics, medical evacuation, and reconnaissance missions, and holds $15 million in U.S. Marine Corps contracts. Investors backing the company also support SpaceX, Andumil, and Archer Aviation.