The funding round attracted an unusual coalition of institutional investors including the Future Fund, HESTA, QIC, Funds SA, NGS Super and Brighter Super, along with tech-heavy venture capital funds Blackbird and Main Sequence, a fund founded by CSIRO.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI fundamentally believe that superannuation funds should be much more heavily investing in Australian companies,\u201d Gilmour said. \u201cI talked to plenty of them at round tables towards the end of last year. They said they\u2019d like to invest in us but didn\u2019t have a mandate. I think it was pretty weak. If they can get a mandate, that will unlock a ton more capital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gilmour said the company operates on roughly a quarter of the annual budget of its American competitors, giving it a longer runway despite the smaller capital base. The new funding provides what he called \u201croom to grow, room to have a go, room to fail, room to keep going\u201d.<\/p>\n
The company already has its sights on public markets, with Gilmour revealing it has held discussions with the ASX, NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange about a dual listing within two to three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s comfortable with that timeline. We want to at least get to orbit, have a decent contract book, get all that technology right,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten good pitches from the NYSE and also a decent pitch from NASDAQ.\u201d<\/p>\n
NRFC chief executive David Gall said Gilmour\u2019s technology has the potential to anchor Australia\u2019s space industry, noting the country\u2019s geographic advantages for orbital launches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have the same back-up of two-plus years just to get in the queue to launch like they would in the US,\u201d Gall said. \u201cBeing on different orbits, we can use that freeway with much easier access.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investment comes as Gilmour\u2019s financial accounts show mounting losses. The company\u2019s losses rose to $22.4 million in filings with the corporate regulator from November, typical for a pre-revenue rocket company yet to achieve commercial launch.<\/p>\n
Gilmour Space, founded in 2013 by brothers Adam and James Gilmour on the Gold Coast, now employs 235 people and plans to add another 50 staff this year. The company operates Australia\u2019s first and only licensed orbital spaceport at Bowen and has demonstrated satellite capability through its ElaraSat platform, which launched on a US rideshare mission in 2024.<\/p>\n
Rick Baker, partner at Blackbird Ventures, which led Gilmour\u2019s Series A round, said he gave Adam Gilmour \u201ca few million to get started and build out these hybrid rocket engines\u201d \u2013 a modest sum compared to the $217 million now backing the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlackbird led Gilmour\u2019s Series A when Australia didn\u2019t have a space agency, let alone a pathway to launch,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat early capital let Adam and the team prove what was possible and created the conditions for today\u2019s institutional investment. This is how deep tech gets built \u2026 Venture takes the first risk, founders deliver, and larger pools of capital follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker said Gilmour \u201chas this innate ability to get things done \u2013 that\u2019s just wonderful to see in an Aussie founder.\u201d<\/p>\n