The Deep Flight project began in the early 1980's when three visionary companies, IMAX, TV New Zealand, and National Geographic TV, gave Graham Hawkes some preliminary funding to build the world's first winged submersible - when Deep Flight I was still a design on paper. In 1994, Rolex then stepped in and sponsored the grand launch of Deep Flight I, a globally covered media event hosted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

In the mid 1990's, Autodesk began supplying Hawkes Ocean Technologies with its design software, and beginning in 2000, Autodesk became the lead corporate sponsor of Hawkes Ocean Technologies.

In 2005, Autodesk Inc. was named Founding Sponsor of Hawkes Ocean Technologies for its decade of support. Autodesk, Inc. is the world's leading design and digital content creation resource. The company provides software and Internet portal services to help customers drive business through the power of design.

Autodesk serves more than 4 million customers in over 150 countries. Autodesk has been an ongoing sponsor throughout the development of many Deep Flight winged submersibles.