Cicada Innovations and Radium Capital have teamed up to bring you a deep dive into funding like you’ve never heard before. Hear from a stellar panel and build connections with the people shaping the deep tech space for an evening of anything but your usual funding conversation.

Funding a deep tech startup isn’t just challenging, it can be a journey through uncharted territory. The path isn’t always linear, and finding the right funding at each stage can be a complex puzzle.

That’s why this event cuts through the noise. We’ll shift away from the generic advice to focus on the real questions founders face—breaking down the funding landscape to understand the available funding pathways, from venture capital and R&D financing to government grants, and exploring real-world scenarios at every stage of the journey.

To bring these scenarios to life, we’ve assembled an incredible panel of experts, with diverse experience in the deep tech space. The conversation, led by

Sian Priest, Cicada Innovations' Group Executive Impact & Ecosystems, will feature:

Emerald Scofield – Associate, Main Sequence Ventures
Jessica Olivier - National Executive Partner at RSM Australia
Pat Stewart – State Manager NSW and National Sales Lead, Radium Capital
Dr Venkata Gutta - CEO & founder of Millibeam

Together we will address the key funding challenges founders face at every stage of the deep tech journey, from navigating early R&D and proof of concept to scaling prototypes, transitioning to commercialisation, and breaking into the market. Expect actionable, real-world insights and tailored advice to help you tackle the realities of building and growing a deep tech startup.

This isn’t a panel where you sit quietly at the back. It’s your chance to ask hard-hitting questions and connect with people who understand the deep tech journey.

Come along to get answers to the funding challenges keeping you up at night and meet the key players in Australia’s deep tech ecosystem. You’ll hear from a panel full of valuable knowledge, with plenty of time to network with deep tech founders, investors, and experts — before and after the conversation.

Meet the speakers

Emerald Scofield, Associate, Main Sequence Ventures

Emerald Scofield is an Investment Associate at Main Sequence bringing a wealth of experience in deep tech market analysis and incubating early-stage companies. She plays a crucial role in identifying and evaluating promising investment opportunities, including conducting market research and financial analysis.

Prior to joining Main Sequence, Emerald served as a senior associate at Pacific Channel Limited, a New Zealand-based deep tech venture capital fund, where she managed the investment process and the incubation of early stage technologies and company formations

Emerald holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from the University of Auckland.

Jessica Olivier, National Executive Partner at RSM Australia

Jess is a Partner at RSM Australia in the National R&D Tax and Government Incentives practice and also chairs RSM’s Global Incentives Group covering the US, UK, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand. Jess has a Bachelor of Science and is also a Chartered Accountant. She has worked in Australia since 2005 and for over 18 years has specialised in R&D Tax.

Throughout her career, Jess has worked with Start-ups through to SMEs across a range of industries including Technology (HealthTech, FinTech, EdTech), Manufacturing and Engineering. As part of her role, Jess liaises regularly with the administering authorities (AusIndustry and the ATO), being part of the National R&DTI Roundtable as well as regular Stakeholder Reference Groups. In 2024, she acted as an Independent Expert in a Supreme Court R&D case.

Pat Stewart, State Manager NSW and National Sales Lead, Radium Capital

As State Manager (NSW) at Radium Capital, Pat Stewart talks to 100s of innovators each week who are working to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. He understands the unique challenges businesses with innovation and R&D face when accessing capital to bring their ideas to life.

Pat is a seasoned finance professional with an MBA and 15 years of banking and financial product experience. He is passionate about start-ups, green innovation and AgTech, and loves helping innovators grow and thrive through strategic R&D financing. Since launching in 2017, Radium Capital has deployed over $850m of funding to innovators.

Dr Venkata Gutta - CEO & founder of Millibeam

Venkata was the design lead on several RF power amplifier products for 4G and 5G wireless infrastructure applications and worked on phased-array development for defense applications early in his career. He has worked at CEA Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Freescale Semiconductor, Huawei, and Ampleon before founding MILLIBEAM. He holds a PhD from Macquarie University and B.E degree in electronics & communications engineering from the University of Canberra.

Venkata is the CEO and founder of Millibeam.

About Radium Capital

Radium Capital is Australia’s leader in R&D financing, having deployed $850m of funding to innovators. They believe businesses with R&D should have access to capital when they need it, so they created Radium Advances which provide quick, easy and early access to up to 80% of expected R&D tax incentive refunds.

As a strategic funding partner for innovation, they’ve had front-row seats to witness some of the brightest innovators and entrepreneurs in Australia grow and thrive, playing a significant role in the evolving landscape of innovation funding.

Find out how innovators across Australia are using non-dilutive R&D financing to accelerate growth, attract other sources of funding and smooth cash flow at radiumcapital.com.au