Breakthrough Victoria CEO steps down

Grant Dooley, the CEO of state government-backed venture fund Breakthrough Victoria, has announced he is resigning after almost three years in the role. “The opportunity to serve as Breakthrough Victoria’s inaugural CEO is one that I will forever cherish,” said Dooley in a statement on Friday morning. “In just under three years, BV has been…

Breakthrough Victoria invests in silicon chip company MILLIBEAM

Breakthrough Victoria is investing $3 million in fabless semiconductor company MILLIBEAM, aiming to accelerate the development and global adoption of millimetre wavelength (mmWave) radio chipsets for 5G/6G communications networks. The investment from Breakthrough Victoria will significantly bolster MILLIBEAM’s operations in Melbourne, with the company planning to hire an additional four specialised systems engineers and five…

Breakthrough Victoria backs Neo-Bionica

Bioelectrical medical device developer Neo-Bionica has secured an investment of $5 million from Breakthrough Victoria, which will accelerate its growth both domestically and internationally. Neo-Bionica is a Melbourne advanced MedTech manufacturer that specialises in providing commercialisation and manufacturing services to develop AI-powered implantable and wearable medical devices. The company’’s expertise includes developing devices designed to…

Breakthrough Victoria shells out $12 million for peanut allergy treatment developer Aravax

The Victorian government-funded Breakthrough Victoria has made a $12 million investment into Aravax, part of a $66 million funding round in the biotechnology company, which is developing a novel peanut allergy treatment. Aravax is a clinical-stage company developing PVX108, its immunotherapy product that uses synthetic peptides to mimic key parts of peanut proteins to retrain…

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…