TerraSense Analytics
TerraSense Analytics is a Canadian AI defense technology company that develops MIST, an AI/ML middleware for multimodal sensor fusion enabling real-time ISR, target detection, and tracking across land, sea, and air domains for defense primes and government agencies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKelowna, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What TerraSense Analytics does
TerraSense Analytics is a Canadian defense technology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Kelowna, BC, that develops AI/ML middleware for multimodal sensor fusion. The company primarily serves defense and government agencies with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements. Its core product, MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking), fuses electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR), radar (GMTI/SAR), and wide-area imaging sensor data into real-time, actionable target detection and tracking intelligence for operators across land, sea, and air domains. Major defense prime partners include Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Thales, Boeing, and Textron, alongside Canadian government funders (Department of National Defence via IDEaS, DRDC, Transport Canada, Innovation Solutions Canada).
The MIST platform is sensor- and platform-agnostic, integrating with STANAG 4609 compliant EO/IR gimbals and STANAG 4607 GMTI/SAR radars, and outputting geolocated targets via MIL-STD 2525 icons and Cursor on Target messages. A key technical differentiator is proprietary synthetic data generation used to train deep learning models on an 18M+ image dataset, enabling high-accuracy detection with reduced false positives. The platform is designed for low-SWaP edge deployment on drones, airborne ISR platforms, ground vehicles, and naval vessels, processing data onboard to support operations in disconnected or low-bandwidth environments. Product variants include ARCTIC MIST (Arctic/maritime domain awareness), SeaMIST (naval situational awareness), and ATTCS (ground-to-ground situational awareness, deployed with BAE Systems Australia), supplemented by modules such as MIST FUSION, MIST HAT, and PIKE.
TerraSense operates a pre-commercialization business model, with revenue primarily derived from Canadian government defense innovation grants and contracts. The company has received approximately $12M+ in cumulative government funding, headlined by the $8.976M IDEaS contract in May 2023 — the largest IDEaS award in Canadian history — plus DRDC/Transport Canada ARCTIC MIST funding ($1.5M) and Innovation Solutions Canada awards ($2.3M in 2024). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting defense prime contractors for integration into programs of record, complemented by event-driven presence at CANSEC and direct government relationships. The company is also exploring adjacent applications including environmental monitoring (a 2023 Whale Seeker/Transport Canada partnership for North Atlantic right whale conservation). Headcount stands at approximately 30, with roughly 80% in technical roles (developers, ML specialists) and active hiring in software, MLOps, UAV mechatronics, and product. Mike McGinty serves as CEO, following a leadership transition in 2022 that coincided with the spin-off of CRWN.AI, which now pursues linear infrastructure monitoring independently.
TerraSense Analytics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- TerraSense Analytics
- Legal name
- TerraSense Analytics
- Website
- https://terrasense.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- TerraSense Analytics is a Canadian AI defense technology company that develops MIST, an AI/ML middleware for multimodal sensor fusion enabling real-time ISR, target detection, and tracking across land, sea, and air domains for defense primes and government agencies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
TerraSense Analytics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Defense ISR AI Software
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Security Systems Services (56162)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Counter-UAS Detection Sensors & Integrated Sensor Suites (IMABAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval) (IMABAGAA), Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones (IMABAIAA), Maritime Security Technology & Surveillance Systems (CCTV, Radar, AIS, Perimeter Intrusion) (TLAHANAC)
Keywords
Where TerraSense Analytics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kelowna
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
TerraSense Analytics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Government Defense Contracts: Primarily funded through IDEaS (Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security) program from Department of National Defence; multiple project phases and contracts awarded including the largest IDEaS contract in Canadian history ($8.976M in 2023).
- Pre-Commercialization R&D: Company is pre-commercialization, focused on R&D phase with government funding. Building toward integration with defense primes on programs of record.
- Environmental Monitoring Applications: MIST technology applied to non-defense uses including marine mammal detection (Whale Seeker partnership with Transport Canada) for whale conservation.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
TerraSense Analytics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TerraSense Analytics builds and sells MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking), an AI/ML middleware that fuses multi-domain sensor data (EO/IR video, SAR/GMTI radar, wide-area imagery) into real-time detection, recognition, identification, and tracking intelligence. The product runs at the edge on drones, airborne ISR platforms, ground vehicles, and naval vessels under low-SWaP constraints, and integrates with STANAG 4607/4609 sensors and MIL-STD 2525 / Cursor on Target mission systems. Domain-specialized variants (ARCTIC MIST, SeaMIST, ATTCS) extend the platform for Arctic, maritime, and ground situational awareness use cases sold to defense and government customers.
