Sphere Pty Ltd
Sphere Pty Ltd, operating as Sphere Drones, is an Australian provider of proprietary autonomous drone hardware (HubX, HubT), the Curo drone management software suite, and distributed third-party drone brands, serving mining, utilities, infrastructure, and government clients across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSeven Hills, Australia
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sphere Pty Ltd does
Sphere Pty Ltd, operating as Sphere Drones and legally registered as Sphere Communications Pty Ltd (ABN 61 003 102 663), is an Australian drone solutions provider founded in 2012 and headquartered in Seven Hills, New South Wales. The company addresses enterprise demand for remote aerial data capture across mining, utilities, infrastructure, and government sectors, offering an integrated stack comprising proprietary autonomous drone hardware (HubX, a mobile self-sustaining Drone-in-a-Box platform with solar power and 5G/satellite connectivity; HubT, a fixed-site Drone-in-a-Box now manufactured in-house in Trailer and Skid configurations), the proprietary Curo software suite (CuroRPA for compliance, CuroROC for remote operations centre command-and-control, CuroInsights for data processing and analytics), and value-added distribution of third-party drone brands including DJI Enterprise, Flyability, Wingtra, Acecore, Elistair, MicaSense, and Sentera. Supporting services include flight operations, training, maintenance, repairs, and equipment rentals. The company has served more than 13,000 organisations over its operating history and lists BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Glencore, Yancoal, Wilmar Sugar, Essential Energy, Sydney Water, Water Corporation, Brisbane City Council, Transport for NSW, WA Police, and others among its customers.
The business operates multiple revenue streams: hardware sales (proprietary and distributed), software subscriptions (Curo suite), professional services (training, flight operations, maintenance, repairs), managed services (turnkey BVLOS operations), and equipment rentals. Pricing is largely quote-based for enterprise solutions, with a transactional e-commerce storefront for smaller buyers featuring free shipping on orders over A$499.01. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales with channel partnerships — notably Aptella for HubX distribution across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia (signed January 2025), and the Global UAS Alliance with Nordic Unmanned and RMUS LLC for cross-distribution across the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (signed August 2022). The company holds regulatory accreditations including CASA Broad Area BVLOS Self-Assessment Approval (November 2025), BARS accreditation from the Flight Safety Foundation (January 2025), AAUS Platinum membership, CASA Know Your Drone Safety Advocate designation, and Remote Operator Certificate (ReOC 1114).
In March 2026, Sphere brought HubT production in-house through a dedicated Sidero Local manufacturing facility in Seven Hills, Sydney, introducing Trailer and Skid deployment configurations and aligning electrical design with Australian standards AS/NZS 5368:2025 and AS/NZS 3001 series. The company maintains offices in New South Wales (Seven Hills HQ and manufacturing) and Western Australia (East Victoria Park) with support presence in Queensland and Victoria, and is privately held with founder-CEO Paris Cockinos leading operations. No external funding rounds, institutional investor ownership, or parent company structure were identified in the source material, indicating organic growth and retained-earnings-financed expansion to date.
Sphere Pty Ltd firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sphere Pty Ltd
- Legal name
- Sphere Communications Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://spheredrones.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Sphere Pty Ltd, operating as Sphere Drones, is an Australian provider of proprietary autonomous drone hardware (HubX, HubT), the Curo drone management software suite, and distributed third-party drone brands, serving mining, utilities, infrastructure, and government clients across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sphere Pty Ltd industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Drone Solutions
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones (IMABAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- UAS Ground Control Stations (GCS) & Remote Operations Infrastructure (IMABAIAL), UAS Launch/Recovery & Support Equipment (Catapults, Nets, Docking) (IMABAIAN), Drones & UAV Retail (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRACAHAC)
Keywords
Where Sphere Pty Ltd is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seven Hills
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sphere Pty Ltd business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales: Sale of drones, payloads, accessories and parts from global brands (DJI, Flyability, Acecore, Wingtra, etc.) and proprietary Sphere solutions.
