Zendir (Nominal Systems)

Zendir began life in 2019 as Nominal Systems, a digital-engineering spin-out from the space research group at UNSW Canberra Space, founded by Dr Christopher Capon (CEO) and Dr Brenton Smith (CTO). The company set out to make satellite mission simulation and digital-twin technology accessible to engineers, building its original 'Nominal' platform to let teams assemble spacecraft models and rehearse missions before launch.

In 2025 the company rebranded from Nominal Systems to Zendir, repositioning itself around an integrated digital-twin platform spanning mission design, simulation, operator training, and automation for both civil space and Defence customers.

Zendir's core technology is the Zendir Engine, an asynchronous, high-fidelity simulation runtime capable of running 1000+ concurrent simulated assets and continuous multi-day simulation, with more than 150 modeled spacecraft components and physics models. Around this engine sit Zendir Studio (mission/spacecraft design), Zendir Editor (real-time visualization and configuration), and a REST/Python/TypeScript API layer.

The company has been publicly funded and contracted by government and Defence bodies, including a UK Ministry of Defence Space Command contract for collision-avoidance simulation products, a SmartSat CRC-backed Space-Based Space Surveillance research project with UNSW Canberra, and a UK Space Agency-funded AI-for-space-safety collaboration with the University of Strathclyde. In September 2025, as Zendir, it closed an AU$3M+ seed round led by Beaten Zone Venture Partners and Investible.