Startup
Programs: Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (Sovereign UAS Challenge)
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round VTOL Aerospace raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator | Accelerator | - |
Companies VTOL Aerospace acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Xavier | CEO | Radium Capital, @AuManufacturing, RenewEconomy |
Stories naming VTOL Aerospace. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Radium Capital article contrasts two aviation founders: Stralis Aircraft raised venture capital through Y Combinator, grants and R&D lending, while V-TOL Aerospace bootstrapped for two decades before sharing a federal grant.
An Australian battery maker shared drone flight test results for its lithium-sulfur cells, alongside mentions of two earlier grants, a new Geelong plant and its cash position.
Battery maker Li-S Energy has opened its Geelong pouch cell facility and won a $1.7 million federal Industry Growth Program grant for a lithium foil line; four other firms also received IGP grants.
More than eleven Australian defence firms have contracted to build drone prototypes under ASCA's Sovereign UAS Challenge, with contracts worth a combined $1.21 million and demonstrations planned for April.
Also @AuManufacturing
Eleven companies will develop prototype drones for Defence's Sovereign UAS Challenge, run by ASCA, under contracts worth a combined $1.21 million, with demonstrations due in April.