Product overview
TerraSense Analytics offers MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking) as its core AI middleware platform, augmented by specialized product variants including ARCTIC MIST (Arctic and maritime domain awareness), SeaMIST (naval maritime operations), and ATTCS (ground-to-ground automated situational awareness). The platform processes multi-domain sensor data including EO/IR video, radar (SAR/GMTI), and wide-area imaging through neural network-based detection and classification. Add-on modules like MIST FUSION and MIST HAT extend core capabilities. MIST is sensor-agnostic, deploys at the edge on drones, vehicles, vessels, and ground stations, and outputs geolocated targets via MIL-STD 2525 icons and Cursor on Target messages.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking): Core AI-driven middleware product that fuses multi-domain sensor data into actionable intelligence for defence and security applications. MIST processes EO/IR and radar feeds in real time for detection, recognition, and tracking.
- ARCTIC MIST
- SeaMIST
- ATTCS (Automatic Target Detection, Tracking and Classification System)
- AVION
Products and services
- MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking) AI/ML middleware that fuses multi-domain sensor data (EO/IR video, SAR/GMTI radar, wide-area imaging) into real-time detection, classification, and tracking intelligence. Integrates with STANAG 4609 EO/IR gimbals and STANAG 4607 GMTI/SAR radars, runs at the edge on drones, airborne ISR platforms, ground vehicles, and naval vessels under low-SWaP constraints, and outputs geolocated targets via MIL-STD 2525 icons and Cursor on Target messages.
- ARCTIC MIST Arctic-optimized variant of MIST designed for maritime and Arctic domain awareness with very low size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements for UAV deployment. All processing takes place onboard the aircraft without reliance on external servers, enabling operations in remote environments without connectivity.
- SeaMIST Maritime-specific extension of MIST for enhanced naval situational awareness. Detects visible objects in naval environments using infrared sensors and deep learning networks, fusing multiple sensors for real-time hazard and threat detection in all weather conditions and time of day.
- ATTCS (Automatic Target Detection, Tracking and Classification System) Ground-to-ground automated situational awareness system integrated with BAE Systems Australia's VANTAGE Automated Turret System and Atlas vehicle platform. Provides real-time object detection, tracking, and classification for land domain operations.
- PIKE IED/Pike detection system developed under IDEaS Project 1B for threat detection capabilities, leveraging TerraSense's MIST AI/ML pipeline for non-ISR threat identification.
Quantifiable outcome
- 112% more whales detected compared to conventional methods (Whale Seeker partnership)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use TerraSense Analytics
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
TerraSense Analytics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
TerraSense Analytics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.
- BAE Systems AustraliacoreLive integration of ATTCS onto VANTAGE Automated Turret System and Atlas vehicle platform. Two-week field testing in Australia culminating in successful demonstration. First-of-its-kind deployment pushing hardware and software beyond controlled lab environments in challenging conditions including 35C heat, bushfire warnings, hail, and heavy rain.
- KF AerospacecoreJoint initiative for Airborne Sensing Laboratory (ASL) in KF Aerospace hangar. Partnership between TerraSense, UBC STAR, and KF Aerospace creating affordable high-quality airborne data collection platform. Cessna retrofitted with L3Harris Wescam MX-10 and IMSAR NSP-5 sensors for concurrent optical and radar data collection.
- National Research Council CanadaminorPartnership through Ribbit startup program connecting TerraSense with NRC for defense innovation initiatives.
- Whale SeekermajorCollaboration with Montreal-based AI company Whale Seeker for marine mammal detection. TerraSense provides edge-computed AI solutions; Whale Seeker's technology identified 112% more whales than conventional methods. Partnership with Transport Canada for North Atlantic right whale conservation in St-Lawrence River.
- CRWN.ai (Spinoff Company)minorTerraSense divested to focus on defense-first products; CRWN.ai spun off for linear infrastructure monitoring (transmission systems). Eric Miller became CEO of CRWN.ai; Mike McGinty appointed CEO of TerraSense.
- UBC Okanagan / UBC STARcorePartnership with UBC STAR initiative connecting private sector with university researchers. Co-developed MIST technology with Dr. Zheng Liu (Professor of Applied Science in Engineering) through IDEaS program. TerraSense incubated in UBC STAR lab starting December 2018. Initial 2018 application catalyzed growth from 2 employees to nearly 30.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
TerraSense Analytics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Anduril Industries: Anduril's Lattice platform is a sensor fusion and autonomous ISR operating system that ingests multi-domain sensor data for real-time situational awareness, conceptually the closest large-scale analogue to MIST. Both companies sell middleware-grade sensor fusion into Western defense primes, though Anduril is far more capitalized and fielded.