- Software Subscriptions: Curo suite platforms (CuroRPA, CuroROC, CuroInsights) providing compliance, operations and data processing capabilities on subscription basis.
- Professional Services: Flight operations, training, maintenance, and repair services for drone operations.
- Managed Services: Managed BVLOS drone operations with HubX/HubT including regulatory compliance support. Turnkey solutions from approval to operational deployment.
- Equipment Rentals: Flexible rental options for world-class drones and payloads for trial and short-term deployment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Residential shipping options based on order value |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise/custom pricing for drone systems |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Sphere Pty Ltd product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sphere Pty Ltd (trading as Sphere Drones) designs, manufactures and distributes integrated commercial drone solutions, combining proprietary autonomous drone hardware platforms (HubX and HubT), a proprietary software suite (CuroRPA, CuroROC, CuroInsights) for compliance, remote operations and data analytics, and professional services including flight operations, training, maintenance, repairs and rentals. The company also distributes third-party drones, payloads and software from brands such as DJI, Flyability, Acecore, Wingtra, Elistair, MicaSense and Sentera, serving mining, utilities, infrastructure, government and construction customers with BVLOS-enabled data capture.
Product overview
Sphere is an Australian company providing integrated drone solutions combining proprietary software platforms with distributed third-party hardware. The core offering consists of three main proprietary platforms: HubX (mobile autonomous drone infrastructure for remote BVLOS operations with solar/5G connectivity), HubT (fixed-site Drone-in-a-Box solution now manufactured in-house in Trailer and Skid configurations), and the Curo suite (CuroRPA for compliance management, CuroROC for remote operations centre command-and-control, and CuroInsights for data analytics). The company distributes DJI Enterprise products including Matrice series drones (400, 350 RTK, 4E, 4T) and Zenmuse payloads, Flyability Elios 3 for confined spaces with specialized payloads, and sells software including Pix4Dmapper, UgCS Mapper, and DJI Terra. Services include flight operations, training, maintenance, repairs, and rentals. The company holds BVLOS regulatory approvals and BARS accreditation enabling enterprise-scale drone operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HubX: Deploy anywhere. Capture data everywhere. A self-sustaining, mobile payload platform designed for Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) and terrestrial scanning tasks, featuring bespoke solar power system and 5G/satellite internet solutions.
- HubT
- CuroRPA
- CuroROC
- CuroInsights
Products and services
- HubX Mobile autonomous drone infrastructure solution for remote BVLOS operations. Features a self-sustaining solar power system and 5G/satellite internet connectivity for deployment in remote, hazardous sites. Supports Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) and terrestrial scanning operations for mining, utilities, infrastructure and government customers.
- HubT Fixed-site autonomous drone infrastructure (Drone-in-a-Box) solution designed for BVLOS operations across mining, utilities, infrastructure and government. Available in Trailer and Skid configurations for flexible deployment, with vertically integrated in-house manufacturing giving direct control over production timelines and quality.
- CuroRPA Enterprise drone compliance platform that ensures drone operations are always audit-ready. Manages regulatory compliance documentation and operational standards for enterprise and government drone programmes.
- CuroROC Remote Operations Centre platform providing live command, control and telemetry for drone operations from anywhere in the country, enabling centralised execution of BVLOS flights.
- CuroInsights Drone data processing and analytics platform that delivers processed aerial data from drone missions, providing mission efficiency and time-to-data metrics for customers.
- Flight Operations Professional drone services including mapping, inspections and LiDAR data capture operations, performed by Sphere's team of remote pilots and solutions specialists.
- Training Expert training programmes to build team competency in drone operations, including remote pilot training and operational best practice.
- Maintenance Equipment maintenance services to keep drones compliant, safe and operational, supporting enterprise customers with ongoing fleet upkeep.
- Repairs Professional drone repair solutions designed to keep customer drone equipment operational and compliant with regulatory standards.
