OceanX

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OceanX is a nonprofit ocean exploration initiative founded in 2016 by Ray Dalio and his son Mark Dalio. Its mission is to map unknown parts of the ocean, study marine life, and share discoveries through engaging storytelling. The organization is led by co-CEOs Mark Dalio (Creative Director) and Vincent Pieribone (Chief Scientist). Mark Dalio, a filmmaker and former National Geographic producer, emphasizes vivid ocean storytelling. Vincent Pieribone is a Yale professor whose research focuses on bioluminescence and brain activity in marine life; he joined OceanX as Vice Chairman in 2016 and later became co-CEO.

OceanX’s first vessel was the MV Alucia, a 56-meter research and exploration ship equipped with two deep-sea submersibles, labs, a helipad, and media facilities. In 2021, Alucia was replaced by OceanXplorer, an 87-meter flagship vessel (formerly the Volstad Surveyor) outfitted with submersibles, laboratories, and media spaces to support exploration and storytelling.

The organization collaborates with leading scientific and media partners, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, National Geographic Society, and BBC Studios. OceanX Media (formerly Alucia Productions) creates documentaries and other media. Notably, OceanX Media worked with BBC Earth on the nature series Blue Planet II, contributing to episodes such as The Deep, which featured the first deep-sea submersible dives to the Antarctic seafloor and earned an Emmy nomination for cinematography; a dive video also won a 2019 Webby Award. OceanX Media helped produce Oceans: Our Blue Planet, the Giant Screen companion film to Blue Planet II, sponsored by Microsoft. OceanX content has appeared in outlets like Mashable, Scientific American, Earther, Discovery Channel Canada, and National Geographic.

Beyond media, OceanX partners with various organizations to support ocean research, including the American Museum of Natural History, BBC Studios, James Cameron, Paul Nicklen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Sylvia Earle, Edith Widder, and Samantha Joye. They co-created the #OurBluePlanet digital initiative with BBC Earth to inspire 1 billion people to talk about the oceans. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $185 million over four years to ocean exploration and protection with OceanX. In December 2023, OceanX announced a collaboration with Konservasi Indonesia to support Blue Halo S, a marine-management program in Indonesia’s Fisheries Management Area 572.

OceanX is based in the United States and had about 250+ employees in 2025. Website: oceanx.org.