$64M Federal investment 'survival' pool for promising early-stage Australian companies

Last Thursday the Federal Government announced that 11 fund managers had been named to oversee investment of $64 million into promising early-stage Australian companies under the Innovation Investment Follow-On Fund (IIFF).

Making the announcement, Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said, “The new IIFF is a temporary, targeted and timely response to address the lack of capital available to the most promising innovative companies during the global financial crisis. The fund will enable these early-stage companies to continue to develop and to commercialise research.”

The designated investee companies have previously received investment capital though Rounds 1 and 2 of the Innovation Investment Fund, the Pre-Seed Fund and under the former ICT Incubators program.

Twenty of the eligible 22 fund managers applied for assistance. The 11 successful applicants are:

Allen & Buckeridge Asset Management – $7,100,000
Portfolio: BT Imaging Pty Ltd, Heard Systems Pty Ltd, RPO Inc.

AMWIN Management – $5,440,000
Portfolio: EnGeneIC Pty Ltd

Coates Myer and Company – $1,910,000
Portfolio: Dilithium Networks Inc

Divergent Capital Partners – $2,750,000
Portfolio: Genos Pty Ltd, Inovia Holdings Pty Ltd

GBS Venture Partners – $10,047,000
Portfolio: AiMedics Pty Ltd, Applied Physiology Pty Ltd, Hatchtech Pty Ltd, Hydrexia Pty Ltd

InQbator – $3,950,000
Portfolio: distIP Pty Ltd, Hoodlum Active Pty Ltd, Mesaplexx Pty Ltd, Sky Technologies Holdings Pty Ltd

In-tellinc – $2,300,000
Portfolio: Healthcare Software Pty Ltd, Packaged Solutions Pty Ltd (trading as Getbusi), The Learning Edge International Pty Ltd, Tickit Systems Pty Ltd

Neo Technology Ventures – $5,100,000
Portfolio: Open Kernel Labs Pty Ltd

Playford Capital – $7,450,000
Portfolio: Cavitus Pty Ltd, e-Channel Online Pty Ltd, Ember Technologies Pty Ltd, Neuro Vision Technology Pty Ltd, Reproductive Health Science Pty Ltd, Signostics Pty Ltd

Starfish Ventures – $9,850,000
Portfolio: Audinate Pty Ltd, MIGfast Pty Ltd, Mimetica Pty Ltd, Monitoring Division Inc, Ofidium Pty Ltd

Start-up Australia Ventures – $8,510,000
Portfolio: Bionomics Limited, Mimetica Pty Ltd