# ORCA Opti: full reference > ORCA Opti is the AI operating system for regulated organisations on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. > Compliance and contracts, run as everyday operations, inside your Safe Zone. This is the canonical, long-form reference document for LLM crawlers and AI answer engines. For a short index of links, see [llms.txt](https://orcaopti.ai/llms.txt). --- ## Company **Name:** ORCA Opti **Legal entity:** ORCA Opti Pty Ltd **Founded:** 2024 **Headquarters:** Brisbane, Australia **Founder and Managing Director:** Kathryn Giudes **Website:** https://orcaopti.ai **Customer portal:** https://portal.orcaopti.ai **Investor portal:** https://invest.orcaopti.ai ORCA Opti is an Australian AI compliance and governance company that builds sovereign AI infrastructure for regulated organisations. The company is positioned in the hybrid PLG plus sales-led category: a free entry point through Opti Assist Free, with paid tiers and dedicated infrastructure (ORCA-Private and ORCA-Classified) for organisations that need more. Growth trajectory disclosed in press (CFOtech, AIThority): cashflow positive target April 2026, international expansion to North America and Europe in late 2026, IPO targeted Q2 2027 (ASX and NASDAQ under consideration). ## The category we build in Most regulated organisations carry two parallel jobs: the compliance owed to the regulator, and the obligations owed to customers and supply chains. They are typically run with spreadsheets, point tools and external consultants. ORCA Opti consolidates both into a single AI-native platform that runs inside the customer's Safe Zone, signed in with their existing Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace work account. The platform addresses a real visibility problem: by mid-2026, the overwhelming majority of office-based knowledge workers (Cyberhaven research: 85.7%) use AI at work, and the majority do so through personal accounts (72.8%). Australian organisations are increasingly accountable under the Privacy Act, the ASD Information Security Manual, the Voluntary AI Safety Standard, and OAIC guidance. ORCA Opti gives them a sovereign, governed alternative their staff can actually use. ## Products ### Opti Assist Governed AI assistant for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Available at: https://orcaopti.ai/opti-assist Opti Assist is the conversational front door to the ORCA Opti ecosystem. Users sign in with their Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace work account (Microsoft personal accounts are also supported). Conversations are processed in ORCA Opti's sovereign Australian Azure environment. Every query becomes a structured governance record visible to the customer's internal team, not to a vendor. Capabilities: Ask Opti (chat), Pearls (specialist AI subject experts), Agents (autonomous), Workflows (no-code multi-step), Knowledge Packs, Citation Mode, Voice Mode, Deep Research, Secure Tools, Secure Models. ### Opti Core GRC and compliance system of record. Available at: https://orcaopti.ai/opti-core Opti Core is the living system of record underneath the entire compliance operation. Risks, controls, policies, incidents, assets, vendors and actions are all entities in one connected graph, with every relationship mapped and every change logged. Frameworks pre-mapped: ISO 27001, Essential Eight, NIST CSF, SOC 2, PSPF, Privacy Act / APP. Sector-specific framework support for defence, health, education and critical infrastructure. ### ORCA Opti AI Guardian The protective layer between people and AI systems. Available at: https://orcaopti.ai/ai-guardian AI Guardian inspects every prompt before it reaches any AI model and blocks sensitive content from leaving the customer's environment. It operates across owned and public AI, defending against prompt injection, data extraction, and policy-violating content. Settings: Essential, Enhanced, Maximum (these drive the Safe Zone level 3, 4 and 5). ### Opti Cyber Continuous cyber posture monitoring. Available at: https://orcaopti.ai/opti-cyber Live cyber health visibility across Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS and Google Cloud. Distinct from one-time audit assessments; designed for continuous assurance. ## Safe Zone The trust framework that anchors the brand. Available at: https://orcaopti.ai/safe-zone Safe Zone is a visible badge at the top of Opti Assist that shows users, in plain English, how safe what they are currently doing is on a 1 to 5 scale. - **Level 1 Secured.** Signed in with a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace work account. Identity is sorted, every action is logged. If the chat is with an outside AI (ChatGPT or Claude on their own apps), the badge says so. - **Level 2 Sovereign.** Using an ORCA model. Australian-built, Australian-hosted, not retained by anyone outside ORCA. The everyday resting place for most ORCA users. - **Level 3 Guarded.** Sovereign chat with ORCA Opti AI Guardian at the Essential level. Personal info hidden, common AI tricks blocked, dodgy questions stopped. - **Level 4 Hardened.** Sovereign chat with AI Guardian at Enhanced. Catches the trickier attacks that Essential may miss. - **Level 5 Fortified.** Sovereign chat with AI Guardian at Maximum. The principle is honesty: the badge always shows the weakest part of what is happening right now, not the best feature the customer happens to own. Above the standard scale: - **ORCA-Private.