Neo4j has agreed to acquire GraphAware, a company that develops intelligence analysis software for law enforcement, defence and government agencies, as it moves into the government intelligence software market with what it describes as an ‘open alternative to Palantir Gotham’.
The deal will combine GraphAware’s Hume intelligence analysis platform with Neo4j’s graph intelligence technology, creating a unified offering for defence, law enforcement, cyber security and public-sector customers.
The acquisition forms part of Neo4j’s previously announced $100 million AI investment programme and is intended to accelerate the company’s push into AI-powered intelligence analysis, including agentic systems that can connect, analyse and reason over large volumes of fragmented data.
GraphAware Hume is already built on Neo4j’s graph database and is used by government agencies for investigative and intelligence workflows.
Neo4j said the combined platform will provide agencies with an alternative to proprietary intelligence systems such as Palantir Gotham while allowing customers to retain control over where data is stored, how systems are deployed and how information can be migrated.
“For over a decade, governments have utilised intelligence analysis software from Palantir,” Neo4j Founder and Chief Executive Emil Eifrem said. “Now they will have a legitimate choice with GraphAware Hume, powered by the Neo4j graph intelligence platform.”
The companies are positioning the combined offering around open standards, interoperability and data sovereignty at a time when governments are increasingly scrutinising where sensitive data resides and how AI systems are deployed.
Neo4j highlighted support for the Graph Query Language (GQL) standard and deployment options spanning sovereign cloud environments, private infrastructure and on-premises systems.
GraphAware’s software is designed for analyst-led investigations and intelligence operations. The platform connects data across people, organisations, locations and events, allowing investigators to identify relationships, build contextual understanding and collaborate across teams.
Existing deployments include the Western Australia Police Force, the U.S. Department of Defense and a European national cyber defence agency, according to the companies.
GraphAware will continue operating as a standalone business unit within Neo4j after the transaction closes, with founder and chief executive Michal Bachman remaining in charge of the business.
Neo4j said customer operations and existing deployments will remain unchanged during the integration process.
The acquisition comes as graph databases gain prominence in AI deployments, particularly for knowledge graphs, retrieval systems and agent architectures that require structured context and explainable reasoning.
Neo4j said demand for AI-related graph deployments has increased significantly, with the company reporting a fourfold increase in customers building AI-ready data systems and a growing share of those workloads moving into production.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, including foreign investment review in Australia.
Founded in Sweden in 2007 and now headquartered in San Mateo, California, Neo4j is one of the best-known graph database companies, providing software that helps organisations analyse relationships across large, connected datasets.
The company was valued at more than $2 billion in its 2021 Series F funding round and reported surpassing $200 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024 as demand for AI and knowledge graph infrastructure increased.
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