Australia backs four healthcare tech start-ups in VC push

Investees include quantum computing specialist Q-Ctrl, Wi-Fi technology developer Morse Micro, medical imaging company Maxwell MRI and Intersective, an education platform operator that offers a range of experiential learning services such as internships and accelerators. Deployment details have not been specified.

“Australia has never been short of great ideas, but the value is rarely captured domestically,” Larry Marshall, CEO of CSIRO, said in a statement. “Australia’s scientists are world leaders, but investing in science-driven innovation is hard – it needs the horsepower of Australia’s national science agency behind it.”

CSIRO Innovation Fund – which leverages the technical know-how of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) – was launched last year as part of a A$1.1 billion ($845 million) government innovation agenda. The fund operates under the name Main Sequence Ventures and is anchored by A$100 million in government contributions. It is targeting a corpus of A$200 million.

The Main Sequence team is led by Bill Bartee, co-founder of Blackbird Ventures, and includes Phil Morle, the founder of Pollenizer, Australia’s first Silicon Valley-style incubator. Each member of the management has been an entrepreneur.

Additional government support for Australia’s start-up ecosystem includes the A$500 million Biomedical Translation Fund and the A$4.9 million Global Connections Fund, which provides seed funding to company-researcher collaborations. Earlier this year, the country’s A$11.2 million incubation initiative known as Landing Pads launched a program in Singapore aimed at helping Australian start-ups reach international markets.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Australia
• healthcare
• Education
• seed