NOVEMBER 26 2019

Published in the Australian Financial Review

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A local start-up that supplies the world's biggest car and defence manufacturers with artificial intelligence-powered navigation and robotics technologies, Advanced Navigation, has raised $20 million from CSIRO's Main Sequence Ventures, alongside US funds Brick & Mortar and In-Q-Tel.

It is the first major capital raise by the Sydney-based deep tech business, which was founded seven years ago by engineers Xavier Orr and Chris Shaw.

The company was started to commercialise Mr Orr's research into AI-based inertial navigation (navigation techniques using a computer, motion sensors, and rotation sensors to determine something's positioning) which enables robots to navigate on their own when operating in environments where there is no GPS.

Combined with Mr Shaw's expertise in sensor technology, the co-founders have created a range of AI-controlled robots and sensors, which it already supplies to  global companies including Boeing, Airbus and Tesla.

It is also being used in arenas ranging from self-driving cars to underwater robots that can fix oil pipes.

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Mr Orr said despite being seven years old, the company was still growing at 50-100 per cent each year.

"There is a massive opportunity for global expansion with this company. We have a $15.8 billion addressable market and we're just scratching the surface of that," he said.

"We're doing a massive expansion through the US and Europe to capture more of that. We're also going to do a big expansion of our research and development here in Australia and we want to bring out some exciting new products in the next couple of years."

The business counts four of the top five car manufacturers globally as customers, nine of the 10 largest global defence companies, as well as NASA and sailing teams Wild Oats XI and Oracle Team US.

Its inertial navigation system is based on an AI algorithm, which allows it to be smaller, more accurate, more reliable and significantly cheaper than incumbent products.

Mr Orr said its AI navigation system still worked best when combined with GPS, but because it was not reliant on it, it could also be used 3000 metres under water and underground in mines.

"Incumbents in the navigation technology industry are still developing equipment based on an algorithm developed in 1967 ... and it hasn't really changed," he said.

"We have eight new products in the pipeline ... [including] an underwater robot that can be sent into situations where there is a safety of life concern for divers and it can go down, inspect the surroundings and make changes to things.

"Good applications of robotics are ones where humans don't want to do the task because it's risky or unpleasant work ... like dangerous applications in mining, and oil and gas, or in palliative care assistance. These are the applications where we can really expand robotics."

Main Sequence Ventures, which has $232 million under management, has previously backed deep tech start-ups such as FluroSat, which helps farmers increase the yield of their crops using satellite imaging, plant-based meat start-up v2food and quantum computing venture Q-CTRL.

Main Sequence Ventures partner Martin Duursma will join the board alongside Brick and Mortar principal Curtis Rodgers. Mr Duursma said the company was powering innovations that would affect society for "decades to come".

"There’s no one quite doing what the company is doing today and we’re thrilled to have Advanced Navigation join the Main Sequence portfolio," he said.