What Data61 does

Data61 is the data and digital research arm of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Australia's national science agency, headquartered in Canberra. Established in 2016 through the combination of CSIRO's Digital Productivity team and National ICT Australia, the organization develops applied AI, robotics, and data science technologies across a deliberately diverse portfolio spanning healthcare (AlgoraeOS drug-combination prediction, bionic eye vision processing, breast density assessment, pain intervention), transportation (traffic optimization for Transport for NSW), disaster management (Spark bushfire prediction), cybersecurity (PhishZip phishing detection), industrial robotics (Magneto), consumer IoT (Companion Collar), and AI governance (the AI Safety Case Framework published in early 2026 and synthesizing over 2,000 papers). Its underlying technology stack combines proprietary AI models — including the AlgoraeOS v2 platform trained on more than 5.5 million inhibition records and reportedly outperforming state-of-the-art models including those developed by Google DeepMind — with foundational IP such as CSIRO's 1990s WLAN/WiFi patent.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: government appropriations flowing through CSIRO's national science budget, collaborative research and co-development contracts with universities, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies, and IP commercialisation through licensing. GTM is enterprise field sales executed via formal partnership agreements rather than a self-service or SaaS motion. Customers include research institutions (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre's Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics, University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland), government agencies (Transport for NSW, Metro North Hospital and Health Service), and commercial entities (Algorae Pharmaceuticals, Ceres Tag, DARPA). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; commercial arrangements are handled through project-based partnership agreements.

Because Data61 is a government business unit rather than an independent company, there are no funding rounds, shareholders, M&A activity, or public financial disclosures. Strategic positioning is anchored by sovereign mandate, access to multidisciplinary research talent, and a globally distributed research footprint evidenced by selection as the only Australian team in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Leadership is led by CEO Adrian Turner, with founder/director Liz Jakubowski and department heads Elliot Duff and Joseph Glesta.

Name

Data61

Legal name

Data61

Website

https://data61.csiro.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Data61 is the data and digital research arm of CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, developing AI, robotics, and data science technologies across healthcare, transportation, cybersecurity, disaster management, and consumer IoT for government agencies, universities, and commercial partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Applied AI and Data Science Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Training Data Management, Versioning & Lineage (HDAAALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Lineage & Impact Analysis (HDAEADAF), Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows) (HDAEADAB), Compliance, Risk & Audit Management (SOC 2/ISO/PCI) (HDABANAK)

Keywords

• Artificial intelligence research
• Data science solutions
• Robotics and autonomous systems
• Machine learning platforms
• Cybersecurity software

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Funding and Government Appropriations: As CSIRO's data and digital arm, Data61 receives funding through CSIRO's government appropriations for national science research initiatives.
2. Collaborative Research and Co-development Contracts: Data61 collaborates with universities, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies on research projects. These arrangements involve joint development of technologies such as AlgoraeOS v2 with University of New South Wales and Algorae Pharmaceuticals.
3. IP and Commercialisation: CSIRO links world-class scientific developments with industry, taking research from the lab to market through IP licensing and commercialisation arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Data61 is the data and digital arm of CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, developing AI, data science, and robotics research products. It produces applied software, algorithms, devices, and frameworks spanning healthcare (drug-combination prediction, bionic eye vision), public safety (bushfire prediction, phishing detection), transportation optimization, and robotics (inspection robots, autonomous systems). Products are typically delivered through research collaborations, co-development agreements, and IP licensing with government, academic, and industry partners.

Product overview

Data61 is the data and digital arm of CSIRO, Australia's national science agency. It operates as a research-focused technology organization offering a diverse portfolio of AI, robotics, and data science products and services. The portfolio includes AI-powered analytical tools (Spark bushfire prediction, PhishZip phishing detection, AI Safety Case Framework), healthcare applications (bionic eye vision processing, therapy chatbots), IoT devices (Companion Collar smart pet trackers), robotics systems (Magneto inspection robots, DARPA Subterranean challenge participation), and foundational technology innovations (WiFi/WLAN patents, Lab-on-a-Chip). These products span multiple domains including public safety, cybersecurity, healthcare, transportation, and scientific research, reflecting Data61's role as a multi-disciplinary research and development organization within the national science agency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AlgoraeOS v2 AI platform for predicting synergistic drug combinations, developed for pharmaceutical and cancer research institutions. Trained on over 5.5 million inhibition records and reportedly outperforms state-of-the-art models including those developed by Google DeepMind.
• AI Safety Case Framework Reusable template framework for constructing AI safety cases, providing taxonomies for claim types (assertion-based, constraint-based, capability-based), argument types, and evidence families for organizations deploying dynamic AI systems.
• Spark Bushfire Prediction Toolkit End-to-end processing, simulation and analysis toolkit for bushfire prediction using AI to forecast fire spread, designed for emergency services and government agencies.
• Companion Collar Smart tracker device for cats and dogs developed with Ceres Tag, capable of tracking animal movements in real-time and sending updates to owner's phone when pets wander outside virtual boundaries.
• Chatbot App for Therapy AI-powered smartphone chatbot app delivering at-home social and communication therapy.
• PhishZip Compression-based algorithm for detecting phishing websites, addressing the dynamic nature of phishing attacks. Designed for cybersecurity teams and organizations.
• Magneto Inspection Robot Next-generation maintenance and inspection robot designed to minimize risk and increase safety in the industrial workforce, particularly around confined space entry.
• Vision Processing for Bionic Eye Software that extracts and conveys key visual information to develop a bionic retinal prosthesis system, aiming to restore functional vision for blind users.
• Social Robots for Autism Therapy Social robots being trialed as tools to support education and therapy for children on the autism spectrum.
• Lab-on-a-Chip Field-deployable handheld devices for emergency first responders to detect and identify chemical and biological agents in potential terrorist situations.
• Virga Computing Cluster Advanced, energy efficient computing cluster designed to support Australia's science, industry and economy with high-performance computing infrastructure.
• Wireless LAN Technology Patented wireless local area network technology developed in the 1990s that underpins modern WiFi, generating licensing royalties for CSIRO.
• Traffic Optimization Systems Data-driven traffic optimization solutions developed for Transport for NSW to manage and optimize traffic flow.

