SE3 has raised $30 million in Series A funding to expand its spatial intelligence software for autonomous systems operating in complex and contested environments. Accel led the financing, with participation from Keen Venture Partners and continued support from Lakestar and Seedcamp.
The Munich-based company develops software that enables autonomous machines to convert visual and other sensor data into a spatial understanding of their surroundings. This capability is intended to help unmanned systems perceive, reason, and act when conventional positioning technologies are unreliable or unavailable because of electronic warfare, satellite navigation interference, or difficult physical conditions.
SE3’s platform-agnostic architecture connects autonomous systems produced by different manufacturers and combines their sensor information into a shared three-dimensional representation of the environment. The software runs entirely at the edge, reducing reliance on external connectivity or cloud infrastructure. Its interface also enables a single operator to command multiple systems using voice controls.
The company works with hardware manufacturers instead of developing competing vehicles or robotic platforms. This approach supports the defense industry’s growing emphasis on modularity, interoperability, and the integration of systems from multiple suppliers.
SE3 said it has shipped thousands of systems during the past two years. Its technology is deployed in Ukraine, and the company is working with Ukrainian organizations, Germany’s Bundeswehr, major defense contractors, and autonomy software providers.
CEO Lukas Köstler, CTO Simon Klenk, and Chief Science Officer Professor Daniel Cremers founded SE3 as a spinout from Cremers’ computer vision laboratory at the Technical University of Munich. Köstler and Klenk were conducting doctoral research at the university before commercializing the technology.
The new capital is expected to support SE3 as it expands the adoption of its spatial intelligence platform across autonomous systems. The company’s technology has immediate applications in defense, where machines must operate in environments affected by communications disruption and navigation denial. Its underlying capabilities may also be applicable to industrial robotics and other commercial autonomous platforms.
Keen Venture Partners participated through its €200 million European Defence Space & Security Fund, which invests in European companies across defense, space, and security. The firm plans to use its relationships with defense ministries, military organizations, and industry participants to help SE3 validate its technology and expand deployment.
The funding reflects growing investor interest in software that can operate across multiple hardware platforms and improve the independence of autonomous machines. For European defense organizations, such technology is also increasingly viewed as part of a broader effort to establish regional technological sovereignty.
KEY QUOTES:
“Autonomy in contested environments is a sovereignty question for Europe. SE3 combines deep research with an architecture that hardware manufacturers can adopt without being forced to re-engineer their systems, a great example of new defense tech integrating seamlessly with existing hardware. We are proud to back Lukas, Simon, Daniel and the rest of the team on this.”
Alexander Ribbink, General Partner at Keen Venture Partners
“Autonomous systems can see, but very few have a sense of place. SE3 gives them one. In just two years, Lukas, Simon and Daniel have taken it from a university lab to thousands of systems in the field, including in Ukraine. Defense is where Europe needs this most, and the hardest place to get it right. Technology that works there will work anywhere.”
Tomek Lepka, Investment Manager at Keen Venture Partners
