Optics11 announced it has secured USD$55.9 million (€50 million) in follow-on equity investment to accelerate its capacity to meet global customer demand. As European governments and defense organizations scramble to rebuild effective security infrastructure, this equity round takes total investment in the Company to more than USD$111.9 million (€100 million) in just 15 months.
The latest round is backed by existing institutional investors SET Ventures, FORWARD.one, Value Creation Capital and JOIN Capital, with all four reinvesting as Optics11 enters its next phase of international growth. The new capital will support increased manufacturing and international expansion, enabling the Company to respond to growing global demand, expand its operational capabilities and deliver its technology to an increasing number of customers and partners.
The investment represents a milestone for Optics11, reflecting both the growing commercial opportunity for its technology and the speed at which the security environment surrounding critical infrastructure has changed. Governments across the globe are reassessing their ability to protect national infrastructure as hybrid warfare increasingly extends beyond traditional military domains and into the seas, while global electricity networks face growing pressure from electrification, rising energy demand and the need for greater grid resilience. Together, these challenges are creating international demand for advanced sensing technologies capable of protecting the infrastructure upon which modern economies depend.
At the heart of Optics11 is the same fiber optic sensing technology first developed from research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, from which the Company was founded in 2011. By using light to capture minute acoustic signals, rather than powered electronics at the sensing point, the technology remains silent and immune to electromagnetic interference while delivering sensitive, high-quality data.
Underwater, OptiBarrier provides persistent seabed sensing capable of detecting and classifying targets at distances of up to 100 kilometers from the shoreline, while OptiArray brings the same fiber optic sensing capability to a mobile towed array for anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance. Across energy grids, OptiFinder applies fiber optic acoustic sensing to detect and precisely localize partial discharge within high-voltage assets and is now in live deployment globally.
Earlier this year, the Dutch Ministry of Defense selected Optics11's containerized OptiArray technology for its ASWINABO (Anti-Submarine Warfare In A Box) program, enabling advanced underwater sensing capability to be deployed from a much broader range of crewed and uncrewed surface vessels, including civilian ships. The program is intended to strengthen the readiness and self-sufficiency of the Royal Netherlands Navy and represents a validation of Optics11's technology as nations across the globe look to rapidly increase maritime surveillance capabilities.
