Arkeus secures $5 million to accelerate sovereign defence AI capabilities

Defence technology company Arkeus has announced it has secured $5 million in funding, allowing the company to accelerate expansion and meet considerable market demand for its defence technology systems.

The company’s flagship Hyperspectral Optical Radar (HSOR) system fuses software-enabled sensors with advanced optics, AI and edge processing to see what the human eye can’t in wide-area intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.

“As the recognised leader in autonomous optical systems, Arkeus is seeing a 10-fold increase in demand for its capabilities,” said Simon Olsen, CEO and co-founder of Arkeus. “This funding allows Arkeus to rapidly expand manufacturing capacity to get systems into its customers’ hands faster.”

Recognising the nature of the threat environment, Arkeus technology is underscored with robust data encryption technologies that have evolved through successive contracts with the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, which emphasises a contribution to the joint ISR picture that prioritises interoperability. Arkeus’s systems have been integrated into more than six defence platforms over the past year, including successful operational evaluations of HSOR in Australia and internationally.

The company’s ARK data fusion and exploitation engine that resides at the heart of its capabilities is providing a foundation of AI architecture for the Australian Defence Force. Operationally deployed on airborne and surface platforms, both manned and unmanned, Arkeus technology allows more operations to be conducted on the edge — free of attempts to deny or disrupt — and provides a critical component of Australia’s defensive capabilities.

“This funding injection reflects renewed confidence in Australian capability,” Olsen said. “This strength, in conjunction with the welcomed government modification to the definition of an ‘Australian’ business, provides the foundation necessary for Arkeus to grow its contribution to the success of AUKUS Pillar II.”

Image credit: Arkeus.