Arkeus, an Australian optical autonomy company developing hardware for autonomous drones and aircraft, announced it has raised A$4.45 million in seed funding. The round was led by venture capital firm Main Sequence, with participation from Steve Baxter from Beaten Zone Venture Partners and Salus Ventures.
The new funding will help Arkeus scale manufacturing and enhance the capabilities of its core product suite, the Hyperspectral Optical Radar (HS-OR), which is designed to give customers the ability to ‘see’, understand and act on their environment in real time.
In high-risk environments like defence and search and rescue operations, first responders need to make split-second decisions based on their knowledge of the landscape, objects and people around them. Yet too often, those decisions rely on systems built decades ago that capture only a narrow visual range, are blinded by darkness or weather, and require extensive and time-consuming manual analysis before any recommendations can be made.
Arkeus’ optical systems are built from the ground up for modern operating environments, giving responders the ability to ‘see’ and respond in real time, using data from a wide range of visible and non-visible light spectra with autonomous capabilities capable of real-time detection, recognition and tracking of relevant people and objects in complex environments.
“In high consequence situations where every second counts, defence and emergency responders are often hampered by outdated sensors built for a narrow range of light wavelengths,” said Arkeus CEO and co-founder Simon Olsen. “Arkeus is pioneering a new way of sensing, built from the ground up to overcome these limitations and deliver mission-critical information at the point of contact.”
Since its founding in Melbourne three years ago, Arkeus has secured multiple defence contracts for its autonomous optics technology, validating the company’s approach and unlocking opportunities across both public sector and commercial applications. Beyond defence, the company’s AI-powered customisable systems can be applied to tasks like disaster recovery, search and rescue missions, border security, and more.
Arkeus is initially focused on use cases in search, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions including in defence, search and rescue, firefighting and police operations. The seed funding will enable Arkeus to scale up production of its HS-OR systems and continue R&D into new capabilities.
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