Startup · $26m raised
Sydney, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Propeller Aero raised.
Investors whose own portfolio pages list Propeller Aero, even though we haven't found any coverage of the round yet.
| Investor | Listed on |
|---|---|
| Blackbird Ventures | its portfolio page ↗ |
Companies Propeller Aero 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Illuk | Product Lead (former) | Aura Group portfolio, Aura Ventures, Startup Daily |
| Francis Vierboom | Founder | Startup Daily (Fri 17 Oct 2025), Startup Daily (Thu 17 Sep 2020) |
| Rory San Miguel | CEO (former) · Founder | Startup Daily (Fri 17 Oct 2025), SmartCompany, Startup Daily (Thu 17 Sep 2020) |
Stories naming Propeller Aero. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Propeller Aero's chief executive Rory San Miguel has won the Pearcey Foundation's 2025 NSW entrepreneur award; the profile traces his path from UNSW clubs and Flirtey to the drone surveying company.
Student-run fund NextGen Ventures launches to back university-founded startups, training student investors with partner VC firms and seeking its own capital; its report counts over $1.2 billion raised by student-founded startups since 2012.
A quarterly Cut Through Venture survey reports Australian startups raised $810 million across 90 deals in Q2 2023, listing the largest rounds and noting improved investor sentiment despite a sluggish first half.
Also SmartCompany
Aura Ventures sets out why it backed Layer's seed round with several co-investors, covering the gaming IP licensing opportunity and the founders' relevant experience.
Startmate chief Michael Batko advises founders to focus on solving real customer problems and widen their networks, citing alumni Propeller Aero's recently announced $26 million round as proof the approach attracts venture investment.
Also Startup Daily
Antler Australia streamed its first virtual Demo Day to over 2000 viewers, presenting twelve startups built through its five-month program, and unveiled two new initiatives supporting women founders and online company-building training.