Science & Technology

Anonymous investor is funding a permanent underwater human colony

By T.K. Randall
February 10, 2025 ·  15 comments

An artist's impression of what a DEEP colony might look like. Image Credit: DEEP Fans of the 'Bioshock' video game series might be familiar with Rapture - a fictional underwater utopia that was impressive from a technical point of view, but failed miserably on a societal level.

Now an anonymous investor is spending hundreds of millions to make the dream of a permanent underwater settlement a reality and it all starts in a flooded quarry nestled in the British countryside.

Known as the DEEP project, the endeavor - currently based in Gloucestershire - aims to "increase understanding of the ocean and its critical role for humanity".

At the moment, the flooded quarry is being used to test out habitable underwater modules (known as sentinels) as well as the underwater vehicles and infrastructure needed to access and run them.

The plan will be to lower several of these modules into the ocean in the near future in order to establish a sustainable human settlement in which people will be able to live, sleep, work and eat.Initially people will only be staying in them for up to 28 days at a time, but the goal is to extend this considerably - eventually enabling humans to live their entire lives under the sea.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the project is its mysterious benefactor - an individual who continues to remain completely anonymous but who seems happy to invest 9 figure sums into making this particular vision a reality as soon as possible.

Could it be a well known public figure ? All we can do is speculate.

At present, the Sentinel submersibles are scheduled to begin life in the ocean in 2027.

Whether or not the project will be sustainable over the long run, however, remains unclear.

Humans could be living 200 meters (220 yards) beneath the ocean by 2027. 🌊 A British team is building #Deep, an underwater settlement where scientists - and possibly wealthy tourists - will spend weeks exploring the ocean's mysteries. Funded by an anonymous billionaire ($120M+),... pic.twitter.com/ZoZn7WWdAR

- Kyrylo Shevchenko (@KShevchenkoReal) February 8, 2025

Source: The Guardian | Comments (15)

Tags: Undersea, Atlantis