Uniseed
VC Fund
Brisbane, Australia
Uniseed is a VC fund in Brisbane focused on Biotechnology and Manufacturing. 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.
- Total investments:
- 86
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 22%
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Uniseed invests in
Stages Uniseed invests in
Countries Uniseed invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $600k–$3.5M
- Series A
- $1.6M–$16M
- Series B
- $471k–$22M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Biotechnology 22 (26%)
- Manufacturing 11 (13%)
- Health Care 10 (12%)
- Software 8 (9%)
- Biopharma 8 (9%)
Stage
- Series A 23 (27%)
- Seed 20 (23%)
- Series B 11 (13%)
- Funding Round 9 (10%)
- Series C 4 (5%)
Country
- Australia 46 (53%)
- United States 2 (2%)
- United Kingdom 2 (2%)
- India 1 (1%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alastair Hick
CEO
|
CEO | Total investments: 1 | Find email | |
John Kurek
Investment Director
|
Investment Director | Total investments: 5 | Find email | |
Jeffrey Bourne
Investment Manager
|
Investment Manager | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
|
Laura Droessler-Dansie
Investment Manager
|
Investment Manager | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
|
Liza Yeo
Investment Manager
|
Investment Manager | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
| See all 7 team members → | ||||
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
DeteQt
|
Semiconductor chip-based quantum magnetic field sensors using diamond - navigation, mining, medical imaging | $3.5M / Seed / Apr 14, 2026 | |
Plasmaleap
|
Plasmaleap is a plasma technology company that manufactures and sells zero-emissions chemical reactors designed for industrial and energy applications. The company develops reactor systems that use plasma processes to enable chemical production and transformation without relying on conventional combustion methods. Its technology supports sectorssuch as clean fuels, chemical manufacturing, and materials processing by offering electrified reactor solutions that can be integrated into existing industrial workflows. Plasmaleap designs modular systems that allow operators to deploy plasma reactors for on-site production and conversion of feedstocks using electricity as the primary energy input. The company also provides engineering support and technical integration services to help customers incorporate its reactor technology into commercial operations. Through its plasma-based approach, Plasmaleap focuses on enabling chemical processes that align with decarbonization and emissions reduction objectives across multiple industries. | $21.3M / Series A / Mar 02, 2026 | |
Ferronova
|
Ferronova is a medical device company that offers imaging and surgery products. | $6M / Series A / Dec 16, 2025 | |
VeriQuantix
|
VeriQuantix was spun out of the University of Queensland. VeriQuantix is an Australian startup specializing in cybersecurity, focusing on quantum technology to enhance the security of optical fiber communication networks. Their core innovation, Quantum Link Verification (QLV), is designed to detect and alert network operators to physical tappingattempts and intercept cyber attacks on fiber optic networks. This technology leverages quantum principles, specifically entangled photons, to verify the trustworthiness of network links by ensuring that any unauthorized access disrupts photon entanglement and triggers immediate alerts. | $2.4M / Seed / Oct 24, 2025 | |
Ena Respiratory
|
Ena Respiratory is a biotechnology company seeking to transform the treatment and prevention of respiratory infections and the effectiveness of vaccines.Ena Respiratory novel, synthetic Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) receptor agonists have been shown to activate the innate immune system in the respiratory tract and prevent viral and bacterialdissemination to the lungs. | $22.4M / Series B / Oct 22, 2025 | |
Morse Micro
|
Morse Micro is a fast-growing wireless integrated circuit solutions company that is reinventing Wi-Fi for the Internet of Things (IoT). The company was founded by Wi-Fi pioneers and innovators, Michael De Nil and Andrew Terry, joined by the original Wi-Fi inventor Prof. Neil Weste and wireless industry veterans, whose teams designed Wi-Fi chipsinto billions of smartphones. Headquartered in Australia with offices in China and the U.S., Morse Micro’s strong and diverse system team, portfolio of IP and patents, enables Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity across the complete IoT ecosystem, from surveillance systems and access control to industrial automation and mobile devices, allowing connected devices to reach farther. www.morsemicro.com | $58.1M / Series C / Sep 22, 2025 | |
Lucia Bio
|
Lucia Bio is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing Syk inhibitors that help in the treatment of immunological diseases. | $1.9M / Seed / Aug 19, 2025 | |
Diraq
|
Diraq uses spins in silicon quantum dots as qubits. Diraq's qubits are compatible with existing CMOS processes and can fit billions of qubits on a single chip. To transform our world, quantum computers need billions of qubits and Diraq has the IP, the team and the plan to get there. | $15M / Series A / Jul 08, 2025 | |
Celosia Therapeutics
|
The Celosia Therapeutics approach is the result of advances in gene therapies and a better understanding of the molecular pathways that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. | $16.8M / Series A / Nov 27, 2024 | |
Kinoxis Therapeutics
|
Kinoxis Therapeutics is an early stage biotechnology company based in Australia that is working to progress the development of a range of novel therapeutic compounds for the treatment of substance use disorders and other CNS conditions. The company has licensed these compounds from the University of Sydney, with the lead candidate demonstratingpotent anti-addictive and prosocial effects in a number of different animal models and is progressing through pre-clinical testing. | $9.5M / Series B / Aug 12, 2024 | |
| See all 86 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does Uniseed invest in?
Uniseed invests primarily in Biotechnology, Manufacturing and Health Care startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 86 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Australia. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Uniseed's check size?
Uniseed typically joins rounds of $600k–$3.5M at Seed, $1.6M–$16M at Series A and $471k–$22M at Series B. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Uniseed participates in.
How do I contact Uniseed?
Public channels for Uniseed include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
Who are the partners at Uniseed?
The team at Uniseed includes Alastair Hick (CEO), John Kurek (Investment Director) and Jeffrey Bourne (Investment Manager), among 7 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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