Lauren Morrey

Breakthrough Victoria recaps a month of events across Victoria's innovation ecosystem

Breakthrough Victoria staff attended agrifood, climate finance, women's health and deep tech events, and joined the launch of agritech firm YieldX.

Aconex and Firmable founder Leigh Jasper to headline Growth Summit in Melbourne

Leigh Jasper keynotes SmartCompany's February 2026 startup event in Melbourne; the profile recalls his Aconex journey to an Oracle sale, Firmable's seed raise and his venture fund roles.

Breakthrough Victoria appoints new CEO

Rod Bristow, lately of venture firm Investible, takes the top job at the Victorian government's investment fund Breakthrough Victoria, succeeding Grant Dooley, with COO Lauren Morrey having held the role meanwhile.

Respiratory care biotech Diag-Nose sniffs out $3.15 million Seed round

Melbourne biotech Diag-Nose.io raised a seed round led by Breakthrough Victoria for its AI respiratory diagnostic, backed by physicians, funds and executives; one investor joins its board.

ElectraLith BREAKTHROUGH VICTORIA INVESTS IN MONASH UNIVERSTY STARTUP REVOLUTIONISING LITHIUM EXTRACTION AND REFINING

Breakthrough Victoria puts $2 million into ElectraLith, a Victorian startup whose lithium extraction technology was developed at Monash University, as part of a Series A led by Main Sequence.

Acting-CEO Update Lauren Morrey at BV Founders Day

Breakthrough Victoria's acting CEO reviews 2024: launching the BV Fellowship, investing in JigSpace and Quantum Brilliance, hosting a Founders Day, and recruiting a permanent CEO.

Also Breakthrough Victoria·Aura Ventures·Aura Group portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Quantum Brilliance raises $30 million for its diamond-powered computers

Quantum Brilliance has locked in a $30 million Series A, with Breakthrough Victoria and the National Reconstruction Fund backing its plan to open the nation's first foundry making quantum diamond devices.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Tech Council of Australia

Follow-on: Quantum Brilliance

Health tech Umps raises $4m in Series A

Aged-care technology firm Umps Health of Melbourne has banked a $4 million Series A, with Breakthrough Victoria supplying half the money and InterValley Ventures coming onto the register alongside four existing backers.

Also clearvalue.co

Breakthrough Victoria Fellowship Program

Breakthrough Victoria has launched a fellowship offering graduate founders pre-seed convertible-note backing capped at $150,000 each from a $7.5 million pool, aiming to create as many as 50 companies from Victorian university research.