Defence Trailblazer announced it has launched its DINAMIC Innovation & Entrepreneurship program for 2026. After two successful cycles of DINAMIC, this year’s program will support a fresh cohort of innovators from academia, industry and Defence to pursue defence industry market opportunities.
Defence Trailblazer established DINAMIC to quickly deliver innovations and technologies that increase Australian Defence Force (ADF) capabilities. The program provides researchers, innovators and emerging companies with entrepreneurship and commercialisation upskilling, and supports the pursuit of cross-sector (dual-use) and international market opportunities for innovators.
Matthew Chapman, who came through the ADF and is the founder of Australian aerospace technology company Carrot Aero, participated in the 2025 DINAMIC program. Chapman said that the program has helped accelerate the company’s success. “DINAMIC has helped us understand and define our problem space. It has polished our pitch and our understanding of customer needs, as well as putting us in contact with potential contractors. I would recommend it to anyone with a Defence background branching out into the startup space.”
In 2026, the initiative will be delivered through a condensed program running from April to December. Participation in DINAMIC is free of charge and innovators will be selected on merit. The 2026 program includes three multi-day bootcamps, a 12-week Entrepreneurial Foundations for Defence (EFD) program, and specialist bootcamps – all designed to prepare ventures for defence, commercial and technical readiness.
DINAMIC is tailored to each founder’s level of experience, with business fundamentals coaching available for early-stage founders. The program will include curated access to experts, a stronger focus on paid trials for defence validation, and greater emphasis on product and business development.
Paul Daly, Entrepreneurship Program Manager at Defence Trailblazer, said of the new program: “We’re refining and improving DINAMIC every year, tailoring the experiences based on feedback from earlier cohorts. We’re excited to welcome the 2026 cohort and support them to play a role in defence innovation ecosystem.”
2025 DINAMIC participant, Adelaide University academic Dr Sonja Frölich, shared how the program helped adjust her mindset from scientist to founder of DefenSight, an AI-guided microscopy platform for biosecurity preparedness. “DINAMIC gave me a structured pathway to shift from ‘research outputs’ to ‘product delivery’, with practical milestones, decision gates, and realistic resourcing. I would highly recommend DINAMIC, especially to technical founders and academics with spin-outs, because it builds delivery discipline, commercial fluency, and Defence-relevant thinking early — when it matters most.”
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