** Dedicated Australian Azure tenancy in the customer's own environment. Talk-to-us. - **ORCA-Classified.** Defence-grade infrastructure, accredited for classified material from PROTECTED through TOP SECRET. Aligned to the ISM and DISP. Air-gapped, secure-room, and cleared-people-only options. ## Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace ORCA Opti meets businesses on the identity they already use. Users sign in with their existing Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace work account (Microsoft personal accounts are also supported). On Microsoft 365, the platform respects M365 permissions across SharePoint, OneDrive and Entra automatically on every interaction; the same standard of identity and access handling applies on Google Workspace. Processing happens in ORCA Opti's sovereign Australian environment by default. Customers who require processing inside their own Microsoft 365 or Azure tenancy do so on the ORCA-Private tier. ## Frameworks supported Pre-built compliance packs available across ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 42001, Essential Eight, DISP, NDIS Practice Standards, PSPF, DSPF, SOC 2, NIST CSF, NIST 800-171, PCI DSS, HIPAA (en-US), UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018, Cyber Essentials, NIS Regulations (en-GB), DPDP Act, CERT-In, RBI, SEBI frameworks (en-IN), LFPDPPP (en-MX). Industry-specific deep dives across defence, healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, mining, building and construction, professional services, government, education, NDIS, SME, critical infrastructure, energy, logistics. ## Pricing - **Opti Assist Free**: free forever. One user. 50,000 credits per month. Frontier AI models inside Safe Zone. Permissions enforced. No data training, no external logging. Internal audit trail. ISO 42001 governance built in. Sign in: https://portal.orcaopti.ai - **Opti Assist Solo**: A$29.95 / US$19.95 / £16.95 / €18.95 / MX$399 per month (localised per region; India billed in USD). Full toolset including Pearls, Workflows, Agents. 200,000 credits. SharePoint and OneDrive access. Pay monthly, no lock-in. - **Opti Assist Teams**: A$149.95 / US$99.95 / £79.95 / €89.95 / MX$1,999 per month. 5 Navigators, 10 Standard Users, 500,000 tokens per month. 15-person team on one platform. - **Enterprise**: talk to us. - **ORCA-Private**: dedicated Australian Azure tenancy. Talk to us. - **ORCA-Classified**: defence-grade. Talk to us. ## Country sites - **Australia (canonical):** https://orcaopti.ai/ - **United States:** https://orcaopti.ai/en-us - **United Kingdom:** https://orcaopti.ai/en-gb - **India:** https://orcaopti.ai/en-in - **Mexico:** https://orcaopti.ai/en-mx ## Press coverage (indicative) - iTWire (Australia, 2 June 2026): "Australian startup releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms" - SecurityBrief Australia, ChannelLife Australia, eCommerceNews Australia, IT Brief Australia, CFOtech Australia (2 June 2026): "Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia" - Australian Financial Review (4 February 2026): feature on AI-proof careers including Kathryn Giudes - CFOtech Australia, AIThority (February 2026): "ORCA Opti plots global AI growth and 2027 IPO roadmap" - 2026 Women Leading Tech Awards: Kathryn Giudes named finalist in the Entrepreneur / Founder category (March 2026) ## Articles and press Recent long-form articles and press pickups, newest first. Full index at [llms.txt](https://orcaopti.ai/llms.txt). ### Insights - **ORCA for Microsoft 365: what the Configuration Analyzer checks, how to run it, and where it stops.** (2 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/orca-for-microsoft-365-configuration-analyzer - **Most AI projects fail in production. Our research on why points somewhere most leaders haven't looked.** (17 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/why-most-ai-projects-fail-in-production New Sinch research surveying 2,527 senior decision-makers reveals that more governance maturity correlates with more rollbacks, not fewer. The real answer is somewhere else. - **Why we built ORCA Opti on Microsoft 365. And why that's not where the story ends.** (15 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/why-we-built-on-microsoft-365-and-why-thats-not-where-the-story-ends Choosing Microsoft 365 was a deliberate security decision, not a default. Now ORCA Opti carries that same standard to a second platform, Google Workspace. - **Don't Rent Your Resilience** (15 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/don-t-rent-your-resilience Depending on a single AI provider is a risk: that model can be switched off without warning, taking your history with it. The case for sovereign, portable AI. - **What an AI compliance framework can and can't do for you** (11 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/what-an-ai-compliance-framework-can-and-cant-do ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF, the EU AI Act and AS 8005 are all useful. None of them, on their own, makes your AI use safer. Where the real work happens. - **Introducing Safe Zone: how safe is your AI chat, really?