- Rentals Flexible drone and payload rental options enabling customers to trial equipment or fulfil short-term deployment needs without purchase commitment.
- DJI Matrice Series Drones (Distributed) Authorised distribution of DJI Enterprise Matrice family drones including the Matrice 400, Dock 3, Matrice 4E, Matrice 4T and Matrice 350 RTK, for emergency response, inspections, surveying and mapping operations.
- Flyability Elios 3 (Distributed) Authorised distribution of the Flyability Elios 3 indoor drone for confined space mapping and inspections, including collision-tolerant design and specialised payloads for surveying, ultrasonic thickness measurement and gas detection.
- DJI Zenmuse Payloads (Distributed) Authorised distribution of DJI Zenmuse payloads including the multi-sensor H30T, high-resolution H30, LiDAR/RGB L3 and full-frame photogrammetry P1, for enterprise inspection, mapping and surveying applications.
- Wingtra and Acecore Survey Drones (Distributed) Authorised distribution of professional surveying drones from Wingtra (Wingtra ONE GEN II VTOL) and Acecore (Zoe, Noa, Noa Hybrid, Zetona), targeting mapping and surveying workflows.
- Drone Mapping Software (Distributed) Authorised distribution of third-party drone mapping and photogrammetry software including Pix4Dmapper (maps, models, point clouds), UgCS Mapper (UAV mission planning) and DJI Terra (mapping and visualisation), sold alongside the Curo platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced survey time from 2 weeks to 2 days for 3,800 hectares of sugarcane
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sphere Pty Ltd
Customer profileNamed customers23 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Sphere Pty Ltd technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Sphere Pty Ltd partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Sidero LocalcoreIn-house manufacturing partner through Sidero Local facility in Seven Hills, Sydney for HubT autonomous drone hardware production. Vertically integrated manufacturing enables direct control over production timelines, quality assurance and output scaling.
- AptellacoreStrategic partnership with leading technology solutions provider Aptella for distribution of HubX across Australia and New Zealand. Aptella has locations across all States and Territories of Australia, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand. Partnership targets mining, construction, and emergency services sectors with HubX autonomous scanning and mapping operations.
- Nordic UnmannedcoreMOU signed with Nordic Unmanned and RMUS LLC to distribute each other's products and drone services across United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Partnership forms third member of the Global UAS Alliance. Enables Sphere to expand product offerings globally including Nero water sampler and Curo drone management platform.
- RMUS LLCcoreMOU partner alongside Nordic Unmanned for cross-distribution across US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Leading unmanned solutions provider in North America offering vetted equipment sales, technical support, service, software, training, and manufacturer certification.
- Global UAS AlliancecoreGlobal alliance formed with Nordic Unmanned and RMUS LLC for mutual distribution and support of drone products and services across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions.
- SkydiocoreDistribution partnership with American drone giant Skydio to introduce Skydio X2 and 2 drones into Australia along with Skydio Autonomy AI software, Skydio Dock, Skydio 3D Scan, and Skydio Cloud. Distribution partnership expands product portfolio to include American-designed autonomous drones.
- DJIcoreAuthorised DJI Enterprise dealer providing DJI drones, payloads and accessories. Major brand partner for enterprise drone solutions including Matrice series, Mavic series, and Zenmuse payloads.
- FlyabilitycoreAuthorised distributor for Flyability drones and payloads including Elios 3 for confined space inspections, surveying payloads, UT payloads, and gas sensors.
- Acecore TechnologiessupportingAuthorised distributor for Acecore drones including Zoe, Noa, Noa Hybrid, and Zetona models for professional surveying and mapping applications.
- WingtrasupportingAuthorised distributor for Wingtra ONE GEN II VTOL drone for mapping and surveying operations.
- ElistairsupportingAuthorised distributor for Elistair tether systems including Ligh-T, SAFE-T, and related tethering solutions for persistent overwatch capability.
- MicaSensesupportingAuthorised distributor for MicaSense sensors including RedEdge-P multispectral cameras for agricultural and environmental data collection.
