FortifAI opens NOL8 to paid enterprise trials ahead of schedule

NOL8 reaches commercial availability ahead of schedule

FortifAI Limited (ASX:FTI) has crossed the most important line in its NOL8 development programme: the AI Data Plane is no longer confined to technical trials. Version 2.0 launched on 12 October, more than two months ahead of the company’s end-of-calendar-2026 target, and is now available for paid proof-of-value engagements with enterprise customers.

The release adds the resilience, security, scalability and user interface features FortifAI says are required for production data. NOL8 is generally available on AWS and can be used across the Megaport and Equinix networks. The next commercial test is therefore not another benchmark, but whether customers will pay to evaluate the system and progress those evaluations into contracts.

Independent testing strengthens the technical case

The commercial launch follows a series of positive performance claims. In August, FortifAI’s Megaport multi-continent testing ran NOL8 Version 1.0 across private-network locations in Virginia, Tokyo and Sydney. The company reported byte-for-byte data accuracy, 3-millisecond in-region latency and governance of 34 terabytes of data a day, compared with 2.6 terabytes for legacy software.

FortifAI also said independent verification on AWS confirmed NOL8 processed up to 118 times more data per infrastructure dollar than Google RE2 at 5,000 rules. Throughput remained above 950 megabytes a second as the rules increased from 128 to 5,000, according to the announcement. These are company-reported test results, rather than evidence of contracted revenue or a guarantee that customer workloads will produce the same outcome.

Megaport and Equinix provide distribution routes

During the September quarter, NOL8 became available on Equinix Fabric, extending FortifAI’s channel strategy beyond its existing Megaport work. The company says the platform could reach enterprises connected through Equinix’s interconnection network across more than 60 metropolitan areas, with joint proof-of-concept engagements opened to selected customers.

That distribution model gives NOL8 access to infrastructure networks already used by potential buyers, but access is not adoption. FortifAI is targeting first customer contracts by the end of calendar 2026 and first revenue in the March 2027 quarter. Paid proof-of-value engagements are evaluations only; the company explicitly says their number, timing, value and conversion into commercial contracts are not assured.

Cash provides time, while MKL Studio changes shape

FortifAI received A$275,000 from customers during the quarter, alongside A$286,000 in South Australian video-game development rebates. Operating cash outflow was A$2.952 million, reflecting the first full quarter of its US leadership and commercial team, continued NOL8 development and go-to-market spending. The company finished September with A$17.253 million in cash and no debt; on the Appendix 4C calculation, that represented 5.85 quarters of funding at the quarter’s operating cash-use rate.

The balance sheet gives FortifAI room to pursue the commercial launch, although the current cash-burn measure predates any meaningful NOL8 revenue. MKL Studio continued to generate royalty income and fulfil development commitments, but FortifAI has agreed with Eastside Games to end support for the Power Rangers game during the December quarter. That may reduce an existing source of activity even as management concentrates resources on NOL8.