An ACT government-backed venture capital fund has made its first investment, contributing more than one million dollars to a Canberra-based defence company.
Ten months after it was launched, ACTivate Capital has invested $1.5 million in Canberran defence technology company Seitec.
Founded by an Australian air force veteran, Seitec produces passive sensing technology for the defence, security and critical infrastructure sectors.
Seitec chief executive Daniel Stevens, who spent 20 years in the armed forces, said ACTivate's investment would allow the company to accelerate its international expansion, increase staffing and continue developing technology.
Mr Stevens started the company after creating an unexploded ordnance tracking system, which uses unique information about seismic waves to detect and localise the impact locations of unexploded bombs.
"We began as an Australian [small and medium enterprise] solving a Defence problem and have evolved into a global-leading technology provider to defence, security and critical infrastructure sectors," he said.
"Seitec started because existing sensors kept failing in environments where failure isn't an option. Our technology gives defence and government agencies earlier detection and reduced risk."
ACTivate Capital chair Mick Cardew Hall said Seitec was exactly the type of company the venture fund had been established to back.
"It's an ACT company with globally competitive technology, early customer validation and the potential to become a sovereign defence capability with international reach," he said.
"Australia can't rely on domestic demand alone to grow and sustain this sector. Companies like Seitec show how Australian innovation can be commercialised globally, strengthening sovereign capability while creating export opportunities and high-value jobs here in Canberra."
Investments from Beaten Zone Venture Partners and the University of New South Wales will contribute to a total of $4 million for the start-up.
ACTivate Capital was launched in November 2025 with $23 million in funding, including a $10 million contribution from the territory government. The fund has capacity to grow to $50 million with an investment scope spanning defence, quantum, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
The fund was set to target 10 to 15 companies over the next decade with the goal of keeping the territory's best ideas and brightest talent local.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr previously said the fund had a mandate to be "a little more adventurous in supporting Canberra start-ups".
"We're a relatively young and small city with not a significant capital base so we do need a degree of government involvement and we need also to be able to leverage that to attract other capital from elsewhere in Australia and internationally," Mr Barr said.