- SenterasupportingAuthorised distributor for Sentera sensors and drone solutions for agricultural and industrial inspections.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sphere Pty Ltd competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Skydio: US autonomous drone leader with Dock, 3D Scan and autonomy software. Sphere is a Skydio distribution partner in Australia and competes in the same autonomous BVLOS enterprise category with HubX/HubT.
- DroneShield: Australian-listed counter-UAS and UAS detection company. Comparable Australian regulatory and compliance expertise and overlapping enterprise/government customer base in uncrewed systems.
- DJI Enterprise: World's largest commercial drone OEM, whose Matrice and Dock products Sphere both distributes and competes against in Australia. Directly comparable hardware platform and overlapping enterprise customer base.
Emerging players
- Wingtra: VTOL mapping drone maker whose Wingtra ONE Sphere distributes in Australia. Comparable professional surveying and mapping drone offering targeting mining and infrastructure use cases.
Direct peers
- Percepto: Provider of autonomous drone-in-a-box solutions for industrial sites with its own Remote Operations software. Directly comparable offering to Sphere's HubX/HubT and CuroROC stack for mining, utilities and infrastructure.
- Nordic Unmanned: European provider of professional drone services and aerial data, Global UAS Alliance partner with Sphere. Operates in the same BVLOS, survey and inspection verticals with cross-border distribution overlap.
- RMUS LLC: North American unmanned solutions distributor and Global UAS Alliance partner. Comparable enterprise drone distribution, integration and support model to Sphere outside Australia.
- American Robotics: Pioneer in fully autonomous drone-in-a-box systems for industrial sites, now part of Ondas Holdings. Closely comparable autonomous BVLOS architecture to Sphere's HubX/HubT and similar target verticals.
- PrecisionHawk: Commercial drone services and aerial data analytics platform serving mining, utilities and infrastructure. Overlap with Sphere's survey, inspection and data analytics offering through CuroInsights.
- DroneDeploy: Cloud-based drone data platform for mapping, inspection and analytics. Comparable software-led layer to Sphere's Curo suite and a competitor for enterprise aerial data workflows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sphere Pty Ltd social profiles
Digital presenceSphere Pty Ltd compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
Sphere Pty Ltd financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sphere Pty Ltd leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Sphere Pty Ltd funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sphere Pty Ltd 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 Sphere Pty Ltd
What does Sphere Pty Ltd do?
Sphere Pty Ltd (trading as Sphere Drones) designs, manufactures and distributes integrated commercial drone solutions, combining proprietary autonomous drone hardware platforms (HubX and HubT), a proprietary software suite (CuroRPA, CuroROC, CuroInsights) for compliance, remote operations and data analytics, and professional services including flight operations, training, maintenance, repairs and rentals. The company also distributes third-party drones, payloads and software from brands such as DJI, Flyability, Acecore, Wingtra, Elistair, MicaSense and Sentera, serving mining, utilities, infrastructure, government and construction customers with BVLOS-enabled data capture.
Is Sphere Pty Ltd a public or private company?
Sphere Pty Ltd is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sphere Pty Ltd founded?
Sphere Pty Ltd was founded in 2012.
Where is Sphere Pty Ltd based?
Sphere Pty Ltd is headquartered in Seven Hills, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Sphere Pty Ltd make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are software Subscriptions, professional Services, managed Services and equipment Rentals.
Who are Sphere Pty Ltd's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Skydio, DroneShield and DJI Enterprise. Wingtra is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Percepto, Nordic Unmanned, RMUS LLC, American Robotics, PrecisionHawk and DroneDeploy.
Does Sphere Pty Ltd have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sphere Pty Ltd.
What industry is Sphere Pty Ltd in?
Sphere Pty Ltd's product category is Commercial Drone Solutions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAIAA, Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones, with a secondary code of IMABAIAL, UAS Ground Control Stations (GCS) & Remote Operations Infrastructure. Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.