What Arkeus does

Arkeus is an Australian defense technology company that builds AI-powered hyperspectral optical sensing systems and the proprietary ARK edge-AI orchestration and data fusion engine for autonomous platforms operating across air, land, and sea domains. Its product family — the HSOR flagship sensor, the compact Warden (HSOR for tactical UAS), the S-HSOR surface variant, the OTG optical terminal guidance seeker, and the ELMO expendable imaging sensor — combines passive hyperspectral optical sensing (spanning ultraviolet to infrared) with onboard AI to autonomously detect, recognise and track objects day and night and in degraded visual environments such as smoke, dust, haze and humidity, with claimed detection range up to 8x that of conventional optical systems. The systems are designed to operate 100% passively and disseminate pre-exploited ISR products over Beyond Line-of-Sight links, eliminating the need to backhaul sensitive raw data through contested communications.

Arkeus serves defense (Australian Army, US Department of War, US SOCOM, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Coast Guard, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Australia Special Operations Command, Joint Interagency Task Force South, UK Ministry of Defence), homeland security (Australian Border Force, US Department of Homeland Security) and civil defense / first responder missions. Its go-to-market blends direct enterprise field sales to defense customers, OEM platform-embedding partnerships (AeroVironment, Insitu, TEKEVER, UAVE, Resolute ISR, Ocius), regional channel partners (Miltrade APAC, Tanglewood UK, Digital Cloak US) and a heavy defense trade-show presence (SOF Week, EUROSATORY, DSEI, IDEX, MSPO, XPONENTIAL, IMDEX, AUVSI Pathfinder). Revenue is generated primarily through multi-year, quote-based hardware sales to defense and government customers, supplemented by non-dilutive government grants (A$2.46M IGP) and product customisation and integration services; approximately 80% of revenue is reportedly sourced from US customers. Arkeus holds ISO 9001 certification, is recognised on LinkedIn's Top Startups Australia 2025, and is headquartered in Port Melbourne with manufacturing in Ormeau, Queensland, and a US headquarters in Virginia established in August 2025. The company has raised a total of approximately A$31.9M across seed, grant and Series A funding, most recently a A$25M Series A in May 2026 at a reported A$100M post-money valuation.

Name

Arkeus

Legal name

Arkeus Pty Ltd

Website

https://arkeus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Arkeus builds AI-powered hyperspectral optical sensors and the proprietary ARK edge-AI engine for autonomous air, land, and sea platforms. It serves defense, homeland security, and civil defense customers across allied markets, with about 80% of revenue from US customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defense Sensor Systems (Hyperspectral Optical Radar & Edge AI for Autonomous ISR)

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensors & Targeting Systems (IMABAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV) (IMABAIAH), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) & Autonomous Maritime Surface Platforms (IMABAIAE), Counter-UAS Detection Sensors & Integrated Sensor Suites (IMABAGAK)

Keywords

• Hyperspectral sensing systems
• Autonomous ISR sensors
• Edge AI surveillance
• Defense drone payloads
• Optical seeker technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Hardware sales to defense / government customers: Direct sale of Warden, HSOR, S-HSOR, OTG and ELMO sensor systems to defense forces and allied governments under multi-year, contract-based procurement. Customers include the US Department of War (Warden sensors deployed via Resolute Eagle), Australian Army (WAAS Program), Australian Department of Defence, and allied forces. ~80% of revenue from US customers per company disclosures.
2. Government grants and R&D funding: Receives non-dilutive government funding such as the A$2.46 million Australian Industry Growth Program (IGP) grant (July 2025) used to accelerate sovereign manufacturing capability, matched by Australian-based investors for a total A$5.5M investment.
3. Product customisation and integration services: Customises optical arrays and ARK AI configurations to specific mission profiles for customers, plus integration services to embed sensors onto partner UAS/USV platforms (AV, Insitu, TEKEVER, UAVE, Resolute ISR, Ocius).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels11 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Arkeus designs, manufactures and sells AI-powered hyperspectral optical radar sensor systems (HSOR, Warden, S-HSOR, OTG, ELMO) that combine passive wide-area optical sensing with the proprietary ARK edge AI orchestration and data fusion engine. The systems autonomously detect, recognise and track objects day and night across air, land and maritime domains, then disseminate pre-exploited ISR products over BLOS links, and are sold to defense forces, homeland security agencies and civil defense organisations via direct enterprise sales and OEM platform-integration partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HSOR (Hyperspectral Optical Radar): Arkeus' flagship wide-area, real-time hyperspectral airborne ISR sensor for autonomous wide area search and surveillance.
• WARDEN
• S-HSOR (Surface Hyperspectral Optical Radar)
• OTG (Optical Terminal Guidance)
• ELMO
• ARK (AI Orchestration and Data Fusion Engine)

