State government announces funding for commercialising university research

The Victorian government has announced new co-investment partnerships with five Victorian universities, with $87 million in total to be allocated through the Breakthrough Victoria – University Innovation Platform program 

The new partnerships are with Deakin University, La Trobe University, Monash University, RMIT University and Swinburne University, and according to industry minister Ben Carroll “will help commercialise critical research and unlock its market potential.”

Each university will contribute up to $9 million — to be matched by Breakthrough Victoria — for investing in startup and early-stage companies spun out of their own research. Typical pre-seed investments would be around $500,000 each.

Carroll made the announcement on Tuesday at the opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, which was held in the state for the first time and attended by 4,000 investors and entrepreneurs from around the world.

Breakthrough Victoria is an independent company set up by the state government in 2021 to manage the $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund. It has invested in startup manufacturers including Kite Magnetics, Flaim systems and Samsara Eco.

Breakthrough Victoria CEO Grant Dooley added, “By setting up dedicated partnerships to invest in startups and early-stage companies coming out of Victorian universities, we can help move life changing research out of the lab and into the market right here in Victoria.”

Picture: credit Breakthrough Victoria

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