A booking and event management platform beloved by local councils has raised $5 million in its first external round after seven years of bootstrapping. The raise for Attekus was led by Five V Venture Capital, with support from Queensland government-backed QIC Ventures. Attekus was founded in 2017 by Tom Muller and Andrew Cutler, who worked… Read more »
The Queensland government has backed regional NSW biotech startup Cauldron Ferm to build a biomanufacturing facility in the state’s tropical north. The Sunshine State support under the $415 million Industry Partnership Program (IPP) follows a recent $4.3 million federal government grant. The size of the investment, ahead of Queenslanders going to the polls on October… Read more »
Gold Coast startup Heatseeker has raised $1.3 million in an ongoing pre-Seed round, topped up by $200,000 from the state government’s investment fund, Advance Queensland. The Gold Coast startup was cofounded in 2023 by former Silicon Valley entrepreneur Kate O’Keeffe and former Naked Ambition CEO Fiona Triaca. Their AI platform help companies conduct quick, easy,… Read more »
Generative AI and ChatGTP have their fans, but if you really want to excite someone, enlist technology to make their daily lives easier. And that’s just what The Laundry Lady, an online marketplace that deals with the drudgery of a washing, has done, bringing tech and innovation to a market we’re going to call household… Read more »
If the belief that having more women in venture capital will help address the chronic underfunding of female founders, then a new initiative backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) will make the Sunshine State the room where it happens. Getting more women in Queensland’s VC industry is the aim of 77 Venture Fellows, which… Read more »
A Brisbane biotech startup eliminating the need for animal testing in pharmaceutical drug development has raised $2.2 million in pre-Seed funding. The round for Gelomics was led by Andrea Gardiner’s Sydney VC Jelix Ventures, alongside the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) Enterprise Acceleration Fund and Angelloop. The cash injection is expected create more than 70 highly-skilled… Read more »
As the Brisbane Olympics loom in 2032, the Queensland government is keen to get local sportstech startups on the podium with new accelerator programs. The state government-backed Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) is bringing Melbourne-based Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) north with funding from the QIC-managed Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF). The accelerator and entrepreneurship programs… Read more »
The Queensland government is backing in specialist venture capital firm Pollination in a new fund for local climate and nature technology startups. Pollination’s Climate and Nature Impact Venture Fund has kicked off with the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) as cornerstone investor through the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF). It’s been a busy week for… Read more »
Brisbane early and growth-stage venture capital fund Sprint Ventures is among four new VCs to be backed by the state government’s Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) as part of an ambitious plan to invest in more local startups. The QIC-managed Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF) is the cornerstone investor for Sprint Fund 3. It follows an initial… Read more »
An algorithm developed in a partnership between the Queensland and Victorian governments and Hort Innovation Australia has the ability predict the shelf life of mangoes and stone fruit. Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) has now offered the technology up for expressions of interest to develop it commercially. DAF and Agriculture Victoria in the… Read more »
The federal and Queensland governments have put the house on a US quantum startup over local rivals in a financial package worth $940 million (US$620m) to build a quantum computer in Brisbane. PsiQuantum was founded in Palo Alto, California in 2015 by expat Australian professors Jeremy O’Brien, Terry Rudolph, Mark Thompson and Dr Pete Shadbolt.… Read more »
The Queensland government’s support for women in startups has continued with two grant programs under the $8 million Backing Female Founders initiative currently accepting new applications. The Accelerating Female Founders Program provides grants worth between $50,000 and $200,000 for business support initiatives, such as mentoring and advocacy support and customised business development activities, for female-led… Read more »
Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies has raised $55 million in a Series D ahead of a maiden launch in Queensland later this year. The raise was led by the state government-backed Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), an existing investor, alongside VCs Blackbird and Main Sequence, plus superannuation funds HostPlus and HESTA. The cash will fund the… Read more »
More than 160 early-stage Queensland startups will be supported to become venture capital investment-ready under accelerator programs delivered through the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF). The fund, managed by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), will support an initial five accelerators to run thematically relevant programs focused on the state’s priority industries. The accelerators are: Farmers2Founders, EnergyLab,… Read more »
The Queensland government’s new venture capital development fund has backed five VCs: Antler, Five V Capital, Main Sequence, Mandalay Venture Partners and Salus Ventures, with a combined $130 million investment. Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the deals will give Queensland startups access to up to $200 million in new matched… Read more »
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