What Sintela does

Sintela is a privately held UK-headquartered developer of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology, founded in 2017 and operating from Bristol with additional U.S. hubs in Ann Arbor, Michigan (opened January 2026) and Houston, Texas, plus an India engineering presence. Its ONYX platform converts existing single-mode telecommunications fiber into a continuous, real-time vibration, acoustic, strain, and temperature sensing system using quantitative phase-based DAS, and is offered in three tiers — ONYX nano (up to 20 km), ONYX peta (up to 130 km), and ONYX peta EX (up to 200 km) — together with a Perimeter Intrusion Detection System (PIDS) module.

The company monetizes primarily through enterprise sales of sensing hardware, software licensing and subscriptions, multi-year managed-service and support contracts, and professional services delivered alongside channel partners. Customers span U.S. Customs and Border Protection (LGDS, contract ceiling $200m), Saudi Arabia's SWCC, undisclosed national and international oil and gas operators, mining operators, telecom networks, and academic/geophysical research institutions, with go-to-market executed through direct enterprise field sales and strategic channel partners including SLB (energy), Sensonic (rail, a joint venture with Frauscher), and Etimad (UAE defense). The firm reports 55,000+ km of monitored infrastructure delivered in 2025, $70m in U.S. orders closed in 2025, 60+ patent families, and rankings including 6th in The Sunday Times 100 fastest-growing private UK companies (2023) and an SIA New Products & Solutions Award (2024).

Name

Sintela

Legal name

Sintela Limited

Website

https://sintela.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sintela builds ONYX distributed fiber optic sensing (DAS) hardware and software that convert existing telecom fiber into real-time intrusion, leak, and seismic monitoring systems, serving government, energy, mining, rail, and research customers via direct sales and channel partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales (DAS Sensing Units): Sale of ONYX sensing units (peta, peta EX, nano) - physical hardware products. The systems are compact, rack-mounted units that serve as the interrogator/central processing unit for fiber optic sensing. Hardware includes ONYX nano (compact, up to 20km), ONYX peta (high-performance, up to 135km), and ONYX peta EX (ultra-long range, up to 200km).
2. Software Licensing & Subscriptions: ONYX software provides monitoring capabilities with web-based interface, GIS mapping, event detection and classification. Software includes scalable licensing models. Software provides real-time data visualization, historical event review, and machine learning-based detection.
3. Service Contracts & Support: Multi-year service contracts including operational support and logistics. Example: 5-year contract with CBP for annual support and logistics operations for LGDS. Includes 24/7 monitoring capabilities and ongoing technical support.
4. Professional Services: Installation, commissioning, and deployment services through partners. SLB trained engineers completed 405km installation in Saudi Arabia in weeks. Includes training, calibration, optimization, and data interpretation support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sintela designs, manufactures, and sells the ONYX™ distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) platform that converts existing telecommunications fiber-optic cable into continuous vibration, detection, and ranging systems. The platform spans three hardware tiers (ONYX nano, ONYX peta, ONYX peta EX) covering 20 km to 200 km monitoring ranges, paired with web-based monitoring software using machine-learning classification. Applications include border security, mining geotechnical monitoring, oil and gas pipelines, rail, power, telecom, and geophysical research.

Product overview

Sintela offers the ONYX™ platform of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) products, consisting of three tiers: ONYX™ nano (compact, cost-effective, up to 20 km range for localized mining/tailings applications), ONYX™ peta (high-performance standard range up to 130 km for large infrastructure monitoring), and ONYX™ peta EX (ultra-long-range up to 200 km for regional-scale and deep mine monitoring). The platform converts existing telecommunications fiber-optic cable into a vibration, detection and ranging system using quantitative DAS technology. PIDS (Perimeter Intrusion Detection System) is an add-on module leveraging the ONYX™ platform for security applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ONYX: Sintela's flagship distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) platform. Includes ONYX™ peta (high-performance), ONYX™ peta EX (ultra-long-range), and ONYX™ nano (compact, cost-effective) products for applications including perimeter security, mining monitoring, geophysical monitoring, subsea cable monitoring, and infrastructure monitoring.
• PIDS
• Geo-Sense

Products and services

• ONYX nano Compact, power-efficient, and cost-effective distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system designed for flexible deployment in mining and tailings environments. Supports up to 20 km of sensing fiber with deployment in surface and underground settings.
• ONYX peta High-performance quantitative DAS platform for large-scale mining, infrastructure, energy, and multi-borehole or extended area monitoring. Standard range up to 130 km on both fibers, 19-inch 3U enclosure, sub-meter spatial resolution with industry-leading sensitivity.
• ONYX peta EX Ultra-long-range quantitative DAS platform for regional-scale monitoring, deep mines, long linear assets, and shared telecom infrastructure. Monitoring distances up to 200 km on a single fiber with L-band capability for live telecommunications networks.
• PIDS (Perimeter Intrusion Detection System) Fiber optic-based perimeter intrusion detection system providing round-the-clock, real-time security monitoring for critical infrastructure, facilities, and sensitive sites. Can be fence-mounted, buried, or wall-top configuration with 100% positive detections and zero nuisance alarms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55,000+ km of assets monitored in 2025, making ONYX the most rapidly adopted DFOS platform globally
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered regional, core, major and minor.

