Canberra-based SME Dragonfly Thinking has delivered a Defence Trailblazer-supported project to advance the company’s Artificial Intelligence decision-support platform, in collaboration with Adelaide University’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML).
Dragonfly Thinking developed its decision-support platform for businesses and policymakers dealing with complex, interconnected problems. The Defence Trailblazer project grant was used to further improve the product’s AI analytic capabilities by incorporating the research expertise at the AIML.
Key outcomes included implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, prototyping multi-agent workflows, and integrating a multi-lens analysis tool. These developments were delivered in collaboration with AIML through 12 structured sprints and R&D integration milestones.
The project has improved the transparency of Dragonfly Thinking’s platform, building trust in the deployment of AI systems for strategic decision making. It also ensures that Australian-built AI tools can meet the specific document ingestion needs for critical AI use cases.
“The grant funding played a pivotal role in strengthening Australia’s AI ecosystem by accelerating the capability development of Dragonfly Thinking as an Australian AI start-up focused on how we can improve decision-making in complex and uncertain fields,” said founder and CEO Anthea Roberts.
“It enabled Dragonfly Thinking to expand its technical engineering capacity by funding software engineers, product management, and design expertise essential for building a sovereign AI tool. The funding also allowed us to collaborate deeply with Dr Greg Ruthenbeck and other AIML experts, strengthening the university-industry ecosystem’s ability to adopt and scale AI responsibly.”
Defence Trailblazer’s support allowed Dragonfly Thinking to accelerate its commercial pathways, including ongoing pilots across the Australian public and private sectors. The project also built capacity for continuing opportunities with the Defence Intelligence Group.
The project outcomes directly strengthen Dragonfly Thinking’s commercial standing with government and corporate clients as a trusted developer of sovereign AI solutions. The platform has secured recognition through high-profile showcases such as the World Government Summit 2025 in Dubai, Fortune Brainstorm AI 2025 in Singapore, Harvard’s Askwith Education Forum, and the AI Government Showcase 2025 in Canberra.
Dr Margaret Law, General Manager – Technology Development & Acceleration at Defence Trailblazer, said that the project had accelerated Dragonfly Thinking “from a startup to a recognised leader in trusted AI innovation.”
“They demonstrate how targeted funding can amplify the impact of SMEs by enabling rapid capability development and deep collaborations with universities and Defence.”
