Tective first investment from SecFund

Delft-based Tective enables the automated deployment of drone swarms using the SkyHive. The SkyHive functions as an autonomous airport where five in-house developed drones can take off, land and change 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 areas or critical infrastructure. But the SkyHive also comes into its own in the civil sector, such as agriculture, by helping to detect weeds and viral diseases in a cheap and scalable way. SecFund is investing alongside Tenzing Alpha to enable further development and scaling up of the company. In collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, the emphasis here is on production security.

Great interest

Innovative companies in the defence sector experience more barriers to obtaining financing than companies in other sectors, according to research by the European Union. Raising venture capital is a major challenge. Not only because these companies have very high capital requirements, but also because financiers are reluctant to invest in companies that supply the defence sector. SecFund aims to bridge this gap and contribute 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 civil and defence sectors. One example is LiFi: a new generation of data transmission that is faster than WiFi and can transfer more data per second, or think of advanced radio technology.

Since the announcement last October, more than a hundred companies from across the Netherlands have expressed interest in the fund. A number of these companies have been asked to participate in the test phase of the process over the past few months, in order to create an initial portfolio for the fund. Some of these interested companies have potential, and Tective is now the first to receive an investment.

Dual-use in defence and civil applications

SecFund is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the regional development agencies (ROMs). The implementation of this fund, which covers the whole of the Netherlands, has been entrusted to the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) in collaboration with the other ROMs. This ensures that optimal use is made of the available knowledge and experience in investment and venture development.

“To provide our people with the best equipment, we need the most innovative people and companies in the Netherlands. SecFund gives start-ups and scale-ups a significant boost to rapidly bring their innovations into production and get them to our warfighters. This is essential for our security,” says Gijs Tuinman, State Secretary for Defence.

“With the investment in Tective, SecFund has now really taken off. The considerable interest in the fund underlines the need among entrepreneurs for this new dual-use financing instrument. As regional development companies, we are ready to accelerate innovation for defence. We wish investment director Ernst Coolen and the national team at SecFund every success,” Brigit van Dijk – Van de Reijt, CEO of Brabant Development Agency (BOM) on behalf of ROM-Nederland.

Fund open for applications

Interested companies can register at www.secfund.nl. Here they will find more information, a quick scan to see whether the financing instrument is suitable for their company, and the opportunity to submit an application.

Back to news overview