• Perimeter Systems AustraliaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 August 2024Regional channel partner in Australia showcasing and distributing Sintela PIDS products including ONYX nano for perimeter intrusion detection at Security ASIAL Exhibition and other regional security events.
• SLB (Schlumberger)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 30 January 2024Strategic partnership in the Energy market. SLB trained engineers deploy and commission ONYX systems. Completed 405km SWCC water pipeline project in Saudi Arabia. SLB provides industry-specific application software and service delivery while Sintela supplies core sensing technology.
• Sensonic (Joint Venture: Frauscher + Sintela)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 January 2024Joint venture with Frauscher Sensor Technology for rail industry applications. Sintela maintains shareholding and supplies Optical Sensing Units (OSU) and Operating System Software (OSS). Sensonic delivers rail-specific Industry Application Software and Service (IAS). Kaynes Technology acquired 54% of Sensonic in early 2025 providing new growth capital.
• Etimad Strategic Security Solutions LLC (Edge Group Company)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 December 2023International partnership to protect and monitor critical national infrastructure in the UAE. Etimad is an Edge Group Company providing access to UAE market and government relationships.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)coreOthersGovernment customer for Linear Ground Detection System (LGDS). Sintela supplies ONYX technology and provides full operational support through comprehensive 5-year service contract. Contract ceiling increased to $200m for border security services.
• Ann Arbor Spark, Michigan Economic DevelopmentminorOthers$10m investment in Ann Arbor headquarters anchored by local economic development support. Part of Michigan's economic growth strategy for technology and defense sectors.
• Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSintela joined FOSA to help drive DFOS standards adoption. Working collaboratively to establish unified industry standards enhancing interoperability, reliability, and trust in DFOS systems.
• Frauscher SensoniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Frauscher Sensonic for fiber-optic sensing in rail. Michael Thiel, CEO Frauscher stated: 'we're proud of our collaboration with Sintela, whose experts are known for being true pioneers in the area of fiber-optic sensing.' Part of Sensonic JV.
• Academic Research Partners (Tohoku University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, NIED, OYO Corporation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Japanese research institutions using ONYX for geoscience research. Seven papers presented at JpGU 2024 covering earthquake monitoring, volcano monitoring, and shallow structure imaging using traffic noise. Demonstrates technology effectiveness for permanent large-area monitoring.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific research partnership for Advancing Seafloor Monitoring Project. MBARI deployed Geo-Sense instrument (ONYX-based) on southern flank of Monterey Canyon in January 2025.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Silixa: UK-based direct competitor in distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS/DAS), offering high-fidelity acoustic and strain sensing for oil & gas, security, and geophysical applications. Most directly comparable to Sintela in both technology positioning and customer segments.
• Bandweaver Technologies: DFOS vendor with both Chinese and UK operations offering distributed temperature and acoustic sensing for power, oil & gas, and security. A direct competitor to Sintela in perimeter intrusion detection and pipeline monitoring.
• AP Sensing: Germany-based DFOS specialist with products for power cable, pipeline, and perimeter monitoring. A direct competitor particularly in linear asset monitoring and power utility applications that overlap with Sintela's pipeline, powerline, and rail deployments.
• Luna Innovations: U.S. fiber optic sensing parent of OptaSense, providing distributed sensing and test & measurement instrumentation. Closely comparable technology stack and a similar mix of government/defence and oil & gas customers to Sintela.
• OptaSense (Luna Innovations): A pioneer in distributed acoustic sensing for pipeline monitoring, perimeter security, and rail, owned by Luna Innovations. Competes head-to-head with Sintela in energy, security, and rail verticals with a comparable DAS product portfolio.
• Fotech Solutions (a bp company): DAS specialist acquired by bp, providing fiber optic monitoring solutions for pipeline, perimeter, and security applications. Directly comparable to Sintela in pipeline integrity and perimeter intrusion detection, now backed by an integrated oil major.

Broad incumbents

• Halliburton: Major oilfield services incumbent with its own DAS offering (Pivot/Intelevate) for well and reservoir monitoring. Competes with and could substitute for Sintela in upstream oil & gas sensing applications, with vastly greater scale and balance sheet.
• SLB (Schlumberger): Global oilfield services giant and Sintela's strategic energy-market channel partner (e.g., SWCC Saudi Arabia). Relevant both as a collaborator and as a potential vertical incumbent that could in-source DAS technology, directly threatening Sintela's energy-channel economics.
• Viavi Solutions: U.S. fiber optic test & measurement and sensing incumbent serving telecom and cable operators globally. Comparable in underlying photonics expertise and fiber-centric customer base, with potential to expand into sensing-adjacent categories where Sintela competes.

Emerging players

• Hifi Engineering: Canadian high-fidelity distributed sensing specialist focused on oil & gas well and pipeline monitoring. Comparable technology to Sintela's ONYX, with overlap in upstream and midstream energy customers, particularly in North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SintelaDAS

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Sintela