SUTD Drone Start-Up Acquired by Australian-Listed Nanoveu

Spinoff Robotics Pte Ltd (Spinoff Robotics), a drone technology start-up from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), has been acquired by Nanoveu Limited (Nanoveu), an A$65 million Australian-listed technology company specialising in advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The move will bring together the AI chip capabilities of Nanoveu and the advanced drone technology of Spinoff Robotics, allowing the drone’s physical structure and its underlying chip technology to be designed as a single, integrated system — giving Nanoveu greater control over performance, cost, and capability.

The purchase consideration for the acquisition is structured entirely in shares and performance rights. No fixed transaction value is provided given the contingent and variable nature of the consideration, consistent with standard Australian Securities Exchange disclosure practices.

Spinoff Robotics, founded in 2021 by SUTD Engineering Product Development Associate Professor Foong Shaohui alongside doctoral researchers Dr Tan Chee How, Dr Shawndy Michael Lee, Dr Emmanuel Tang, and Dr Denzel Lee, specialises in drone platforms, covering mechanical design, aerodynamics, flight control, and sensor and perception systems. Its two flagship platforms, ALICE (Aerial Launder and Inspection with Corded End-effector Robot) and METRON (Measurement Extraction for Targeted Region Observation in Narrow-space), have been deployed in live operations with Gardens by the Bay, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX).

ALICE is a tethered aerial platform, kept continuously powered from the ground so it can carry out extended cleaning, inspection, and surveillance missions without interruption. METRON is a camera-based inspection system that produces precise three-dimensional models of structures and infrastructure, allowing engineers to detect faults and irregularities remotely.

For Nanoveu Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alfred Chong, the deal follows his previous engagement with SUTD. A mentor to Spinoff Robotics during the Accelerating Research & Innovation for SUTD Entrepreneurs (ARISE) programme, Mr Chong had the opportunity to witness firsthand the team’s development from an early-stage nascent research group into a full-fledged company with live deployments and an expanding customer base.

Mr Chong said: “I recalled the first time I met Spinoff Robotics as a mentor through the ARISE programme, where I had the privilege of guiding Dr Tan Chee How and the team. Even then, what clearly set them apart was their unrelenting drive on doing things right — without compromise. They were a small team with serious engineering aspirations in a very competitive start-up environment. Subsequently, they were able to endure the trials of a start-up and secure notable customers in Singapore. This acquisition is not just a strategic one for me, but it is also a very endearing one.”

Spinoff Robotics Co-founder and Director, Dr Tan, completed both his bachelor’s degree and PhD in aerial robotics at SUTD, where he has since spent more than four years as a Research Fellow. His work centres on building drones that perform reliably with lighter, simpler sensors, reducing cost and weight without sacrificing capability. Once the acquisition closes, Spinoff Robotics will be a wholly-owned subsidiary operating as Nanoveu’s Drone Division, with Dr Tan joining as Head of Drone Division.

Dr Tan said: “When we started Spinoff Robotics at the Aerial Innovation Research Lab (AIR Lab) at SUTD, we started with a simple principle: begin with the customer’s problem and work backwards to design the solution just like how SUTD taught us. We break real-world needs into clear system requirements, then design the drone, including airframe, flight control, and sensing, as one integrated platform that can be adapted to different real-world applications. Joining Nanoveu gives us access to resources and a global platform that would have taken us a decade to build independently. I am excited to see what becomes possible when our platforms are brought to the global market.”

The acquisition comes as governments around the world accelerate defence drone procurement and mandate trusted, sovereign supply chains — driven by growing concerns about the vulnerability of GPS-dependent aerial platforms to signal jamming and interference. Against this backdrop, the combined entity will target four markets: defence and sovereign drone programmes; security monitoring for data centres and critical national infrastructure; airport perimeter and runway safety; and the inspection of nuclear, hazardous, or otherwise inaccessible facilities where sending personnel carries unacceptable risk.

Nanoveu’s EMASS subsidiary is already running live drone trials with a specialist United States partner to validate its AI chip technology in real-world flight conditions, with intellectual property filings planned to protect novel outcomes from this work. The global military drone market is projected to reach approximately US$98.24 billion by 2033.

Beyond its existing platforms, the company plans to develop next-generation drone capabilities including GPS-free navigation, counter-drone detection, and AI-driven flight optimisation, deployable on Spinoff Robotics’ airframes and through commercial channels to other drone manufacturers. Nanoveu will continue to work with SUTD and other Singapore-based research institutions to support this pipeline.