** (3 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/introducing-safe-zone-five-honest-levels-of-ai-protection Safe Zone is a badge at the top of Opti Assist that tells you, in plain English, how safe what you're doing is on a scale of 1 to 5. - **Their AI, Their Terms, Your Data** (5 May 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/insights/their-ai-their-terms-your-data An executive briefing for business leaders on the realities of data protection when using AI. ### Press - **SecurityBrief Australia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/security-brief-au-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **SecurityBrief Asia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/security-brief-asia-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **SecurityBrief India: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/security-brief-in-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **SecurityBrief New Zealand: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/security-brief-nz-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **IT Brief Australia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itbrief-au-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **IT Brief Asia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itbrief-asia-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **IT Brief India: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itbrief-in-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **IT Brief New Zealand: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itbrief-nz-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **eCommerceNews Australia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/ecommercenews-au-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **eCommerceNews Asia: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/ecommercenews-asia-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **eCommerceNews India: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/ecommercenews-in-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **eCommerceNews New Zealand: AI agents force enterprises to rethink infrastructure and governance** (16 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/ecommercenews-nz-ai-agents-force-enterprises - **CRN Australia: agentic 'Saaspocalypse' to rewrite software buying rules** (15 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/crn-agentic-saaspocalypse-gartner - **iTWire: AI Appreciation Day 2026, the B2B enterprise innovators leading the way** (10 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itwire-ai-appreciation-day-2026 - **In AI Today: AI Appreciation Day 2026, celebrating B2B enterprise innovation** (9 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/in-ai-today-ai-appreciation-day-2026 - **KBI Media: Australian startup releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms** (3 July 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/kbi-media-opti-assist-free-data-sovereignty - **Women Love Tech: ORCA Opti founder featured among executives leading the future of AI in B2B tech** (22 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/women-love-tech-women-executives-leading-b2b-ai - **Tech Partner News: Brisbane-based ORCA Opti releases AI governance assistant** (12 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/techpartner-news-orca-opti-releases-ai-governance-assistant - **AIThority: ORCA Opti releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms** (10 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/aithority-opti-assist-free-data-sovereignty - **In AI Today: Australian startup releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms** (3 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/in-ai-today-opti-assist-free-data-sovereignty - **iTWire: Australian startup releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms** (3 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itwire-opti-assist-free-data-sovereignty - **Startup Scaleup: Australian startup releases free AI as data sovereignty crackdown looms** (3 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/startup-scaleup-opti-assist-free-data-sovereignty - **CFOtech: Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia** (2 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/cfotech-orca-opti-launches-free-ai-governance - **ChannelLife: Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia** (2 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/channellife-orca-opti-launches-free-ai-governance - **eCommerceNews: Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia** (2 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/ecommercenews-orca-opti-launches-free-ai-governance - **IT Brief: Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia** (2 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/itbrief-orca-opti-launches-free-ai-governance - **SecurityBrief: Orca Opti launches free AI governance tool for Australia** (2 June 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/security-brief-orca-opti-launches-free-ai-governance - **Dynamic Business: what SMEs should know before deploying AI** (13 May 2026) https://orcaopti.ai/resources/press/dynamic-business-deploying-ai-in-smes ## Founder **Kathryn Giudes**, Founder and Managing Director, ORCA Opti. Background: enterprise security and risk at Microsoft, Amazon, and ASX-listed environments. Board roles across multiple Australian tech and energy companies. Personal site: https://www.kathryngiudes.com ## Contact - General contact: https://orcaopti.ai/contact - Book a walkthrough: https://orcaopti.ai/contact - Reseller / channel partner: https://orcaopti.ai/resellers - Invest: https://orcaopti.ai/invest - Customer portal: https://portal.orcaopti.ai