Top 50 Biotech VC Funds in Australia

Uniseed was established in October 2000 as a $20 million joint venture between the University of Melbourne (UM) and the University of Queensland (UQ). This proof of concept fund (Fund-1) operated with significant input and support from the commercialization offices of the two universities (UniQuest and Melbourne Ventures Limited), with staff ofthese organizations making up the majority of the Investment Committee and leading due diligence and management of most investment opportunities. Over 20 investments, typically of $250,000 - $500,000 were made from this fund.A new $40 million venture fund (Fund-2) ran from 2005-15, with the addition of a third leading university, the University of New South Wales, and a major private institutional investor, the Westscheme superannuation fund. The founding universities (UQ & UM) also committed further funds. Australian Super took over Westscheme's essets and commitments in July 2011.With the start of Fund-2, an independent management team was established, consisting of the CEO and three Investment Managers; one at each university catchment. The Investment Committee was restructured, with dedicated committees established for biotechnology or other technologies. The nominal investment limit was increased to $2.5 million to allow participation in follow-on funding rounds so as to preserve Uniseed's equity position.On 1 November 2015, Uniseed started its third and largest fund (Fund-3) with the addition of the University of Sydney and the CSIRO to the Universities of Queensland, Melbourne and NSW. This followed three high profile exits in the preceding 14 months (Fibrotech; Spinifex & Hatchtech). Each of the five partners committed $10 million over 10 years to the new fund (total fund $50 million).Uniseed’s partner research organisations spent nearly $4 billion on research, making up over 40% of the total research spend at 67 research organisations in Australia. Together, these organisations accounted for nearly 500 invention disclosures (34% of total) and 500 new registered IP rights filed (45% of total) over the same period(2013 National Survey of Research Commercialisation). Unlike private venture capital funds, Uniseed is dedicated to the needs of its research partners, and committed to servicing them consistently over the long term, irrespective of the short term conditions in external capital markets. It works in very close partnership with the research partner commercialisation companies and staff, providing a valuable adjunct to the capabilities these companies and staff provide. They in turn provide a best-practice commercialisation service tailored to their respective organisations. These companies are able to leverage to great effect the scale of operation and expertise of the Uniseed network.The fund is run with commercial discipline, ensuring independence and financial rigor in its investment decision-making processes. Success is measured by a balance of return on investment (including the flow of funds for research to further the commercialisation of intellectual property generated within the research partner catchments), the establishment of viable start-up companies, the generation of research income for research partners and the improvement of partner commercialisation processes.

Brandon Capital invests in the most promising biomedical opportunities that have the potential to improve the lives of patients.

Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) provides dedicated, investment funding to support the commercialisation of early-stage medical research discoveries that originate from its member institutes. The collaborative nature of the MRCF seeks to foster best practice in the commercialisation of medical innovations.

Stoic VC is an early-stage venture fund backing founders at the forefront of University Innovation. We partner with Uniseed to accelerate the commercialisation of university research across the ANZ.

OneVentures is one of Australia’s leading venture capital firms, with over $330M in funds under management. But they do more than invest. They take companies to that all important next stage, by actively shaping their future. They apply their years of international experience, operational and executional expertise to accelerate the growth of theirportfolio companies. A global growth focus drives their investment selection with their current portfolio including companies with truly innovative products tackling multi-billion-dollar problems, from needle-free vaccinations to virtual communications to adaptive e-learning.

We work with inventors who are building something hard from their unique expertise in science. These inventors are building the industries that will thrive for the decades to come. We have a unique working model to accelerate a company's pathway to scale.

Melbourne Angels was formed in Melbourne, Australia in early 2007. Melbourne Angels is the leading group of private investors in Victoria who actively invest in early stage and growth technology companies.The group has a strong and experienced core of members that generate deal flow, are experienced in evaluation of business propositions and actas mentors for the other members and the entrepreneurs. The members vary in age, gender, ethnicity, profession and type of experience. All members have experience of success at being entrepreneurial.This award winning group is consistently one of the most active startup investors in the country.

Artesian Capital Management is an alternative investments management company, which was spun out of ANZ Banking Group's capital markets business in 2004, with backing from ANZ Private Equity. Artesian's founding partners, purchased ANZ's stake in 2005. The company has subsequently been fully owned by partners and staff. Since 2004,Artesian has managed specialised funds focused on credit arbitrage and relative-value strategies across global financial markets. In 2008, while continuing to manage credit relative value investment strategies from its New York, London and Singapore offices, Artesian began to make principal investments in seed/early-stage ventures from its offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Shanghai. In 2011, Artesian launched the first of its early stage venture capital funds and now manages AUD +255m. Artesian's VC strategy is to partner with best of breed accelerators, incubators, angel groups and university programs. In 2017, Artesian launched its China VC Fund with a USD 50m cornerstone investment industry super fund Hostplus. Artesian will soon launch a Southeast Asia VC Fund.

Investing in the deep science and technology that can propel humanity towards a radically better future.

