-28.029901825539408, 153.43195430713072
09.09.2026
ANNUAL DEFENCE INDUSTRY INVESTMENT CONFERENCE
PRESENTED BY BEATEN ZONE VENTURE PARTNERS
DATE
Wednesday, 09 September 2026
SUPPORTED BY
Reveille Conference 2026
LOCATION
Sofitel Hotel, Gold Coast, Queensland
DELEGATES
200+
BACK THE INNOVATORS
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READY THE NATION
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BACK THE INNOVATORS • READY THE NATION •
01Capital Meets Mission. Here.
The world has changed. The mission is clear.
Global defence founders are building the technology that will define the next decade of national security. The United States has shown what happens when private capital backs that mission at speed and at scale. Australia is ready to do the same.
REVEILLE is the call.
Australia's first Defence Investment Conference, hosted by Beaten Zone Venture Partners on the Gold Coast, 9 September 2026. One day. One room. Global defence founders and leading US and Australian investors, side by side, aligned on what needs to be funded and built.
This is the moment private capital steps forward. This is where the conversations that move nations actually happen. This is where founders meet the investors who back missions, not just business plans.
REVEILLE 2026. Gold Coast. 9 September.
REaDY THE NATION.
Back the Mission.
02The bugle has sounded. Australia answers.
Australia cannot defend itself with good intentions.
We need sovereign capability in the air, at sea, underground, and in the digital domain. We need founders brave enough to build it and investors willing to back them. We need US and Australian capital in the same room, pointed at the same problems.
REVEILLE was built because that room did not exist.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners created this conference to do one thing: mobilise private capital into the defence asset class and connect it directly to the founders solving the hardest problems in national security.
The name comes from the military bugle call sounded at dawn. The signal to rise. To get ready. To begin.
Australia's moment is now. The capital needs to wake up.
Ready the Nation. Back the Mission.
Private Capital.
Sovereign Capability.
WAKE THE INNOVATORS
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READY THE NATION
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WAKE THE INNOVATORS • READY THE NATION •
Speakers
03
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
JaMES
CHISWELL
Co-Founder & CEO of High Tor Capital
James spent 35 years in the British Army before concentrating in 2018 on emerging technology, advising companies such as Entrepreneur First, Palantir and Mind Foundry. He has strong links with Sweden, centred on Anglo-Swedish innovation and investment. He is passionate about the role technology plays in defending our values and is a co-founder of MissionLink UK, a network to connect the country’s leading technology founders with the defence and security communities.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
STEVE
BAXTER
Founder & Lead Investor, Beaten Zone Venture Partners
Steve Baxter is the founder and lead investor of Beaten Zone Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to backing disruptive technologies that enhance Australia's sovereign defence and space capabilities. A former Army soldier turned serial tech entrepreneur, he built and exited two landmark Australian technology businesses before becoming one of the country's most active startup investors and ecosystem drivers. Former Shark Tank Shark, co-founder and executive Chairman of TEN13.
SPEAKER
MATT
HILL
CEO of Hypersonix Launch Systems
Matt Hill is the CEO of Hypersonix Launch Systems, Australia's leading hypersonic aerospace company developing reusable, hydrogen-powered scramjet technology for defence and space applications. Under his leadership, Hypersonix secured a $46 million Series A backed by global defence investors and achieved Mach 5+ flight, cementing Australia's position at the forefront of sovereign hypersonic capability.
SPEAKER
Steen
Bisgaard
Founding Director of GaardTech
Steen Bisgaard is a former Australian Army officer and the founding director of GaardTech, a defence innovation company with manufacturing facilities across Australia, the UK, and the USA. GaardTech recently won the US Army's xTech Edge Strike Ground competition and is now a recognised commercial leader in combat robotics.
SPEAKER
HEather
RICHMAN
Founder of US Defence Investor Network
Heather Richman is founder of the US Defense Investor Network and has held senior roles across national security, technology, and investment, including at Stanford University and on Capitol Hill. She co-chairs the AUKUS Defense Investors Network, representing over $400 billion in private capital across the US, UK, and Australia.
SPEAKER
MAJOR GENERAL
Mick Ryan AM
Major General Mick Ryan AM is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army with 35 years of service, including command of the 1st Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan and a strategic role on the US Joint Staff in Washington DC. A Masters graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Distinguished Graduate of the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College, he is now Senior Fellow for Military Studies at the Lowy Institute, an adjunct fellow at CSIS, and the author of three books on modern warfare and strategy.
