Optera, a neuromorphic sensing startup that delivers space domain awareness technology, has raised £3 million in funding led by UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital), with participation from Blackfinch Ventures, Foresight Group, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) and Empirical Ventures. The round will be used to establish and scale Optera's United Kingdom headquarters and engineering team.
Optera's event-based sensors and AI analytics work like the human eye, capturing only changes in a scene rather than continuous frames. This enables operators to track and characterise fast-moving objects using far less data and power than traditional frame-based cameras, supporting persistent, lower-cost operations on the ground and in orbit, including in challenging lighting conditions. The company has multiple years of on-orbit heritage with payloads operating today.
A spin-out from Western Sydney University in Australia, Optera is relocating to the United Kingdom to serve its European customers. The decision to scale in the United Kingdom is driven by the nation's space and dual-use technology and investment ecosystem, strong customer demand for space domain awareness, access to talent and universities, and the availability of mission-critical capital aligned to national security and growth. The funding will enable Optera to expand its United Kingdom engineering team, deliver key space domain awareness and dual-use sensing programmes, and accelerate on-orbit processing so that more intelligence can be generated at the edge.
Optera is a step-change for space safety and national security - delivering richer insight with a fraction of the data and power. It exemplifies how dual-use deep-tech can deliver both operational advantage and economic growth. The Defence Industrial Strategy makes clear that frontier sectors such as space, AI and autonomous systems are critical for the UK's sovereign advantage and a driver of high-value jobs. Optera shows how research excellence can translate into deployable capabilities, export potential, and resilience across our defence and space ecosystem. Leading this round reflects our Defence and Security (D2S) focus area - backing Optera's UK build-out, its expansion of skilled engineering roles, and its contribution to the UK's ambition to be a defence industrial leader by 2035. Optera's decision to relocate from Australia underlines the UK's pull as the place for dual-use innovators to scale - and sets a clear signal for others to do the same.
Our sensors 'see' like the human eye - reacting to change rather than capturing empty frames - so operators can track fast objects with higher confidence and at lower cost. This breakthrough gives our customers the edge they need in an increasingly complex space environment. The UK is where we want to grow: it's an outstanding environment for space innovation, with world-class customers, partners, universities and talent and we want to hear from them as we grow. We are grateful to have the backing of UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital), Blackfinch Ventures, Foresight Group, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund and Empirical Ventures - investors who share our vision for scaling dual-use capabilities that matter for both national security and global markets. This funding enables us to expand our UK engineering team, deliver key SDA and dual-use sensing programmes, and accelerate on-orbit processing so more intelligence can be generated at the edge. With this support, Optera is ready to build a sovereign capability here in the UK that strengthens national security and defence and creates high-value jobs in the process.
Optera represents exactly the kind of deep-tech innovation we look to support at Blackfinch Ventures – technologies with clear commercial potential that also strengthen critical capabilities in emerging sectors. We’re excited to back a team translating cutting-edge sensing research into real-world impact for the UK space ecosystem.
Optera is translating cutting-edge neuromorphic sensing into real operational advantage for both national security and the wider global space markets. Its approach delivers a genuine step-change - dramatically lowering data and power requirements while enhancing resilience and opening the door to wider deployment across civil, commercial and mission-critical environments. Their relocation underscores the UK’s position as a place where frontier technology companies can scale. We’re excited to support the team building sovereign, world-leading sensing capability combining deep technical differentiation with growing commercial momentum.
