Startup · $129.1m raised
Canberra, ACT
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Skykraft raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| OPTrust | Unnamed stage | - |
| Main Sequence Ventures | Unnamed stage | - |
| Lennoxgrove Capital | Grant · Unnamed stage | - |
| Foresight Group | Unnamed stage | - |
| Foresight Australia | Unnamed stage | - |
| Australian Space Agency | Accelerator · Grant · Grant · Grant | - |
| Australian Government | Accelerator · Grant · Grant | - |
| Allan Moss | Unnamed stage | - |
| Alan Moss | Unnamed stage | - |
| Adcock Private Equity | Grant · Unnamed stage | - |
| ACT Government | Grant · Grant | $1,000,000 |
Companies Skykraft 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Craig Benson | Chief Innovation Officer · Founder | @AuManufacturing, Startup Daily |
| Dr Doug Griffin | Chief Engineer · Founder | @AuManufacturing, Startup Daily |
| Dr Michael Frater | CEO | Startup Daily, SmartCompany |
| James Prior | Managing Director | Startup Daily, @AuManufacturing |
| Mark Skidmore | Chairman | @AuManufacturing (Thu 9 Mar 2023), @AuManufacturing (Mon 31 Jan 2022), Startup Daily |
| Mark Skidmore | Executive Chair | @AuManufacturing (Mon 7 Feb 2022), @AuManufacturing (Tue 10 Aug 2021) |
Stories naming Skykraft. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Profiles space investor Will Scully-Power, whose Pine Gap firm backs Australian space startups and plans a larger US fund with partners; defence VC Beaten Zone has also wrapped up a $26 million fund.
A directory of fifteen Canberra investors backing deep tech, noting ACTivate Capital's fund first close, several government-backed company raises, an incubator's alumni, and one portfolio acquisition.
Gilmour Space's Eris rocket lifted off but exploded seconds later near Bowen; the founder hailed the short flight as a milestone, while its ElaraSat satellite bus flew successfully on a SpaceX rideshare mission.
Roundup: Space Machines' joint India mission clears a design milestone with an $8.5m government grant behind it, RMIT and Skykraft scale up photonics-based navigation tech, and SunCable names a new group CEO.
An Australian satellite servicing firm leads an India-Australia debris management mission backed by an $8.5 million government grant; two other companies also won awards under the bilateral space program.
Also Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·Defence Connect·@AuManufacturing
Home insurer Honey Insurance has raised a $108 million Series A led by US firm Gallatin Point Capital, following a seed round backed by RACQ, AGL, Metricon, Mirvac and PEXA.
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
Neumann Space will adapt its thruster for a Spire satellite using Commonwealth funding secured via the Australian Space Manufacturing Network, and has finished early space trials of its drive aboard a Skykraft satellite.
Roundup of eight Australian startup raises totalling $433m, topped by Employment Hero's $263m Series F and Skykraft's $120m round; Darwinium, Konvoy Kegs, The Martec and three Birchal crowdfunds complete the week.
Also AgFunderNews
Employment Hero raised a $263 million Series F led by TCV, reaching a $2 billion valuation, with existing backers reinvesting; Skykraft announced a $120 million raise.
Australian HR software firm Employment Hero has banked a large Series F led by US investor TCV, lifting its valuation towards $2 billion, with several existing backers also taking part.
Canberra startup Skykraft raised $120 million for its space-based air traffic management system, led by Foresight's Australian arm with Main Sequence Ventures and OPTrust, following an earlier $3.5 million round.
Canberra satellite firm Skykraft has raised $120 million to manage air traffic from space, with backing from Foresight Australia, OPTrust and Main Sequence; the round trails only Saluda Medical's this year.
Also Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·proactiveinvestors.com·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: a university metaverse partnership, a CSIRO digital appointment, electric buses in Queensland, two secured funding facilities, and several workforce and recycling initiatives.
Also @AuManufacturing
Roundup of manufacturing items: a satellite launch plan, a biotech tax incentive payment, a boot range launch, a solar CEO's exit, a ferry study, a university battery hub, and a recycling trial.
Skykraft has received Australian Space Agency funding for a $1.76 million project upgrading its satellite attitude control system to improve pointing accuracy and enable Earth observation and lunar missions.
Skykraft and XTEK completed qualification testing of a satellite deployment stack developed under an Australian Space Agency grant of $878,000, clearing it for India's small satellite launch vehicle.
Also @AuManufacturing
Techboard's year-end roundup catalogues November funding activity: big raises for Rokt, Harrison.ai and Pet Circle, five acquisitions, Investible's second fund closing at $51.6m, plus a watchlist of companies still seeking capital.
Also Australian FinTech
Weekly roundup reporting many startup funding rounds, Investible's fund close, Skalata's committed capital, hipages buying Builderscrack, Stack Sports acquiring Team App, and Level Equity's stake purchase in Eftsure.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Canberra space firm Skykraft, a UNSW Canberra spin-off, plans a 300kg satellite launch aboard SpaceX's Transporter-5 rideshare toward a 210-satellite air traffic constellation, and recently won a $1m ACT government grant.
Five Australian spacetech firms won federal grants: EffusionTech, Romar Engineering, Titomic and Q-CTRL under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, and Valiant Space for a Moon to Mars thruster feasibility study.
Also @AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
SmartCompany surveys Australia's space tech sector as Gilmour Space lands a $61 million Series C, profiling players such as Fleet, Myriota and Space Machines and recalling Moonshot's incubator backing of eleven startups.
Also @AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
Ten Australian space projects, from universities and startups, share eleven million dollars in Australian government grants for work including CubeSats, spacesuits and astronaut training simulations.
Also @AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
UNSW Canberra spin-off Skykraft receives a million-dollar ACT government grant to develop small satellite systems for global air traffic management, with extra cash and in-kind support from partners.
Armour maker Xtek has received a million-dollar sovereign industry grant towards a composites production facility for its curing technology, building on US defence contracts and a spacecraft development agreement with Skykraft.