Startup · $6.5m raised
Canning Vale, WA
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Aurora Labs raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Department of Defence | Grant | - |
| Australian Government | Grant · Grant | $1,544,333 |
| Defence Industry Development Grant | Grant | $544,333 |
| Defence Industry Development Grants program | Grant | $1,000,000 |
Companies Aurora Labs 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Bottrell | Non-executive Director | Defence Connect |
| Andrew Garth | Non-executive Director | @AuManufacturing |
| David Budge | Founder and CTO (former) | @AuManufacturing (Thu 9 Dec 2021), @AuManufacturing (Thu 17 Dec 2020), @AuManufacturing (Mon 18 Feb 2019) |
| David Trimboli | Non-executive Chairman | Defence Connect |
| Grant Mooney | Chairman | @AuManufacturing |
| Mel Ashton | Non-executive Director (former) | @AuManufacturing |
| Peter Snowsill | CEO | @AuManufacturing (Thu 11 Nov 2021), @AuManufacturing (Mon 14 Sep 2020) |
| Rebekah Letheby | Chief Executive | Dealroom, australianmanufacturing.com.au, @AuManufacturing (Wed 11 Jun 2025), @AuManufacturing (Tue 23 Apr 2024), @AuManufacturing (Fri 22 Mar 2024) |
Stories naming Aurora Labs. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Sixty Australian defence firms share over $22m in the newest round of a federal grants program; seven recipients are named, with awards for manufacturing, infrastructure and capability projects.
Aurora Labs says a $1m government grant, matched by its own $1m, will fund a large-format metal 3D printer to scale production of its micro gas turbine propulsion systems for defence applications.
Also asiapacificdefencereporter.com·australianmanufacturing.com.au·manmonthly.com.au
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.
Retired Major General Andrew Bottrell has joined defence company Aurora Labs as a non-executive director, bringing senior military and acquisition experience; he also founded Rockpool Partners and holds an academic chair at Deakin University.
Drone propulsion maker Aurora Labs raised roughly $5.5 million in a placement to fund development and grow its Western Australian plant, with Sovereign Propulsion Systems among backers and Bell Potter running the raise.
Aurora Labs raised A$5.5 million in a placement that brought drone-engine maker Sovereign Propulsion Systems in as cornerstone backer, and signed SPS to test and exclusively distribute its turbine engines across AUKUS countries.
Pat Conroy announced a fresh tranche of Australian defence grants totalling over $17.3 million, with recipients including Fleet Space Technologies, Veem, HIFraser and Aurora Labs.
Aurora Labs has received an Australian Government defence grant of $544,333 to buy production equipment and scale manufacturing of micro gas turbine propulsion systems at its Canning Vale, Western Australia facility.
Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: OncoSil, K-TIG and Aurora Labs complete or commit raises, Amplia opens an offer, Siemens agrees to buy Altair, CSIRO unveils a printed-solar facility, and a WA medical alliance grows.
Manufacturing roundup: Australian Vanadium and entX land government grants, Hexagon Energy Materials completes a $1 million round, Australian Dairy Nutritionals appoints a CEO, Aurora Labs adds a director, plus vessel, export and research briefs.
Roundup covering manufacturing placements by Sparc Technologies and Aurora Labs, Wellnex's planned London listing, an autonomous navy boat trial, a workplace fine, a software degree launch and AusBiotech's next CEO.
Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: OncoSil Medical's capital raising, an NT grant for a water monitoring project, GoZero's preferred supplier appointment, Micro-X's first Argus order, Aurora Labs' defence work, and Monash waste-recycling research.
Manufacturing briefs roundup: WA government commits $5m to space facility Fugro SpAARC; Starpharma and Micro-X receive R&D tax refunds; Bulla licenses Violet Crumble for ice cream; SCEE wins $50m in contracts.
Manufacturing news roundup: Fleet Space's oversubscribed Series C, a grant-backed 3D printing research project, an agreed brand acquisition, equipment orders, a cargo drone first flight and industry awards.
Year-end review of Australian additive manufacturing in 2021: MMI grants for Romar, Titomic and SPEE3D, Titomic's raises and acquisitions, Conflux's Series A, Aurora Labs' capital raise and leadership changes, and AML3D's listing anniversary.
Manufacturing news roundup covering Maggie Beer Holdings' revenue growth, an FBR-UAE study MoU, FBICRC's new CEO, ARENA funding for Ark Energy's hydrogen electrolyser, Aurora Labs' capital raise, and Austal's US expansion.
Feature on Australia's growing space tech sector: an accelerator chief cites Gilmour Space's series C, space agency grants to four startups, and emerging companies in geospatial data, space medicine and orbital manufacturing.
Also @AuManufacturing·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
Year-end review of Australian additive manufacturing covering listings by AML3D and Amaero, capital raises at several firms, GoProto's acquisitions, defence sector engagements, and the author's own 2020 activities.
Roundup of Australian manufacturing briefs: Bosch's automation arm partners with Ellume on COVID-19 test production, Tonga receives an Austal-built patrol boat, Micro-X ships Rover X-ray units, and Envirostream wins a government recycling grant.
Perth metal 3D printing company Aurora Labs has secured $2 million in committed share placement funding, with a shareholder purchase plan planned, to advance its RMP-1 printer toward commercial readiness.
Techboard revises its analysis of large 2018 funding events won by female-founded companies, recounting raises by Airwallex, Canva, Judo Capital and others, earlier big rounds, and UrbanYou's acquisition.
Techboard's quarterly report shows record national early-stage funding, driven by PEXA's sale and Airwallex's raise, while Western Australian funding stayed subdued, led by Respiron Pharmaceuticals, several ASX placements, grants and one acquisition.
A Perth metal 3D printing company demonstrated rapid multilayer printing speeds in prototype tests and separately raised five million dollars through a placement to institutional investors.