Quantifiable outcome

• AlgoraeOS v2 reportedly outperforms state-of-the-art models including those developed by Google DeepMind
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability16 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Algorae PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025AlgoraeOS v2 was developed in collaboration with Algorae Pharmaceuticals, University of New South Wales, and CSIRO Data61. The platform has been trained on more than 5.5 million inhibition records and reportedly outperforms state-of-the-art models including those developed by Google DeepMind.
• University of New South WalescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025Collaborated with University of New South Wales to develop AlgoraeOS v2, an AI drug-combination prediction platform trained on more than 5.5 million inhibition records.
• Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics at the Peter MacCallum Cancer CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted independent preclinical validation of AlgoraeOS v1, testing 21 AI-predicted drug combinations across four cancer cell models, generating approximately 10,000 data points.
• Ceres TagflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfter releasing 'a fit bit for cows' in 2018, Ceres Tag in collaboration with CSIRO's Data61 developed a prototype smart tracker for cats and dogs called Companion Collar. The device can track animal movements in real-time and send updates to owner's phone when pets wander outside established virtual boundaries.
• Transport for NSWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerData61 developed traffic optimization work with Transport for NSW, providing data-driven solutions for managing and optimizing traffic flow in New South Wales.
• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorked with the University of Melbourne to develop software to automatically assess breast density to help identify women at higher risk of breast cancer. This work received merit recipient recognition in the R&D category of the NSW iAwards 2015.
• Metro North Hospital and Health ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Metro North Hospital and Health Service and University of Queensland to develop a mobile platform for pain intervention.
• US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSIRO's Data61 Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group was selected as one of 11 teams worldwide (the only Australian entity) to participate in the three-year DARPA Subterranean Challenge, funded by DARPA to explore new approaches to rapidly map, navigate, and search underground environments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MIT Lincoln Laboratory: MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded R&D center focused on national security, autonomous systems, and advanced analytics. It is a strong peer given Data61's DARPA participation, robotics and cybersecurity focus.
• Boston Dynamics: Boston Dynamics is a leading autonomous robotics company developing inspection, search and rescue robots. Directly relevant peer for Data61's Magneto and DARPA Subterranean robotics capabilities.
• Fraunhofer Society: Fraunhofer is Germany's applied research organization with 75+ institutes covering AI, robotics, cybersecurity, drug development and more. It is directly comparable as a publicly funded applied research body commercializing IP through licensing and industry partnerships.
• SRI International: SRI International is a large US non-profit scientific research institute with deep AI, robotics and computer vision programs. It is structurally the closest international analog to Data61 as a government/mission-funded R&D organization that commercializes IP.
• Battelle Memorial Institute: Battelle is a US non-profit that manages national laboratories and conducts applied AI, robotics, and biomedical research. Comparable as a mission-driven science organization that commercializes IP from government-funded research.

Emerging players

• Insitro: Insitro is a US AI-driven drug discovery company combining ML with high-throughput biology. Comparable to Data61's AlgoraeOS platform as a competing AI drug-combination/synergy prediction effort with pharma partnerships.
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Recursion is an AI-native biopharma applying ML to high-throughput experimental biology. A peer to AlgoraeOS in using AI to predict drug combinations and synergies at scale.

Direct peers

• Allen Institute for AI (AI2): AI2 is a US non-profit AI research institute producing open research in NLP, computer vision, and AI safety. Directly comparable to Data61 on AI safety framework research, open publications, and government/partnership funding model.
• CSIRO (parent): CSIRO is Data61's parent organization and the direct operator of its funding, infrastructure, and commercialization channels. Essential context for any peer comparison since Data61 is embedded within and draws resources from CSIRO.
• National ICT Australia (NICTA) successor entities: Data61 itself was formed by merging NICTA with CSIRO's Digital Productivity team. Comparable Australian applied IT/AI research entities (now largely absorbed into Data61) share the same talent pipeline and academic network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csironews
• Facebookfacebook.com/csiro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csiro

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Data61