Hostplus backs $19m Series B for Australia's Myriota

Hostplus co-led the round with government-connected Main Sequence Ventures. Additional contributions came from In-Q-Tel, a US-based VC focused on national security interests, Boeing HorizonX Ventures, Singapore’s Singtel Innov8, Australia’s Right Click Capital, and South Australian Venture Capital Fund. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who recently took an advisory roll with KKR, also participated. 

It follows a $15 million Series A in 2018 led by Main Sequence and Blue Sky Venture Capital with support from Boeing, Singtel, and Right Click. The fresh capital will be used to build out the company’s constellation of satellites to 25 by 2022, grow staff headcount by 50% in the next two years, and expand into international markets where demand for space infrastructure related to real-time connectivity has been identified. 

Myriota was founded in 2015 as a spinout from the University of South Australia with a view to enabling large-scale, low-cost communications for internet-of-things (IoT) devices anywhere in the world through technologies it describes as “direct-to-orbit.” The company claims its technology promotes longer battery life, easier scalability, strong cryptographic security, and affordability for industrial IoT systems.

“Investing in the potential of Australian businesses is important to us, and rarely do we have the opportunity to invest in a company that has such an immense global impact,” Sam Sicilia, CIO at Hostplus, said in a statement. “We believe in Myriota’s vision to make data accessible for all, as well as the impact Myriota’s low-power satellite connectivity is already having on essential industries. We’re thrilled to help Myriota rapidly scale and connect billions of IoT devices across the world.” 

Hostplus is seen as the leading player in a trend of growing VC appetite among superannuation funds. This theme is considered a critical ingredient in an ongoing expansion of the local VC ecosystem, along with increasingly ambitious innovation agendas from the national and state governments.  

Main Sequence is the operational name for the Australian government’s CSIRO Innovation Fund, which leverages the technical knowhow of the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The fund is anchored by A$100 million ($61 million) in government contributions and is targeting a corpus of A$200 million.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Australasia
• Infrastructure
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Australia
• HOSTPLUS
• SingTel Innov8
• TMT
• space