SPEAKER
Matthew
KIBBLE
Founder & Managing Partner at DYNE Asset Management
Matthew Kibble is the founder and Managing Partner of DYNE Asset Management, focused on national security technology and supply chain resiliency in support of AUKUS and QUAD initiatives. A University of Queensland alumnus with a career spanning JPMorgan and venture capital, he sits on the Board of Advisors at the Center for a New American Security.
03
SPEAKER
LUKE
SANDERS
Managing Director, Foxglove Defence
Luke Sanders is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Foxglove Defence, a platform that strengthens national security for Australia and its allies while generating investor value. Leveraging his experience leading cutting-edge capabilities in complex defense environments, he combines financial expertise with warfighting practitioners to deliver rapid innovation and outcomes at the edge.
SPEAKER
CHARLIE
MCGILLIS
Founder & CEO, 2 Polaris & Beyond
Charlie McGillis is a U.S. Air Force veteran, aerospace executive, and founder of 2 Polaris & Beyond, specializing in national security space strategy. She serves as VP, Public Sector at The Provenance Chain Network, sits on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s TraCSS Independent Review Board, and mentors for the Creative Destruction Lab.
SPEAKER
DR WILLIAM
CROWE
Cofounder and CEO, HEO
Dr William Crowe is the Co-Founder and CEO of HEO, a Sydney-based company providing commercial, non-Earth imaging services to help satellite operators and governments monitor space assets. He founded HEO in 2016 while completing his PhD in astrodynamics at the University of New South Wales, where his research focused on spacecraft swarms.
SPEAKER
BEN
DULLROY
Founder & Managing Partner at DYNE Asset Management
Ben Dullroy is a leader with over 23 years of experience in business performance improvement, operational management, and strategic planning. Having developed his leadership foundation commanding soldiers early in his career, he excels at managing complex organizations and remains relentlessly focused on delivery—whether local or global.
04
ORDER OF OPERATIONS
PILLAR 01
KEYNOTES AUKUS alignment, sovereign capability, emerging technologies ready for adoption.
PILLAR 02
Panels Investment pipelines, early-stage Defence funding, risk frameworks for founders.
PILLAR 03
BReakout Sessions & INVESTMENT ROOMS INVESTMENT READINESS & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES.
PROGRAM REVEILLE 2026, 09, 09, 2026
SOFITEL, GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
Who backed Australian defence before it was easy, and why
Standing up a US presence — the playbook for going from AU to allied ground and ecosystem players.
Stories from the front line. Founders who built, broke things and scaled anyway.
Leading US investors in backing the next generation of allied defence tech
UK and EU capital making the case for defence investment
Founders who scaled and exited, and the acquirers who made it happen
Investing in the companies building Australia's space defence edge
WAKE THE INNOVATORS
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READY THE NATION
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WAKE THE INNOVATORS • READY THE NATION •
05 SECURE YOUR SPOT
Register for
Reveille 2026
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
THE EARLY BIRD OBSERVER
Early Bird
General Admission
$750
A general admission pass for founder, investors, innovation enthusiasts looking to engage the future of Australian defence technology.
Inclusions:
- Exhibitors Lounge Access
- Keynotes & panel discussions
- Post Conference Networking Drinks
Open to Investors, Founders, Government, Industry, Ecosystem Partners and ADF/DOD
THE OBSERVER
Early Bird
General Admission + Investor Breakfast
$950
Full access to the Reveille 2026 program, connecting you with the people shaping early-stage defence innovation across Australia and beyond.
Inclusions:
- Exhibitors Lounge Access
- Keynotes & panel discussions
- Post Conference Networking Drinks
This ticket also includes an exclusive investor breakfast to your ticket for access to an intimate morning session where you can connect with investors from across the ecosystem before the day begins.
STARTUPS
Early Bird
Startup Showcase
$1150
Founders only. Limited spots available and application required.
Express interest via EOI.
General Entry payable on submission
If selected, exhibition balance invoiced separately.
Full inclusions TBC
06 WAITLIST ONLY
The VIP INVESTOR EXPERIENCE
THE INDUSTRY INVESTOR EXPERIENCE
THE VIP INVESTOR EXPERIENCE
An exclusive investor-tier experience connecting Australia's most active defence-tech capital with the operators, founders, and decision-makers who are shaping sovereign capability.
Please read prospectus and apply.
REaDY THE NATION.
Back the Mission.
Partners & Supporters
08
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING?
Sponsor packs available for Defence industry, government, and commercial organisations.