Arke Telekom lands €1M from ACT Venture Partners to advance drone communications

Arke Telekom, a company developing defence and
communications technologies, has secured €1 million in funding from ACT VenturePartners, a venture capital firm focused on deeptech investments.

The company develops communication solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) operating in environments affected by electronic warfare, signal jamming
and satellite navigation disruptions.

As UAVs become smaller, more affordable and more widely
deployed in military operations, maintaining reliable communication links
remains a challenge. Signal interference can affect their operational
capabilities, while conventional communication systems designed for larger
military platforms may not be suitable for smaller unmanned aircraft.

To address these challenges, Arke Telekom has developed
ArkeLink, a communication technology that combines software-defined radio with
a self-forming and self-healing mesh network architecture. The system is
designed to maintain connectivity by automatically rerouting communication
paths when individual links are disrupted.

Explaining the technology, Barış Karadeniz, co-founder and
CTO of Arke Telekom, said that maintaining communication in electronic warfare
environments requires more than a strong radio connection:

Networks must be able to adapt to changing conditions
and maintain communications even when individual links are lost. With ArkeLink,
we combine jam-resistant communications with a self-organising network
architecture. Our goal is to deliver these capabilities in a compact, scalable
solution that can be used across different unmanned systems.

Arke Telekom has also been selected for NATO DIANA, a
defence technology accelerator that provides access to testing facilities,
industry partners and international networks.

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Saygun Önay, co-founder
and CEO of Arke Telekom, said the funding represents a step towards introducing
ArkeLink to international markets. He highlighted ACT Venture Partners’
technical expertise, experience in deeptech investing and international network
as factors that could support the company’s expansion.

While defence remains ArkeLink’s primary market, the
technology also has potential applications in disaster response, search and
rescue, public safety and critical infrastructure operations.

With the new funding, Arke Telekom plans to expand
internationally and broaden its product portfolio to support different types of
unmanned systems.