Arkeus Announces $18M Series A to Scale AI Sensing Systems

The round also saw participation from new investors R+VC, Folklore Ventures and DYNE Ventures, alongside continued support from existing investors Main Sequence Ventures, Salus Ventures and Beaten Zone.

The company plans to use the funding to expand its core technology, which is already being used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Australian Department of Defence. Arkeus’s technology is also integrated with major drone makers, including AeroVironment, Textron, Tekever, and Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing.

Arkeus has won several defense contracts for its Hyperspectral Optical Radar, an advanced ISR system designed for autonomous operations, as well as for the fast delivery of its AI-powered hyperspectral sensors to meet increasing Pentagon demand for real-time intelligence and surveillance.

The contracts followed competitive testing against existing providers, during which Arkeus sensing systems demonstrated they could detect targets up to 8 times farther than traditional optical systems in poor visibility conditions.

Although billions have been invested in drones, aircraft, and autonomous systems, many still depend on humans, and external processing to make decisions. Arkeus’s technology, including its hyperspectral optical radar systems, captures multiple layers of visual data simultaneously, enabling AI to detect, identify and track objects in any environment, day or night, even in poor visibility or contested conditions where traditional sensors struggle.

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"Machines can't act autonomously if they can't truly perceive their environment. In the moments that matter most, systems are still flying blind. Data is collected but not understood in time to act. That's the problem we set out to solve," said Arkeus CEO and co-founder Simon Olsen. "Platforms don't limit the next generation of autonomy; it's limited by perception. Decision-making is moving closer to the edge, and that requires a completely different approach to sensing and autonomy."

About Arkeus

Founded in 2020, by Simon Olsen and Jonathan Nebauer, Arkeus develops AI powered sensing systems for autonomous platforms. Its technology combines advanced sensors with onboard AI to provide real time awareness and decision-making capabilities for defense, security and civil applications worldwide.

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