The ocean floor shouldn't be the last place on Earth we're still guessing about.

Why We Exist

Tsunamis strike with minutes of warning. Climate models lack deep-ocean data. And 99% of the world's internet traffic travels through cables that go unmonitored across open ocean.

SMART Cables change that. We are turning the world's existing oceanic infrastructure into a continuous, real-time secure, monitoring network. No new infrastructure. No new ocean footprint. Just intelligence, activated inside what's already there. Because the ocean floor shouldn't be the last place on Earth we're still guessing about.

We Make Subsea Cables Intelligent

We design, build, and operate full-stack SMART Cable systems end-to-end. Research-grade sensors. Real-time data platforms. No new ocean footprint. Concept to cable to signal.

We're not a cable company that added sensors. We're a science and technology company that speaks cable.

First universal SMART Cable platform deployed. NSF and Schmidt Marine funded. 25+ years and 250+ global cable projects deep.

Leadership

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Matt Fouch, Ph.D.

President & Co-Founder

Matt brings over three decades of experience in geophysics, seismic instrumentation, and scientific data systems. A former tenured professor at Arizona State and staff scientist at Carnegie Institution for Science, he has led projects for NASA, NOAA, and DoD and is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award, the U.S. government’s highest scientific honor for emerging leaders.

At SDS, Matt is the architect behind SMART Cable integration, embedding precision sensors into global telecom infrastructure to unlock real-time ocean intelligence. He also serves on the ITU/WMO/UNESCO SMART Cables Task Force, shaping the global scientific and engineering standards for this next-generation technology.

Past Roles:

  • Professor of Geophysics, Arizona State University

  • Staff Scientist, Carnegie Institution

  • Chief Scientist, Samara Data

  • Executive Member, WashingtonExec Climate Change Council

Specialties: Seismic instrumentation, deep-ocean sensing systems, federal R&D program strategy, subsea technology integration, and science-to-mission delivery for national security and civilian agency partners.

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Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder

Stephen Lentz

Steve is a subsea industry veteran with over 25 years of experience designing, deploying, and managing complex submarine cable systems across telecom, scientific, government, and energy sectors.

As CTO of SDS, he leads SMART Cable hardware development, bringing deep operational know-how from decades in the field.

Steve currently also serves as Director of Network Development at Ocean Specialists, Inc., where he has overseen projects for clients ranging from BP to the National Science Foundation. 

With roots in MIT engineering and business training at Johns Hopkins, Steve bridges high-stakes technical implementation with mission-aligned strategy.

Past Roles:

  • Director of Network Engineering, 360Networks

  • Founder, Lentz Telecom Strategies

  • Director, Lightwave Spectrum International

Specialties: Submarine cable systems architecture, end-to-end subsea deployment, marine operations management, global telecom network design, and critical undersea infrastructure delivery for commercial, government, and defense clients.

Contact

SMART Cable capabilities

Proven technology transforming subsea cable systems into live ocean observatories.

We partner with telecom operators, federal agencies, and global science missions to deliver real-time environmental monitoring, natural hazard detection, and critical infrastructure protection, all through the cables already on the ocean floor.

  • Subsea Data Systems built the world's first universal SMART Cable sensor platform, a low-power, high-performance system that can be integrated with any new submarine data cable to deliver real-time earthquake, tsunami, and ocean monitoring data.

  • We design full-stack sensing systems, hardware, software, data management, all engineered to work across repeatered, unrepeatered, and purpose-built cable systems. Where other solutions require custom infrastructure and high capital expense, our universal platform makes SMART Cable technology financially and technically accessible at global scale.

  • Our technology is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, deployed at Ocean Networks Canada's NEPTUNE Observatory, and delivering data to the National Geophysical Facility. We work with telecommunications providers, federal agencies, and international organizations to bring SMART Cable monitoring to submarine cable systems worldwide.

  • SMART stands for Sensor Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunications,  but this isn’t retrofitting. It’s rethinking. Read More »

    We embed precision environmental sensors inside subsea repeater hardware, transforming global communications infrastructure into a living ocean observatory.