Advanced Navigation, a developer of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technologies, has raised US$110 million in a Series C funding round to scale its capabilities for autonomous systems.
The round was led by Airtree Ventures, with participation from Quadrant Private Equity and the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC). New investors join existing backers including Main Sequence, KKR, In-Q-Tel, Alpha Intelligence Capital, The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull AC, and Our Innovation Fund.
Following a year of triple-digit growth, the company is accelerating its global expansion, scaling its operational and engineering presence across the United States and Europe, where it generates more than 80% of its revenue. The company has also deployed more than 100,000 systems worldwide.
This investment will support the establishment of PNT Centers of Excellence in key markets, embedding specialized engineering teams to strengthen regional capability and national resilience, support secure supply chains, and reinforce long-term technical leadership.
Advanced Navigation also plans to expand its technology stack through targeted acquisitions across robotics, photonics, vision systems, artificial intelligence, and quantum sensing.
Kelland Reilly, Partner at Airtree, stated, “Advanced Navigation has built the leading solution in the positioning field and their rapid expansion into the U.S. and Europe marks a definitive shift for mission-critical industries as global demand converges around the precise use case they solve. We are excited to partner with Chris and the team as they scale into the next chapter.”
Building Resilient Navigation Beyond GPS
This funding comes amid growing demand for resilient navigation solutions, as reliance on GPS alone is increasingly viewed as a critical vulnerability in both commercial and defense applications.
In this context, GPS is no longer consistently reliable, with challenges such as electronic warfare threats, spoofing, and infrastructure-denied environments becoming increasingly common.
Advanced Navigation’s technology is based on a layered, multi-sensor, software-defined navigation architecture. At its core is AdNav Intelligence (AI), the company’s software fusion engine, which combines and cross-checks data from multiple sensors in real time. This enables autonomous platforms to maintain accurate positioning in complex or contested environments, including where GPS signals are degraded or unavailable.
Chris Shaw, CEO and Co-founder at Advanced Navigation, commented, “As autonomous vehicles scale into contested and high-stakes frontiers, the world’s reliance on any single navigation technology has evolved from a technical limitation into a systemic vulnerability. To power the next generation of autonomous systems, Advanced Navigation is combining deep learning software with high-precision hardware to help systems conquer the extremes across sea, land, air and space.”
Further outlining the need for resilient navigation, Shaw added, “The era of relying on a single silver bullet for navigation is over. Across defense, energy transition, humanitarian response, and autonomous missions, certainty is required where GPS can no longer be trusted.
“The future belongs to intelligent systems that can sense, adapt, and navigate independently. At Advanced Navigation, we are building the resilient foundation by fusing high-precision inertial hardware with onboard intelligence, ensuring autonomous systems behave predictably in unpredictable environments.
“Joined by new world-class investors, we are accelerating this capability to set the global benchmark for assured PNT. As autonomy becomes the new reality, we are not just participating in the market. We are defining it.”
This “hard tech” approach to navigation has positioned Advanced Navigation as a trusted partner to major defense and technology organizations, including Anduril, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hanwha, BHP, Rheinmetall, and Intuitive Machines.
Louis Casey, Partner at Quadrant, stated, “Advanced Navigation is at the forefront of autonomous systems for resilient navigation, pioneering solutions that redefine precision and reliability in defense and commercial applications. We are thrilled to partner with Chris and the team to support their accelerated global expansion.”
David Gall, CEO at the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), added, “Advanced Navigation’s inertial navigation systems (INS) technology was originally developed in Australia, and we are proud to be investing in a company that commercializes Australian research while creating highly skilled STEM and manufacturing jobs.
“Advanced Navigation’s technology is precise, secure, reliable, and efficient, and its products are already being used in the mining, marine, and defense industries. The NRFC’s investment will help Advanced Navigation to bring its Australian-developed technology to international markets.
“NRFC investment in Advanced Navigation will keep the company’s headquarters, core R&D, and high-precision manufacturing capabilities here in Australia, building our sovereign and defensive capabilities and paving the way for the navigational tools of the future.”