Products and services

• HSOR (Hyperspectral Optical Radar) Arkeus's flagship real-time, wide-area hyperspectral airborne ISR sensor, hosted on fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters or balloons. Uses the ARK AI engine to autonomously Detect, Recognise and Track objects day and night across land, sea and littoral environments with up to 8x greater detection range than conventional optical systems in degraded visual conditions such as smoke, dust, haze and humidity.
• Warden (HSOR for Tactical UAS) Compact Hyperspectral Optical Radar sensor optimised for Group 2/3 tactical uncrewed aerial systems. Deployed on Insitu Integrator, AV JUMP20, TEKEVER AR3 EVO, UAVE Prion Mk3 D15 and Resolute Eagle platforms. Delivers Group 4 UAS performance within Group 3 size, weight and power envelope, enabling small drones to perform missions previously reserved for larger platforms.
• S-HSOR (Surface Hyperspectral Optical Radar) Wide-area, real-time hyperspectral ISR sensor for surface applications including observation posts, surface vessels and vehicle mounts. Integrated on the Ocius Bluebottle USV for persistent maritime domain awareness; supports Australian and AUKUS-aligned customers.
• OTG (Optical Terminal Guidance) Seeker Software-defined optical seeker that combines wide-area search with precision terminal guidance for loitering or autonomous munitions. Hardware-agnostic and retrofittable; delivers a Detect-Recognise-Track-Lock-Guide solution with passive ranging. Underpinned by a collaboration with MBDA.
• ELMO Expendable Autonomous Imaging Sensor Rapidly deployable, real-time ISR imaging sensor that can be hand-held, dropped, dispersed or left behind. Compresses imagery on the edge via AI Super Resolution and disseminates via Short Burst Data over SATCOM. Demonstrated to US SOCOM and adopted by the UK Defence Academy for next-generation training.
• ARK (AI Orchestration and Data Fusion Engine) Proprietary AI orchestration and data fusion engine that ingests sensor data at the edge, autonomously detects, recognises and tracks objects, and disseminates pre-exploited ISR products without round-tripping raw data through congested comms. Rightsized to mission requirements; underpins all Arkeus sensing systems (HSOR, Warden, S-HSOR, OTG, ELMO) and supports modes from fully autonomous to human-controlled.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eight-times-greater detection range than conventional optical systems in degraded visual environments
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship oem platform partner, core strategic partner for seeker technology, flagship us department of war delivery partner, core oem/integration partner for uk market, core oem/integration partner, core oem/integration partner for maritime domain awareness, regional channel partner for uk, regional channel partner for us bd support and regional channel partner for singapore / apac.

