Australian company Arkeus has closed a Series A round worth €15.5 million, securing funding from global investors, including — as the only European participant in the round — Polish family office R+ VC. The company is developing AI-based sensor systems that allow drones, aircraft and autonomous platforms not only to capture images, but to understand them and react in real time.
Arkeus technology is already being used by the Departments of Defence of Australia and the United States, and is integrated with the platforms of the world's largest manufacturers of unmanned systems.
When Drones Operate Blindly — Technology as a Response to the Perception Gap
Imagine a drone patrolling a conflict zone at night. The camera is running. Data is flowing.
But the system does not understand what it sees — it cannot distinguish a civilian from a threat, it is unable to make a decision without a connection to command headquarters. This is not a scenario from the future. It is the reality of most autonomous platforms operating in the world today. And it is precisely this gap that Arkeus set out to fill.
Founded in 2020 in Australia by Simon Olsen and Dr Jonathan Nebauer, the company is building what industry experts increasingly call the "missing layer of autonomy" — sensor and AI systems that operate directly on the platform, without the need to transmit data to external servers. In environments where communications are disrupted and reaction time determines the outcome of a mission, this difference is fundamental.
"Machines cannot operate autonomously if they are unable to truly perceive their surroundings. At the most critical moments, systems still operate blindly. Data is collected, but it is not understood fast enough to enable action. This is exactly the problem we set out to solve."
– Simon Olsen, CEO and co-founder of Arkeus.
€15.5 Million and a Global Consortium of Investors — What Lies Behind the Series A Round
The Series A round worth €15.5 million was led by Australian fund QIC Ventures. New players joined the investor group: R+ VC as the second-largest investor in the entire round, Folklore Ventures and DYNE Ventures.
Existing shareholders — Main Sequence Ventures, Salus Ventures and Beaten Zone — continued their capital commitment, which demonstrates strong confidence in the direction the company is taking.
The funds raised will be allocated to three strategic areas: accelerating expansion in the US and European markets, increasing production capacity in Australia, the United States and Europe, and further developing technology that is already operationally deployed by the Australian and US armies.
Particularly significant is the role of Poland's R+ VC — the first European investor in Arkeus's history. The fund will take a seat on the company's supervisory board and will actively support its expansion in the Central and Eastern Europe region, where demand for advanced defence technologies is growing at a pace unseen in years.
Hyperspectral Optical Radar — the Flagship Product That Sees What Other Systems Cannot
The technological heart of Arkeus's offering is the Hyperspectral Optical Radar — a next-generation system that allows autonomous platforms to detect, recognise and track objects in conditions where traditional cameras and optical sensors simply fail. This means night patrols, operations in smoke and fog, as well as electronically jammed environments.
The results of tests conducted for the US and Australian Departments of Defence are impressive: Arkeus systems demonstrated the ability to detect targets up to eight times farther away than existing optical systems in conditions of limited visibility.
The contracts were awarded after competitive trials conducted against incumbent government suppliers — which in the defence industry is an exceptionally strong signal of quality and operational credibility.
"The next generation of autonomy is not constrained by the platforms themselves, but by the ability to perceive.Decision-making is moving ever closer to the edge of the network, and that requires an entirely new approach to sensing and autonomy. "
– Simon Olsen, CEO of Arkeus.
Arkeus technology is already integrated with the platforms of the world's largest unmanned systems manufacturers, including:
- Anduril — one of the most recognisable US manufacturers of next-generation defence systems
- AeroVironment — a leader in the small military drone segment
- Textron — a multi-industry conglomerate with a strong presence in the defence sector
- Tekever — a European manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems
- Insitu — a subsidiary of Boeing specialising in ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) systems
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R+ VC — Why Did a Polish Investor Choose an Australian Defence Company?
R+ VC is a Polish multi-family office with a global investment portfolio, focused on the deep tech, dual-use, defence, aerospace, AI and robotics segments. The fund invests primarily in companies from the United States, Western Europe and Australia — that is, where technologies of strategic importance to the security of allied states are being developed.
The decision to enter the Arkeus round as the only European investor is a signal both to the market and to the entire defence ecosystem in the CEE region.
"Autonomy in defence does not begin with the platform itself, but with perception — with whether the system can see, understand and react in real time.Arkeus is building precisely that layer of technology, which is why we see very significant potential for the company in Europe, including in Poland and the CEE region. "
– Mateusz Bodio, R+ VC.
The presence of R+ VC in the shareholder structure is more than capital. The fund brings Arkeus into a network of strategic relationships in the region, opening doors to European defence ecosystems — both at government and industry level.