Yuuwa Capital is a $40M early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth, Western Australia. They are actively seeking outstanding investment opportunities where Yuuwa can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors to turn good ideas into great companies.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation invests using a commercial approach to overcome market barriers and mobilize investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and low emissions technologies. They seek to catalyze and leverage private sector funding for the commercialization and deployment of clean energy technologies necessary for thetransition to a carbon-constrained economy.

Starfish Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm focused on information technology, life sciences, and clean technology companies.

Lowercarbon Capital backs kickass companies slashing CO2 emissions, sucking carbon out of the sky, and buying us time to unf**k the planet.

Folklore is a team of investors, founders, and builders committed to supporting Australian and New Zealand tech founders. We are a first cheque to forever investment firm, and we believe in the power of founder vision and the potential of teams, right from the start.

SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins thelater rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates. HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

Possible Ventures backs ambitious teams building frontier technology to positively impact society. We invest globally in the early stages, actively supporting founders via our collective of global entrepreneurs.

Empath Ventures is a venture capital firm that mainly invests in psychedelic medicine companies. The firm specializes in the fields of investment financial services, finance, and venture capital. It was founded in 2021 and headquartered in Los Angeles California.

Vectr is a venture firm based in Hong Kong. They combine investment, creation and growth to deliver game-changing impact to teams ready to tackle global issues, transform industries and improve the lives of millions.That combines capital, creation and partnership to deliver game-changing impact. We strive to be the ideal partner for founders thatare building transformation products and looking to expand their businesses into asia.

Formed in late 2006, the Brisbane Angels Pty Ltd is a large group of private investors who actively invest in early stage technology companies, usually in South East Queensland, Australia. The members are typically active or semi-retired former senior business executives, who apart from financial input can provide much needed value adding toinvestee companies through hands-on management experience and high level business networks.

The BridgeLane Group is a privately-owned asset management firm specialising in the agricultural, real estate and innovation sectors. A significant global player in agriculture with a multi-decade record in large scale farming, the Group has a proud history in residential property development, comme

The Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) is a $108 million social impact investment fund designed to provide financing to advance the development of drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other interventions against diseases that disproportionately burden low- and middle-income countries. GHIF supports late-stage innovations for public health challengessuch as malaria, pre-eclampsia, cholera, HIV and river blindness, with an emphasis on infectious diseases and maternal/infant health issues that cause significant morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings. GHIF may also make investments that improve or expand access to existing products—such as developing pediatric formulations of approved therapeutics or improving the stability of widely-used global health vaccines.As an investment fund with a limited time-horizon, GHIF seeks opportunities that have a high probability of successful commercialization within two or three years. Products with “dual market” potential are of greatest interest; i.e., those that will have a clear impact on public health in developing countries but also have value in high-income countries. High-volume / low-margin products, such as essential vaccines, are also of significant interest.GHIF employs a range of investment structures including mezzanine debt, convertible debt, preferred equity and project financing with an average investment target of approximately $10 million per project. Each GHIF project must advance the Fund’s social impact objectives and demonstrate the ability to achieve commercial success.

Backing a better tomorrow

Sydney Angels is a not-for-profit angel investment membership organisation. Since our establishment in 2008, they have stayed true to our mission of supporting the early-stage ecosystem by running processes and events that connect our investing members with promising early-stage companiesThey believe that encouraging smart investment in startupcompanies will benefit both our members’ portfolios and Australia’s emergent innovation economy.They see this as the ultimate win-win situation. Sydney Angels is led by an elected committee of ten volunteers who meet weekly. It is supported by an operations manager and alliance partners.

Twynam Group is a leading Australian Funds Manager investing in early-stage climate tech. We also operate an agricultural and property portfolio.

Psychedelic Medical Intervention Investment Fund

Mystic Ventures is a venture capital firm that specialises in using psychedelics for medical purposes.

Hitachi Ventures invests in innovative companies that address society’s key technological challenges in areas like IT, industrial automation (robotics, sensor technology and IoT), cloud services (data management, cybersecurity), mobility (autonomous driving, mobility services, smart infrastructure and security services), energy, smart medicine (AIfor digital imaging, smart diagnostics, remote care), smart city, smart infrastructure and more. With our first fund of USD 150M, we invest in Series A/B/C rounds in globally leading startups. From our offices in Munich, Germany, and Boston, USA, we work tirelessly to develop close ties and effective collaboration with leading innovative technology hubs and like-minded co-investors. Hitachi intends to leverage its strong position in multiple global technology markets, its expertise and network to support and promote Hitachi Ventures portfolio companies.

Maropost Ventures is a leading private equity firm that invests in people and their companies from the earliest days through all stages of Growth. SpaceX, Compono, Pressa and Lyres make up some of their first investments.

An Australian venture capital firm building global technology businesses

AustralianSuper is run only to benefit members, offering low fees and strong long-term investment returns.

NOAB Ventures operates as a venture capital firm.

