Venture capital fund · 4 deals
Brisbane, QLD
Every published round Queensland Business Development Fund took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SwarmFarm Robotics | Unnamed stage | 9 Mar 2021 | $4.5m | Participant | Cut Through Venture, AgFunderNews, Tenacious Ventures | |
| SwarmFarm Robotics | Unnamed stage | 8 Oct 2020 | $4.5m | Participant | SmartCompany (Fri 3 Oct 2025), SmartCompany (Thu 2 Oct 2025), SmartCompany (Wed 15 Feb 2023), SmartCompany (Mon 9 Nov 2020), AgFunderNews | |
| RedEarth Energy Storage Ltd | Series A | 13 Aug 2019 | $4.8m | Participant | SmartCompany (Fri 25 Oct 2019), SmartCompany (Tue 13 Aug 2019) | |
| CartonCloud | Grant | 2017 | $1m | Lead | Startup Daily, techbusinessnews.com.au, Business News Australia |
Companies Queensland Business Development Fund has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CartonCloud | 2017, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| RedEarth Energy Storage Ltd | 13 Aug 2019, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| SwarmFarm Robotics | Robotic solutions for efficient and sustainable agriculture | 8 Oct 2020 | 2 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Queensland Business Development Fund, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Queensland Business Development Fund has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Queensland Business Development Fund did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RedEarth Energy Storage Ltd | Health and Plant Protein Group Limited | Acquisition | 7 Dec 2025 | ~$40m |
Stories naming Queensland Business Development Fund. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Gold Coast logistics software firm CartonCloud has banked $12 million from MA Financial to fuel its US and Canadian push, alongside recollections of a 2017 $1 million raise and a government grant.
Also Startup Daily·techbusinessnews.com.au·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Queensland battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage has raised $12 million ahead of a planned 2022 sharemarket float, with Ord Minnett Private Opportunities leading and Perennial Value and Thorney among the backers.
Also @AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·Dragonfly Enviro Capital·SmartCompany
An Australian agricultural robotics maker has secured a multi-million-dollar round led by two local venture firms, with a Queensland government fund also backing, to expand engineering, production and its robot app ecosystem.
Tenacious Ventures' investment memo on SwarmFarm Robotics, the agricultural robotics startup it co-backed with a A$4.5 million round, covering the SwarmBot platform, founders Andrew and Jocie Bate, and traction on Australian farms.
Safety-tech firm iStaySafe has bought Brisbane wearable maker Find-Me Technologies, and investors in both companies, including OneVentures, have secured matching investment from Queensland's Business Development Fund.
Brisbane immunology company Kira Biotech has launched with a $20 million Series A, OneVentures leading alongside IP Group and Queensland government support, to progress its lead antibody KB312 into early human studies.
Brisbane battery-storage maker RedEarth Energy Storage has raised its first external funding, a Series A, backed by institutional and family-office investors and matched by a Queensland government fund.
Also SmartCompany
A Brisbane media platform for Baby Boomers won the Australian leg of a global pitch contest and will compete in San Francisco; the piece also recalls its recent multi-million-dollar funding round with several new backers.