Acron Technologies acquires artificial intelligence company

St. Petersburg-based Acron Technologies, a portfolio company of private equity firm TJC L.P., has acquired Portland, Oregon-based Sightline Intelligence. The deal, which closed April 24, was announced this week.  

Acron Technologies, which is a group of multiple standalone organizations including Acron Aviation, develops products for the defense and aerospace industries. Acron Aviation, a pilot training, avionics and flight data intelligence solutions provider, moved its global headquarters to the City Center office tower in downtown St. Petersburg in February. 

Sightline Intelligence, formerly owned by private equity firm Artemis Capital Partners, creates AI-based video processing hardware and software for advanced camera systems. Additionally, it designs target recognition technology. 

The acquisition will expand the organization and “bring in additional capabilities,” Acron Technologies/Aviation CEO Alan Crawford explained. 

Sightline Intelligence’s real-time analytics tools provide “actionable insights,” which can empower users in “mission-critical” situations and help them make decisions quickly, according to the entity’s website. The technology can also help reduce the dependence on bandwidth-limited environments. 

Acron Aviation was once a division of L3Harris Technologies, a national defense contractor and technology company. L3Harris’s Commercial Aviation Solutions business was acquired by TJC L.P. in 2025. 

TJC L.P. also owns the ACR Group, which focuses on satellite-based communication, navigation and rescue products. It is now a part of Acron Technologies. 

The acquisition of Sightline Intelligence follows the purchase of Alereon, Inc., which was announced April 14. Crawford said that the company creates defense ultra-wideband wireless solutions. These assets give soldiers a communication “low-weight capability.” 

According to Alereon’s website, “cables present a snag hazard.” However, many wireless technologies (WiFi, et cetera) do not offer a high bandwidth. Additionally, they do not have a “low probability” of interference and detection. Ultra-wideband solutions can resolve these challenges.  

Acron Technologies is a “very thin” corporate layer, he explained. It has less than 20 employees. “All of the action is within our businesses.” 

The organization’s companies are “grounded” in innovation and safety, Crawford added. Both Sightline Intelligence and Alereon “fit into that mission.” 

“We like to think of the themes that we want to operate in,” he continued, “and then there are companies that can come in and add different capabilities and customer sets. But then if they work together and collaborate, it could provide a more interesting solution for our customers.”

More acquisitions are in the pipeline.

Acron Technologies is also working on “organic” investments, Crawford said. Currently, the entity is recruiting engineers to develop artificial intelligence and analytics software. AI can bring more tools to “the market faster” because they can be developed more quickly. 

Crawford and his staff are bullish on AI, not just for products. He explained that the technology is used internally to help with coding and contract processing. 

“We’re not of the approach that it’s an opportunity to reduce head count,” he added. “Quite the contrary. We see it as an opportunity to move maybe some tasks that are more repetitive to the technology that’s available and it creates more capacity then for our colleagues.” 

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