Investor · 1 deal
Canberra, ACT
Every published round Department of Defence took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilmour Space | Grant | 9 May 2022 | $15m | Participant | @AuManufacturing (19 Mar 2023), @AuManufacturing (9 May 2022), Startup Daily |
Companies Department of Defence has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilmour Space | Queensland rocket builder and launchpad scaleup | 9 May 2022, Grant | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Department of Defence, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Department of Defence has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Department of Defence did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Michelle Toscan | Legal Officer (former) | Defence Connect |
| Francesca Rush | First Assistant Secretary Australian Industry Capability | @AuManufacturing |
| Sheryl Lutz | FAS Major Surface Combatants and Combat Systems | @AuManufacturing |
| Andrew Quinn | Director General Surface Combatants and Aviation | @AuManufacturing |
| Rob Elliot | Director General Maritime Integrated Warfare Systems | @AuManufacturing |
| Professor Tanya Monro AC | Chief Defence Scientist | Defence Connect, @AuManufacturing |
Stories naming Department of Defence. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Defence Trailblazer funds emissions-reduction projects with Electric Motor Power, Ocius Technology and Praxis, and profiles renewable-technology ventures from its Entrepreneurial Foundations for Defence program.
A Perth-based maker of military drones has lodged listing paperwork with the corporate regulator ahead of a planned sharemarket float; its current Defence Force munitions contract is worth $24.2 million.
Aurora Labs has received a Defence Industry Development Grant to help buy production equipment for its small gas-turbine engines used in drones, supporting its sovereign manufacturing push.
Eight university- and company-led Australian quantum projects share $12.7 million in stage-two Critical Technologies Challenge Program grants, funding prototypes for data-centre cooling, medical imaging and rare-earth detection.
Advanced Navigation has hired Michelle Toscan to lead its Asia-Pacific operations, tasking her with defence and government engagement as the navigation systems maker supplies primes including Rheinmetall and Boeing.
Defence's innovation accelerator has awarded three more contracts under its emerging and disruptive technologies program, funding quantum and information-warfare work at CSIRO, four universities and Silicon Quantum Computing, adding $9 million to the program.
Startup News reports Dr Marcus Tan, who founded and led HealthEngine, has taken the Executive Chair role at Perth leadership-development firm Integral, which earlier raised angel money including from Rayn Ong.
Security software firm archTIS buys orchestration vendor Direktiv's assets, staff and customers for US$750,000 paid in tranches, with Direktiv's two founders taking engineering roles at archTIS.
Also ARN (ARNnet)
AuManufacturing roundup of brief industry news: Wide Open Agriculture banks a $7.5 million raise, Liontown adds a lithium offtake partner, Osteopore signs Zimmer Biomet for distribution, plus quantum, defence, rail and recycling items.
AuManufacturing analysis weighing whether Defence's drone purchase shows procurement reform is working, tracing Sypaq's Corvo from 2018 concept work to selection alongside a German rival.
Australia's federal government announced plans to buy two military drone systems — Germany's Quantum-Systems Vector and Melbourne maker SYPAQ's CorvoX — for the Army and Air Force, with deliveries expected in 2025.
Sydney computer vision firm Visionary Machines won a Phase 2 Defence technology demonstration contract for its Pandion counter-drone sensor after pitching at Army Innovation Day 2023 via the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator.
Federal grants roundup: 21 Cooperative Research Centres Projects awards worth $51 million in Round 15, with EQ Plastics, Optiscan Imaging and NEXSEN BioTech each receiving $3 million for product development.
Also RenewEconomy
DroneShield's 2023 results hit record revenue and a first profit as war-driven demand for its counter-drone equipment surged, with strong cash receipts, a growing order backlog and expanded production planned in Sydney and Adelaide.
Ten local manufacturers split a fresh $3.6 million Defence grant pool, with each award itemised, to develop armour, sonar, test chambers, metrology and machining for defence and export markets.
Manufacturing briefs roundup: LBT Innovations launches a $4.5m shareholder offer, AnteoTech collects a $3.77m research tax payment, with updates from Pact, Evnex, First Graphene, Austal, ASM and the University of Adelaide's space course.
Also @AuManufacturing
Three defence contractors and Defence signed an agreement to integrate Navy combat systems locally, while Saab's Adelaide expansion, supported by a $22 million federal manufacturing grant, was also reported.
The Commonwealth has agreed to acquire radar maker CEA Technologies, eventually making it a government business enterprise. The piece also recalls Motorola's purchase of Barrett Communications and flags other vulnerable defence firms.
Stress-imaging startup 1Millikelvin won two innovation awards at the Avalon airshow, including a $50,000 SME prize, with individual and commendation awards going to BAE Systems, MicroTau and RMIT-affiliated researchers.
A roundup of Australian defence industry items: submarine build plans reaffirmed, missile supply contracts for Kongsberg and Lockheed Martin, DroneShield purchase orders, an F-35 warehouse deal, and questions over a shipbuilding college closure.
Australia's defence department has created a five-year geospatial procurement panel anticipating purchases of no more than $20 million, citing Myriota's $5.5 million innovation contract to extend satellite communications for defence sites.
Quickstep is partnering with Defence researchers, DMTC and UNSW on the Hype-X project to develop heat-resistant composite materials for hypersonic aircraft structures, with commercialisation rights to new intellectual property.
Two Queensland defence firms have delivered their first three Warfighter unmanned ground vehicles, built with grant money from a Defence Department capability scheme and fitted with a Canberra supplier's remote weapons station.
Five South Australian defence research projects led by Flinders, UniSA and the University of Adelaide with industry partners receive the latest Collaborative Research Fund grants from the Defence Innovation Partnership.
Reinventure's blog announces its seed investment in Kasada, a bot-detection cybersecurity startup from 22-year-old founder Sam Crowther, with proceeds earmarked for local hiring and US expansion.