Project: Athena AI Inception to Spin off to Exit

Client: Initially Trusted Autonomous Systems

Scope: Inception → Spin out Joint Venture → Company Sale

Athena AI started as a Trusted Autonomous Systems project colead between Skyborne Technologies, Cyborg, University of Queensland and DSTG in 2019. The project involved using comuter vision to provide Aided Target Recognition (AiTR) to the dismounted warfighter, allowing legal evaluation to be performed on small armed platforms before they were mainsteam.

Cyborg provided initial members to the project, as well as developing the initial Geospatial AI capability, before the IP was transferred into a standalone entity, Athena AI in 2021. From here Cyborg employees moved across to the JV and continued to develop the technology into a number of world leading products.

The company continued to grow under the JV having secured follow on funding for both projects (vision and geospatial), focussed on integrating with UAS, tactical fires and loitering munitions.

In 2024 Athena AI recieved a number of M&A offers, culminating in its sale to Sightline Intelligence in 2025. By this stage the company employed 30 people, fully bootstrapped, and had exported to 5 countries.