Drone manufacturer Tective has received its first investment from SecFund. This fund provides early-stage funding to Dutch startups, scale-ups, and innovative SMEs that meet the innovation needs of the Ministry of Defense. SecFund is launching with €25 million in assets under management, with the goal of growing this to €100 million by 2025. The fund invests up to a maximum of 5 million euros per company.
Delft-based Tective enables the automated deployment of drone swarms using the SkyHive. The SkyHive functions as an autonomous airfield where five in-house-developed drones can take off, land, and swap batteries. Equipped with multiple cameras, the drones map areas quickly and efficiently without the need for a pilot. This makes it possible to automatically monitor large areas—such as border regions or critical infrastructure. But the SkyHive also proves its value in the civilian sector, such as agriculture, by providing a cost-effective and scalable solution for detecting weeds and viral diseases. SecFund is investing alongside Tenzing Alpha to enable the company’s further development and scaling up. In collaboration with the Ministry of Defense, the focus here is on production reliability.
Significant interest
Research by the European Union shows that, compared to companies in other sectors, innovative companies in the defense sector more often face barriers to obtaining funding. Raising venture capital poses a major challenge. This is not only because these companies have very high capital requirements, but also because investors are reluctant to invest in companies that supply the defense sector. The SecFund is designed to bridge this gap and contributes to national security, innovation, and economic growth.
SecFund focuses on dual-use companies. These are companies that develop products or services that can be used in both the civilian and defense sectors. One example is LiFi: a new generation of data transmission that is faster than Wi-Fi and can transmit more data per second, or consider advanced radio technology.
Since the announcement last October, more than a hundred companies from across the Netherlands have expressed interest in the fund. Over the past few months, a number of these companies were asked to participate in the pilot phase of the process to help the fund build an initial portfolio. Some of these interested companies show potential, and Tective is now the first to receive an investment.
Dual-use in defense and civilian applications
The SecFund is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the regional development agencies (ROMs). The management of this nationwide fund has been entrusted to the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) in collaboration with the other ROMs. This ensures optimal use of existing knowledge and experience in investing and venture development.
“To provide our people with the best equipment, we need the most innovative people and companies in the Netherlands. The SecFund gives startups and scale-ups a significant boost to rapidly bring their innovations into production and thus get them to our warfighters. This is essential for our security,” said Gijs Tuinman, State Secretary for Defense.
“With the investment in Tective, SecFund is now truly up and running. The high level of interest in the fund underscores entrepreneurs’ need for this new dual-use funding instrument. As regional development agencies, we stand ready to accelerate innovation for defense. We wish Investment Director Ernst Coolen and the national SecFund team every success,” Brigit van Dijk – Van de Reijt, CEO of Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), on behalf of ROM-Nederland.
Fund open for subscriptions
Interested companies can register here. Here, they’ll find more information, a quick scan to determine whether the funding instrument is suitable for their company, and the option to submit an application.