• Insitu (Boeing subsidiary) / Insitu Pacificflagship oem platform partnerOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 6 May 2026Arkeus Warden HSOR deployed operationally aboard the Insitu Integrator UAS — a long-endurance, battle-proven unmanned platform in service with defense operators worldwide. Insitu Pacific (Queensland-based) hosted the 7NEWS Series A announcement and demonstrated industry collaboration; Andrew Duggan, Neil Smith, Clay Paris and Rebecca Kind of Insitu Pacific acknowledged.
• MBDAcore strategic partner for seeker technologyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Arkeus and MBDA Advanced Seeker Technology Collaboration — referenced in news listing for 1 April 2026. MBDA also appears in Arkeus's "Who We've Worked With" customer logos section. Underpins Arkeus's Optical Terminal Guidance (OTG) seeker offering.
• Resolute ISRflagship us department of war delivery partnerOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 13 January 2026Arkeus secured a US DoW contract for expedited delivery of Warden HSOR sensors to be deployed with the Resolute Eagle UAS via Resolute ISR. Arkeus invested in additional Warden production capacity to support an urgent US DOW operational need. Resolute ISR EVP Jake Jacobs quoted endorsing the integration.
• UAVE Ltdcore oem/integration partner for uk marketTechnology or Integration · 12 December 2025Warden HSOR integrated with UAVE's Prion Mk3 D15 long-endurance UAV (UK designed and manufactured). Creates an ISR solution for the UK Ministry of Defence, Coastguard Agencies and international partners. UAVE MD Phillip Slater quoted endorsing the partnership; planned expansion to D50 platform.
• TEKEVERcore oem/integration partnerTechnology or Integration · 11 November 2025Completed joint integration and flight test campaign combining TEKEVER's AR3 EVO tactical UAS with Arkeus's Warden Hyperspectral Optical Radar sensor. Demonstrated full compatibility and mission-readiness for maritime, littoral and overland theaters in contested/low-visibility environments; delivers Group 4 performance within Group 3 SWaP envelope. Operational edge for civil and defense customers in Australia, US, UK and Europe.
• Ociuscore oem/integration partner for maritime domain awarenessTechnology or Integration · 4 November 2025Arkeus Surface HSOR successfully integrated and operationally tested on the Ocius Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) to deliver persistent maritime domain awareness. Reinforces sovereign defense innovation ecosystem and AUKUS-aligned capability. Ocius CEO Robert Dane quoted endorsing the partnership.
• AeroVironment (AV)flagship oem platform partnerOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 12 September 2025Arkeus HSOR integrated as a payload for AV's Group 3 JUMP20 VTOL fixed-wing UAS (announced 11 Sept 2025 in Arlington, VA). The JUMP20 is described as "the first and only uncrewed platform to integrate Arkeus HSOR." AV positioned as an OEM distribution channel for allied defense customers; provides multi-mission ISR with HSOR's 8x range advantage.
• Tanglewoodregional channel partner for ukChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 September 2025Tanglewood represented by Richard Glyn-Jones provided on-the-ground UK partner support for Arkeus at DSEI 25 in London (9–12 September 2025). Joined the largest Austrade delegation to date.
• Digital Cloakregional channel partner for us bd supportChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 August 2025Digital Cloak (Cheyenne Hernandez, Scott Huber) supported Arkeus US BD lead Patrick McCann at the AUVSI Pathfinder Symposium 2025 — flagship annual gathering for Government, Industry and Academia on Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, Counter-UAS and Airspace.
• Miltraderegional channel partner for singapore / apacChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 6 May 2025Miltrade hosted Arkeus on its booth during the IMDEX 25 Exhibition in Singapore. Miltrade booth hosted Singapore's Senior Minister of State (Defence) and the Singapore Chief of Defence Force for briefings led by Arkeus COO Romain Portier on Maritime Domain Awareness and Coastal Defence applications of HSOR.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Anduril Industries: US-based defense technology company building AI-enabled autonomous systems and sensor platforms (Lattice, Ghost, Bolt) for allied militaries. Comparable to Arkeus as a hardware+AI defense sensing/autonomy player, though Anduril operates across a much broader portfolio (air, sea, land, undersea, loitering munitions) and is significantly larger and more capitalised.
• Teledyne FLIR: US-based incumbent manufacturer of EO/IR sensors, thermal imaging, and integrated ISR payloads widely used on defense UAS, USVs, and ground platforms. Comparable to Arkeus as an established EO/IR sensing supplier to allied militaries, but with a much broader product portfolio and deeper prime-contractor relationships.
• L3Harris Technologies: Major US defense prime with a large portfolio of ISR sensors, airborne electronics, and integrated payloads across manned and unmanned platforms. Comparable to Arkeus as a Tier-1 supplier of advanced sensing and mission systems to US DoD and allied forces, though L3Harris is substantially larger and broader in scope.
• Thales: Global defense and aerospace prime (and Arkeus COO Romain Portier's previous employer) producing sensors, communications, and mission systems for military and security customers. Comparable to Arkeus as a major defense-electronics incumbent with deep allied-customer relationships, including in Australia and the Five Eyes markets.
• BAE Systems: Global defense prime (including BAE Systems Australia) producing advanced electronics, sensors, and autonomous systems for air, sea, and land platforms. Comparable to Arkeus as a Tier-1 defense-electronics supplier with established Australian and US Department of War relationships.

Direct peers

• Shield AI: US-based AI autonomy company building Hivemind (autonomous pilot software) and integrated unmanned platforms (V-BAT, Nova) for defense and security. Directly comparable to Arkeus on the AI-for-autonomous-systems axis, though Shield AI focuses on flight autonomy and full-stack UAS rather than hyperspectral ISR payloads.
• Sentient Vision Systems: Australian AI sensing company (Melbourne-based) developing computer-vision-based wide-area motion imagery (ViDAR, optical radar) for ISR over land and sea. Closest direct peer to Arkeus — same Australian origin, AI-optical sensing for defense, integration with small UAS — making it the most head-to-head comparable competitor.
• EOS Defense Systems: Australian defense prime (Canberra) producing counter-UAS, remote weapon stations, and ISR systems for Australian and allied militaries. Comparable as a sovereign Australian defense sensor/ISR house, though EOS focuses on kinetic counter-drone and weapon systems rather than hyperspectral ISR.

Regional players

• DroneShield: Australian publicly-listed counter-UAS and drone detection company selling RF-based detection, soft-kill, and tracking solutions to defense and homeland security customers. Comparable as another Australian sovereign defense-sensor success story targeting similar customer segments, though DroneShield focuses on detection/counter-drone rather than hyperspectral ISR.

Emerging players

• Helsing: European AI defense technology company (Germany/UK) building AI-enabled sensing, autonomous systems, and loitering munitions for European and allied militaries. Comparable to Arkeus as a well-funded European/AUKUS-aligned AI-defense challenger focused on edge AI for autonomous platforms, though Helsing operates across broader mission domains.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkeus-sensors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arkeus