Startup · $11m raised
Sydney, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Visionary Machines raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Folklore Ventures | Unnamed stage · Seed | - |
| In-Q-Tel | Seed | - |
| IQT International Australia | Seed | - |
| OIF Ventures | Unnamed stage · Seed | - |
| Our Innovation Fund | Seed | - |
| Salus Ventures | Unnamed stage · Seed | - |
| Significant Capital Ventures | Unnamed stage · Seed | - |
| Thorney Group | Unnamed stage · Seed | - |
Companies Visionary Machines 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amir Mashkoori | CEO | Our Innovation Fund, Startup Daily |
| Dr Rhys Newman | Founder | Our Innovation Fund, Startup Daily |
| Dr Samson Lee | Founder | Our Innovation Fund, Startup Daily |
| Gary Aitchison | Chief Executive Officer · Founder | Defence Connect, Startup Daily |
| Hannah Field | Board Member | Our Innovation Fund, Startup Daily |
| Nicholas Gibbs | Chief Operating Officer | Defence Connect |
| Nick Gibbs | Chief Operating Officer | Defence Connect (Tue 10 Feb 2026), Defence Connect (Mon 12 Feb 2024) |
| Sonny Foster | CEO | Defence Connect (Tue 10 Feb 2026), Defence Connect (Tue 26 Aug 2025), Startup Daily, Defence Connect (Wed 22 May 2024), Defence Connect (Mon 12 Feb 2024) |
Stories naming Visionary Machines. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
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.
An Australian counter-drone technology developer has appointed a Singaporean defence distributor to sell its Pandion Sentinel system, its first step toward in-country sales across the Asia-Pacific region.
Visionary Machines has won a 4.4 million dollar government grant, matched by its investors toward an 8.75 million dollar project, to speed commercialisation and Sydney manufacturing of its Pandion counter-drone sensing system.
Weekly roundup detailing five Australian startups' raises: a PR platform's Series B, a biotech's post-stealth funding, a defence tech round, a pre-seed voice-AI raise, and a crowdfunding campaign.
Also Startup Daily
Sydney computer vision firm Visionary Machines won a Phase 2 Defence technology demonstration contract for its Pandion counter-drone sensor after pitching at Army Innovation Day 2023 via the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator.
Computer vision startup Visionary Machines brings in two ex-Collins Aerospace executives, Sonny Foster as CEO and Nick Gibbs as COO, to drive its commercial expansion, per a February 8 statement.
OIF Ventures' first portfolio newsletter: OIF Fund II closed above $100 million, plus recent raises at Go1, Circle In, Assignar, Arcade, Visionary Machines, Neara, Futurerent and Adventus.io.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily