Global Chief Executive Officer, Silentium Defence
| Role | Organisation | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Principal (former) | Blackbird Ventures | Blackbird Ventures (Wed 21 Jan 2026), Blackbird Ventures (Mon 19 Jan 2026), Blackbird Ventures (Fri 19 Apr 2024), Blackbird Ventures (Thu 31 Aug 2023), Blackbird Ventures (Wed 24 May 2023), Blackbird Ventures portfolio |
| Global Chief Executive Officer | Silentium Defence | Defence Connect, The Mandarin, @AuManufacturing (Wed 14 Oct 2020), Startup Daily, @AuManufacturing (Wed 17 Jun 2020) |
| Board Member (former) | Activate Capital | Startup Daily, Business News Australia |
Stories naming Dr James Palmer. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Passive radar maker Silentium Defence has passed 100 staff and hired Matthew Ratnesar as US expansion CEO and Sam Macmillan as CFO, while co-founder Simon Palumbo returns to drive allied-market growth from South Australia.
Blackbird's post explains why it led Ivo's US$55 million Series B with five co-investors, citing the legal-AI company's product expansion, customer growth, and adoption by major corporates.
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Blackbird's post explains why it led Elyos's Series A with PiLabs, YC and 468 Capital, profiling the AI phone-agent startup for trade businesses, its traction and its three founders.
The ACT Government has launched the ACTivate Capital venture fund, with an initial $23 million close and capacity for $50 million, to back Canberra startups and commercialise local research, led by fund manager Ken Kroeger.
Blackbird's New Zealand chief Samantha Wong is heading home to Australia, with partner Phoebe Harrop taking over the Kiwi business in May, backed by the existing team plus a new associate.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong is handing leadership of the firm's New Zealand arm to Phoebe Harrop and reflects on building Blackbird Aotearoa, its fundraising, portfolio and lessons from Kiwi founders.
Blackbird partners explain why the fund led a seed round in Kiki, a subletting marketplace born in New Zealand, profitable during its Sydney phase, now launching in New York.
Blackbird announces it led Cotiss's pre-seed round. The procurement software startup for small and medium teams, started by three founders, has released the first version of its platform.
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Blackbird presents its seven new investment associates, profiling their varied backgrounds across elite sport, science, banking, consulting and startups, plus prior roles at firms including Sprint Ventures, NZ Growth Capital Partners and AustralianSuper.
Federal defence contracts worth more than $100 million include $1.8 million for University of South Australia laser research, $7.4 million for Silentium Defence radar, and $183,022 for Varley Rafael Australia's missile kit production.
Silentium Defence wins a $3.2m Defence contract for its passive space radar, plus a $1.46m Space Agency award for an observatory; Prism Systems receives a $925,000 grant for Navy-related work.