Right Click Capital - Australian Venture Capital Firm

Thistledown Capital is a venture capital firm.

Playford Capital is a venture capital arm of South Australian Government Financing Authority specializing in investments in start-ups, early venture, mid venture, late venture stages, and growth capital.

Giant Leap is Australia's first venture capital fund to be 100% dedicated to investing in exceptional, rapidly scalable impact businesses.

ATP Innovations accelerates the growth of technology companies that target global markets, by providing advice and guidance from seasoned entrepreneurs, access to investors, customers and domain specialists, and world-class infrastructure tailored to the needs of startup companies. The ATP Innovations Accelerator HUB is home to Startmate, IgnitionLabs and university accelerator programs. ATP Innovations’ portfolio comprises over 65 companies from the software, hardware and life science sectors.

Southern Cross Venture Partners was launched in 2006 by veteran venture capitalists who have managed and operated companies themselves. Southern Cross Venture Partners assist early stage technology companies that demonstrate the potential for exceptional growth and market leadership build significant businesses. The founding principle of SouthernCross is partnership -- they are passionately committed to doing everything they can to help their portfolio companies succeed. Their team has a strong record of utilizing their start-up and management experience, industry knowledge, network of business/customer relationships, and recruiting skills to assist in building significant shareholder value.Southern Cross is currently investing in companies that fit their investment criteria. They prefer to act as lead or co-lead in the early stages where they have experience that can help build value rapidly. They do not have a minimum investment amount, however, a typical initial investment will be $2 million to $5 million with an ability to invest more money in later rounds.

Lionheart Ventures is a global, seed-stage venture capital firm investing in companies that make humanity more resilient.

Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact® in global health. They are funded by the Government of Canada and they fund innovators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and Canada. The bold ideas they support integrate science and technology, social and business innovation – they call this IntegratedInnovation®. They focus on bringing successful innovation to scale, catalyzing sustainability and impact. They have a determined focus on results, and on saving and improving lives.Grand Challenges Canada works closely with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Global Affairs Canada to catalyze scale, sustainability and impact. Grand Challenges Canada takes an evidence-based approach to development innovation to save and improve lives in LMICs. They are a platform for development innovation in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) through their Saving Lives at Birth, Saving Brains and MNCH Stars in Global Health programs. They are also focused on helping the poorest and most vulnerable populations, for example those who suffer from mental illness.Since their launch in 2010, Grand Challenges Canada has supported a pipeline of over 700 projects in more than 80 countries. Their investments are producing results: Thousands of lives have been saved and over two hundred and eighty thousand lives have been improved, thus far. By 2030, these innovations have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives and improve millions of lives.

Alta Partners is a leading healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm, helping entrepreneurs build high-impact companies since 1996.

Founded by Steve Baxter, Transition Level Investments provides equity capital and operational expertise across Seed and Series A rounds to Australian companies. Our team focuses on a company-growth approach, adding value by assisting founders to build their expertise, expand their team, build product, scale locally and globally to position for asuccessful exit. We have a track record of identifying investment opportunities in the Australian market and helping enable global growth.

Lilly Ventures is the venture capital arm of Eli Lilly and Company responsible for life science investing in North America and Europe. Its primary goal is to facilitate the success of companies in its areas of focus through early to expansion stage investments and value-adding resources. Lilly Ventures currently has $200 million under managementand focuses on three major areas of interest. It partner actively with the management teams of its portfolio companies to realize the potential of their technologies.

HESTA Super Fund is the Australian industry superannuation fund for people working in health and community services. Become a member today.

Understorey Ventures invests in critical solutions needed to restore planetary health.

Tenacious Ventures - Australia's first and only dedicated agrifood tech VC firm.

BioScience Managers Pty Ltd (formerly IB Managers) is a leading life sciences investment firm, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2003, BioScience Managers offers a global, multi-disciplinary team, bringing an international perspective together with the track record, networks and expertise required to convert that perspectiveinto informed, high return investment decisions.We operate a high value-add model, providing assistance and support to portfolio companies via our global team and international network of independent industry advisors. With combined experience of over 170 investments, more than 40 IPO’s/ reversals in Europe, the USA and Australia, and a diverse skillset specific to the bio-based industries, we aim to provide investee companies with significant value-add over and above capital invested.Alongside our funds management business, Phillip Bioscience Advisory provides specialist corporate advisory services to healthcare and life sciences companies.

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation is one of Australia's most important research infrastructures. Thousands of scientists in industry and academia gain access to state-of-the-art instruments every year. ANSTO operates much of Australia's landmark infrastructure, including OPAL, one of the world's most advancednuclear reactors; the Australian Synchrotron; the National Imaging Facility Research Cyclotron; and the Centre for Accelerator Science.

Powerhouse Ventures backs entrepreneurs building the digital infrastructure for rapid decarbonization.

Leading psychedelic therapeutics investment fund dedicated to increasing the global supply of clinically effective and accessible healthcare solutions

Thistledown Foundation is a private charitable foundation.