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ir@forward.oneSapient Perception fits directly within FORWARD.one’s thesis for Fund III: backing companies that bring industrial-grade performance to real-world environments through applied AI, hardware-software integration, and strong execution.
In mission-critical settings, context is everything. When every second matters, the difference between reacting late and acting in time can be decisive. Sapient Perception is building the real-time intelligence layer for UAV operations, removing the trade-off between coverage and detail that still constrains today’s systems.
As aerial systems become more capable, one constraint remains unresolved: the trade-off between coverage, resolution, bandwidth, and latency. Drones collect more data than operators can process effectively, while compression and limited bandwidth force systems to sacrifice detail or delay insight. In defense, security, and emergency response, that compromise is not acceptable.
Sapient Perception is building the infrastructure to remove it.
Founded: 2025
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
Founders: Anthony Garetto, Lau Norgaard, Michael Messerschmidt
Stage: Pre-seed
Industry: Physical AI - Edge Computing - UAV Systems - Defense & Security
FORWARD.one entry: Pre-seed
Product: Software-defined 10K sensor systems and edge AI framework for high-fidelity aerial intelligence.
Sapient operates at the intersection of physical AI, imaging, and autonomy, focused on one of the most fundamental bottlenecks in drone-based intelligence: getting high-quality data to operators in real time, at the edge.
The challenge in aerial intelligence lies in the inability to process and act on data fast enough to matter. Today’s drone systems rely on compressed streams and lower-quality imaging, forcing a trade-off between seeing more area and seeing enough detail to act. Sapient’s system removes this constraint. It captures a much larger field of view at equivalent resolution, enabling up to 100x greater coverage, while processing the data onboard so insights can be delivered immediately.
By removing the need to trade detail for coverage, Sapient gives operators a clearer and more complete operational picture. This reduces time spent switching between views, interpreting fragmented information, and piecing together what matters under pressure. The result is faster assessment, less uncertainty, and more confident decisions in real time.
“In mission-critical situations, the ability to make fast, informed decisions determines outcomes. Our perception layer enables persistent situational awareness through a far wider lens, while delivering the important details to operators in real time.”
- Anthony Garetto, CEO and co-founder of Sapient Perception.
Integrating AI into UAV systems means moving intelligence closer to where data is generated. This is where latency, bandwidth, and environment-specific constraints can be addressed directly. In contested or remote environments, cloud dependency becomes a liability. Systems must be able to generate insight even when connectivity is weak, delayed, or unavailable. That makes onboard processing essential.
The upside is clear: real-time awareness, higher data fidelity, and stronger operational resilience. The challenge lies in execution: combining hardware, software, and domain expertise into a system that performs reliably in the field. Sapient’s strength is in that integration. It brings imaging, edge processing, and UAV expertise together into a system designed for real-world deployment.
At FORWARD.one, this is exactly the kind of physical AI we want to back: technology that solves a clear performance constraint with hardware-software integration and translates technical depth into deployable capability.
Sapient is already working with partners to integrate its large-area perception systems into UAV platforms, with pathways into defense, security, and emergency response applications.
It is currently being deployed with Dropla Tech into UAVs designed to operate ahead of military convoys, feeding into the Blue Eyes platform used by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence to process real-time drone footage and detect threats such as ambush drones and landmines along supply routes.
That early traction is important because in this category, product performance is only part of the equation. Teams must also prove they can work with OEMs, adapt to demanding environments, and move from prototype to deployment with speed and discipline.
“In the environments Sapient Perception serves, every second matters. Their technology turns high-quality sensor data into real-time insights at the edge, enabling 100× greater coverage than today’s systems. It’s a clear step change, built by a team that knows how to move fast and deliver”
- Cailin Greiner, Investment Manager at FORWARD.one.
Sapient Perception fits directly within FORWARD.one’s thesis for Fund III: backing companies that bring industrial-grade performance to real-world environments through applied AI, hardware-software integration, and strong execution.
The team is tackling a fundamental bottleneck in drone-based intelligence, and doing so with a solution that can become foundational to next-generation UAV systems.
What stands out is the combination of technical depth and commercial focus. The founders bring deep expertise across sensor architecture, imaging, and defense markets, and they are building with a clear understanding of where the value will be captured: in systems that improve decision-making at the edge. That combination of technical ambition, market relevance, and execution quality is exactly what we look for.
The funding will be used to expand the engineering team, accelerate development of the sensor stack and edge framework, and support initial deployments with customers across defense, security, and emergency response.
As Sapient moves from prototype toward a deployable system, the next phase will be about sharpening go-to-market with drone OEMs and translating technical advantage into commercial traction.
From Copenhagen, Sapient is building for a market that is both European and global. The need for real-time, high-fidelity aerial intelligence is not local, and neither is the opportunity.
“Modern defense and security operations are not taking advantage of the most advanced sensors and the vast data they generate. Sapient Perception addresses this challenge with a highly differentiated edge AI approach that we believe will become foundational to next-generation systems.”
- Jarek Pilarczyk, Partner at Balnord.
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