Startups in Australia are being backed by a multi-million dollar innovation fund.
The $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund, managed by Main Sequence Ventures, provides finance to game-changing enterprises working across a range of sectors. It is targeted at startups, SMEs and university spin-outs, to help them generate growth that can have positive knock-on effects for the employment market.
Australia’s acting Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Senator Michaelia Cash, said: “The CSIRO Innovation Fund is designed to ensure our world-class research can be turned into the jobs and economic growth of the future.”
And Sydney’s Intersective, a startup which pioneers experiential education technology, has been named as one of the first young companies to benefit from the support.
“Main Sequence Ventures offers a funding vehicle designed for startups like Intersective who are trying to use leading edge technology to tackle big, complex problems. These companies are harder for standard venture capital funds to back, but if successful can solve fundamental problems and have built in competitive advantage on the world stage,” said Beau Leese, Intersective Co-Founder and CEO. In Main Sequence Ventures. “Intersective found a partner willing to back our investment in deep data science to solve challenges in real world skill building collaboration between educators, employers and student.”
And many more are set to benefit.
“We at Main Sequence Ventures know that this is only the beginning, and many more high-potential companies will be able to grow from our investments. We look forward to working with Australia’s deep tech founders to build epic companies,” added venture capitalist, Bill Bartee, who leads Main Sequence Ventures.
Bill has also now joined the board at Intersective.