- Shield AI: Shield AI builds Hivemind, an autonomous ISR and pilot AI stack integrated with UAVs and tactical aircraft, mirroring TerraSense's edge-AI sensor fusion approach on airborne platforms. Both companies pursue prime-embedded autonomy contracts with allied militaries, including partnerships with defense primes.
- Helsing: Helsing is a European defense AI company building real-time sensor fusion and ISR software for air, land, and maritime platforms — a direct conceptual analogue to MIST's cross-domain fusion architecture. Both companies emphasize edge processing, explainable AI, and integration with allied defense primes.
- Rebellion Defense: Rebellion Defense (now Defcon AI) built AI products for defense ISR and decision support, including sensor-data processing for mission planning — closely overlapping TerraSense's MIST capabilities. Both companies sell AI middleware into Western defense programs at comparable stages of maturity.
Broad incumbents
- Palantir Technologies: Palantir's Gotham and Maven Smart System platforms perform multi-source data fusion and target intelligence for the US DoD and allies, conceptually overlapping MIST but at vastly greater scale and across broader data domains. Palantir is a broader incumbent rather than a direct sensor-edge specialist.
- BAE Systems Digital Intelligence: BAE Systems is both a TerraSense partner (ATTCS integration in Australia) and a broader incumbent building its own multi-sensor ISR and electronic warfare capabilities. Its ATLAS, VANTAGE, and broader defense AI portfolio overlap conceptually with MIST but spans a much wider solution set.
- Lockheed Martin (Skunk Works): Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is a TerraSense partner integrating ISR AI solutions but is also a broad incumbent with in-house multi-sensor fusion, target recognition, and autonomous systems programs across its portfolio. The overlap with MIST is partial within a much larger product set.
- Thales: Thales is a TerraSense partner and a major incumbent in defense sensors, maritime surveillance systems, and ISR processing — directly overlapping SeaMIST and ARCTIC MIST product categories. Thales brings its own sensor and fusion portfolio but operates at vastly greater scale across global defense markets.
- Leidos: Leidos is a major US defense IT and ISR integrator with substantial sensor processing, target detection, and data fusion programs for the US DoD and allied customers. Comparable to TerraSense at the functional level (sensor fusion for defense ISR) but operating at vastly greater scale and breadth.
- CACI International: CACI provides ISR, signals intelligence, and sensor-data processing services to US defense and intelligence agencies, conceptually overlapping MIST's mission of turning multi-domain sensor inputs into actionable intelligence. Operates at much larger scale as a broad incumbent integrator rather than an edge-AI specialist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
TerraSense Analytics social profiles
Digital presenceTerraSense Analytics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
TerraSense Analytics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
TerraSense Analytics subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
TerraSense Analytics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
TerraSense Analytics M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about TerraSense Analytics
What does TerraSense Analytics do?
TerraSense Analytics builds and sells MIST (Multimodal Input Surveillance & Tracking), an AI/ML middleware that fuses multi-domain sensor data (EO/IR video, SAR/GMTI radar, wide-area imagery) into real-time detection, recognition, identification, and tracking intelligence. The product runs at the edge on drones, airborne ISR platforms, ground vehicles, and naval vessels under low-SWaP constraints, and integrates with STANAG 4607/4609 sensors and MIL-STD 2525 / Cursor on Target mission systems. Domain-specialized variants (ARCTIC MIST, SeaMIST, ATTCS) extend the platform for Arctic, maritime, and ground situational awareness use cases sold to defense and government customers.
Is TerraSense Analytics a public or private company?
TerraSense Analytics is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was TerraSense Analytics founded?
TerraSense Analytics was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is TerraSense Analytics based?
TerraSense Analytics is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada, in the North America region.
How does TerraSense Analytics make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Government Defense Contracts are the primary driver. The others are pre-Commercialization R&D and environmental Monitoring Applications.
Who are TerraSense Analytics's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Anduril Industries, Shield AI, Helsing and Rebellion Defense. Broad incumbents are Palantir Technologies, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, Lockheed Martin (Skunk Works), Thales, Leidos and CACI International.
Does TerraSense Analytics have an API?
No public API is recorded for TerraSense Analytics.
What industry is TerraSense Analytics in?
TerraSense Analytics's product category is Defense ISR AI Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAGAK, Counter-UAS Detection Sensors & Integrated Sensor Suites, with a secondary code of IMABAGAA, Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval). Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.