Revolution in AI Perception: How Arkeus Is Changing the Rules of the Game
In the face of dynamic growth in defence spending in Poland and CEE countries after 2022, the timing of entry is no coincidence.
The Global Market for Autonomous Defence Systems — Data and Forecasts
The investment in Arkeus fits into one of the fastest-growing segments of the global defence technology market.
According to a 2024 report by MarketsandMarkets, the global market for autonomous defence systems reached a value of over $14.5 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% through 2030. The key growth driver is precisely the perception and real-time data processing segment — the area where Arkeus is building its advantage.
At the same time, according to the NATO Defence Expenditure report of 2024, defence spending by Alliance countries rose to over 2% of GDP among a record number of members, and unmanned and AI technologies became a modernisation priority. Poland, with one of the fastest-growing defence budgets in the region (4% of GDP in 2024), is a natural market of interest for companies such as Arkeus.
Meanwhile, Deloitte analysts point out in the report Future of Defence Technology 2025 that edge AI systems — that is, AI operating directly on the platform, without the cloud — will be one of the three key megatrends in defence through 2030.
Technological Architecture — Why Edge AI Changes the Rules of the Game
Traditional autonomous systems rely on a model in which the platform collects data and its analysis takes place in the cloud or at a command centre. This solution has a critical flaw: it is vulnerable to communications disruption — whether deliberate or environmental.
In conflict conditions, where signal jamming and electronic attacks are standard, dependence on external servers can mean paralysis of the system at the worst possible moment.
Arkeus designs its systems according to an edge AI architecture: the entire process of perception, analysis and preliminary decision-making takes place directly on the platform. A drone, unmanned aircraft or ground sensor not only captures an image — it processes it immediately, classifies objects and generates operational information without the need for external connectivity. This is a fundamental change in the approach to autonomy.
The technology is designed with a broad spectrum of platforms in mind:
- Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — both small tactical and long-range systems
- Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) — for monitoring ports, coastlines and maritime routes
- Ground observation platforms — stationary and mobile surveillance systems
- Aircraft — as support for ISR tasks requiring high resolution and range
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Simon Olsen and Jonathan Nebauer — the Founding Duo with an Operational Mission
Simon Olsen, CEO and co-founder of Arkeus, has over 15 years of experience in the defence, autonomy and ISR systems industry.
Before founding Arkeus, he held management positions at Sentient Vision Systems — an Australian company specialising in object detection software for unmanned systems — and worked in the unmanned systems sector of the Australian defence industry. This experience allowed him to precisely diagnose the market gap: platforms were not lacking, perception was.
Dr Jonathan Nebauer, CTO of Arkeus, brings deep scientific expertise in advanced sensing and data processing systems to the company. The combination of Olsen's operational experience with Nebauer's scientific background creates a foundation rarely found in defence startups — particularly at such an early stage of development.
"Our ambition is simple.We want to ensure that every autonomous system operating in complex environments has the ability to see, understand and act with certainty. "
– Simon Olsen, CEO of Arkeus.
What Next? Plan for the Coming Months After Closing the Round
The €15.5 million raised will be directed towards the implementation of a specific, multi-dimensional operational plan.
Arkeus plans a significant expansion of production capacity in Australia and the United States, which is intended to enable the company to deliver systems for operational use more quickly and respond to a growing pipeline of defence contracts. At the same time, the company will actively analyse expansion opportunities in Europe, with a particular focus on the CEE region — where R+ VC will serve as a strategic navigator.
From a strategic perspective, Arkeus positions its systems not as a niche product for selected military programmes, but as fundamental perception infrastructure for the entire next generation of autonomous operations. The business model assumes integration with as many platforms and manufacturers as possible — thereby creating a shared perception layer for the global autonomy market.
Arkeus
An Australian defence technology company founded in 2020 by Simon Olsen (CEO) and Dr Jonathan Nebauer (CTO). It develops AI sensor systems that act as the "eyes and brain" of autonomous platforms — enabling real-time perception and decision-making without dependence on external connectivity.
Arkeus technology is integrated with the systems of companies such as Anduril, AeroVironment, Textron, Tekever and Insitu (a subsidiary of Boeing), and the company holds contracts with the Departments of Defence of the US and Australia. The company's flagship product — the Hyperspectral Optical Radar — enables target detection up to eight times farther away than traditional optical systems in conditions of limited visibility.
After closing its Series A round at €15.5 million, the company is rapidly scaling production and expanding its presence in global markets, including Europe.
