Swinburne University of Technology

SQC among 6 startups sharing $12.3 million in quantum grants

Six Australian quantum startups, including Silicon Quantum Computing and QuantX Labs, have received federal grants totalling $12.3 million under the Critical Technologies Challenge Program for projects in energy, health, biosecurity and logistics.

Paul Little's Skalata Ventures raising up to $50m for fund two

Skalata Ventures, the seed fund and founder-training program led by Paul Little and Rohan Workman, is raising a second vehicle plus growth capital, reporting 30 investments and a 44 per cent IRR.

Reinventing the Condom: How an Australian Deep-Tech Startup Plans to Disrupt a $12 Billion Market

Profile of a Sydney-based medical device maker developing a hydrogel condom, noting its human safety trial, manufacturing build-out, patent portfolio and grant backing.

Entropy takes TRP-8803 to the US in head-to-head depression trial

Entropy Neurodynamics has agreed with UCSF to run a US Phase 2 trial of its psilocin drug TRP-8803 against escitalopram in young adults with depression, pending FDA clearance, with Swinburne and BioCina supporting.

News and Announcements

Wholesale Investor's news listing spanning Australian private capital: deep-tech and biotech company profiles, property and crypto commentary, Q1 2026 venture funding totals, and guides to wholesale investor qualification.

Four Aussie startups that raised $2.86 billion this week (sort of)

Roundup of four Australian raises: Firmus Technologies' US$2 billion round at a $15 billion valuation, Eudaemon's $3.75 million, Zabidou's $3.5 million seed round, and Rampart's $2.3 million.

Also This Week in Australian Startups

Breakthrough Victoria's university platform funds EntroMat, Excelligent and Remagine Labs

Victorian pre-seed program BVUIP, backed by Breakthrough Victoria and seven universities, has funded startups EntroMat, Excelligent and Remagine Labs, plus fellowship grants for three PhD-led ventures.

Infleqtion lists on the NYSE

Breakthrough Victoria's release marks Infleqtion's New York Stock Exchange listing, the investor's first portfolio listing, and notes further quantum backing of Quantum Brilliance plus Infleqtion's Victorian operations and partnerships.

Also Breakthrough Victoria·Breakthrough Victoria·Breakthrough Victoria·Breakthrough Victoria·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

H3D Secures Series A Funding to Expand its AI

H3D has closed a $5.8m Series A, spearheaded by Significant Ventures with Swinburne University and Co:Act Capital taking part, to push its AI design technology from hearing devices into dental laboratories.

Breaking the bottleneck

Significant Ventures' post explains why it led H3D's Series A, profiling the AI company automating custom-fit design for hearing and dental labs, its Swinburne origins, customer traction, and expansion from audio into dental.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·swinburne.edu.au

Austeng-led project will demo onsite green hydrogen generation and use for high-heat purposes

Engineering firm Austeng won a $500,000 federal grant to demonstrate onsite green hydrogen production and blending for industrial burners, working with SunGreenH2, Deakin University and Swinburne at its Geelong facility.

Breakthrough Victoria and Infleqtion: Powering Victoria’s Quantum Future

Breakthrough Victoria reflects on its 2022 investment in quantum company Infleqtion, part of a larger raise, detailing Victorian operations, university partnerships, workforce programs and a planned US listing via SPAC.

Cheque-in: 5 Australian startups banked $340.2 million this week

Funding roundup covering five raises totalling $340.2 million: Firmus's Nvidia-backed round, plus H3D, Puralink, Escape This and Isaacus, across AI infrastructure, health tech, robotics, entertainment and legal AI.

Also SmartCompany

NASA is sending an Australian-made lunar rover to the Moon by 2030

NASA confirmed the Australian-built Roo-ver will reach the Moon by 2030 under its Artemis program. The ELO2 consortium, technically led by Lunar Outpost Oceania of Melbourne, has $42 million in Australian Government backing.

Four Aussie startups that raised $4.25 million this week

Weekly roundup: Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University co-invest $2.25 million across three university healthtech spinouts, while Blackbird backs Hall, which helps businesses win visibility on AI platforms, with $2 million pre-seed.

Also Startup Daily

BREAKTHROUGH VICTORIA AND MONASH UNIVERSITY INVEST IN THREE GROUNDBREAKING STARTUPS TO IMPROVE LIVES AND EASE PRESSURE ON VICTORIA’S HEALTH SYSTEM

Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University put joint pre-seed backing into three life-sciences spinouts and launched the $15m Monash Ventures pre-seed fund, part of a $100m platform commercialising Victorian university research.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Manufacturing roundup: OncoSil Medical locks in commitments for an $8.7 million raise, Soilco completes its purchase of Martins Fertilizers, Avecho collects an R&D rebate, alongside items on apprenticeships, Myriota, Recce and Swinburne research.

Also thecfigroup.com·divestmergeacquire.com·redchip.com.au·wastemanagementreview.com.au

Meet the Aussies on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

Q&A with Dr Olga Hogan

Breakthrough Victoria's Dr Olga Hogan explains its University Innovation Platform, which co-invests pre-seed funding alongside Victorian universities, plus a fellowship helping PhD researchers turn research into companies.

YieldX | with La Trobe University's Eagle Fund BREAKTHROUGH VICTORIA CO-INVESTS IN AGTECH COMPANY FOR EARTH AND SPACE VIA ITS UNIVERSITY INNOVATION PLATFORM PARTNERSHIP... Read 28 Mar 2025

AgTech firm YieldX has attracted a $1.7 million round, with Breakthrough Victoria and La Trobe University's Eagle Fund contributing $500,000 apiece alongside Mandalay Venture Partners and LaunchVic's Hugh Victor McKay Fund.

Investment Update: EntroMat

EntroMat, a Melbourne developer of high-entropy metal powders, has landed $1 million from Breakthrough Victoria and Swinburne under a university research commercialisation platform.

Also SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily

VC firm EVP calls in police at startup StrongRoom AI weeks after leading $17 million investment

EVP has involved police and forensic experts as it seeks to claw back its $17 million backing of Melbourne medication firm StrongRoom AI, weeks after the round it led with Artesian and InterValley Ventures.

Breakthrough Victoria and ACU Co-Invest $14 Million In State's Future Growth

Australian Catholic University signs on as the seventh university in Breakthrough Victoria's co-investment platform, with matched funding pledged; the article also recaps four earlier startup investments via Melbourne's Genesis Pre-Seed fund.

Skip to the Moon: the team behind a $42 million Australian Space Agency project to build Australia’s first lunar ‘Roo-ver’ revealed

Winner named for $42 million lunar rover contract

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups

Personality testing AI analysis startup Taly lands $500,000 pre-Seed from Skalata

TALY, a Melbourne startup applying personality data to management decisions, has closed a $500,000 pre-seed round with Skalata leading; founder Peter Treloar previously sold Telmy to US firm Sago.

Also SmartCompany

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.

Breakthrough Victoria posts $3 million loss

The Victorian government's VC fund Breakthrough Victoria slipped to a loss, its annual report showing startup investments, cost cutting and boardroom departures amid criticism of its spending and performance.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

A news roundup covering a government-backed hydrogen project for Telstra, a climate tech fund's first close, new appointments at a South Australian agency and a feed company, plus export approvals and science prizes.

Also @AuManufacturing

High-tech imaging projects help manufacturers unearth new wealth

Industry body AMGC publicises two past grant recipients that commercialised imaging technology: mDetect's muon system for tailings dam safety and EQ Resources' hyperspectral tungsten sorting, with grants of $248,191 and $600,000.

Liquid Instruments

Breakthrough Victoria announces a $15 million investment in Liquid Instruments, a maker of software-defined test instruments, which plans a Melbourne office, local manufacturing growth and dozens of high-tech hires.

Also Breakthrough Victoria·Breakthrough Victoria·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·liquidinstruments.com·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Pure Foods Tasmania announces a rights issue, Traffic Technologies banks a shareholder raise, Austal USA appoints a president, and Hanwha's Australian defence chief steps down.

Media release 21 March 2024

Breakthrough Victoria's media release marks three years, citing more than $300 million committed across direct investments, a fund, a grant and university partnerships, and discusses its Aravax and Seer Medical investments.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of manufacturing briefs: Latrobe Magnesium's share placement, DroneShield and Cyclopharm results, Graphene Manufacturing Group's US OTCQX listing, an Electro Optic Systems dispute settlement, HEO London recruitment, and a green steel partnership.

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing briefs: Nova Eye Medical banks $8m, Ridley buys Oceania Meat Processors, Orica sells Deer Park land for $260m, plus appointments, research projects and CSIRO program deadlines.

$51 million for CRC-P industry research collaborations

Federal grants roundup: 21 Cooperative Research Centres Projects awards worth $51 million in Round 15, with EQ Plastics, Optiscan Imaging and NEXSEN BioTech each receiving $3 million for product development.

Also RenewEconomy

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Gaia EnviroTech's post-investment board meeting with RFC Ambrian, Arafura's chief executive change, Adbri's maintenance shutdown, BioCarbon's relocation, and a federal grants round opening.

Quantum Australia Conference 2023

Breakthrough Victoria's technology director writes on quantum trends from the Sydney conference, noting the firm's earlier investments in Infleqtion and Quantum Brilliance and Infleqtion Australia's launch under a new president.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: a university metaverse partnership, a CSIRO digital appointment, electric buses in Queensland, two secured funding facilities, and several workforce and recycling initiatives.

Also @AuManufacturing

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Austin Engineering and Thales win government grants, IMCRC hands futuremap to the Australian Industry Group, AMSL Aero completes its eVTOL's first flight, and Gale Pacific reports half-year earnings.