The investment fund aims to close the gap in funding for university ventures after the proof-of-concept stage.
The University of Sydney in Australia has launched a A$25m ($15m) fund to invest in ventures associated with the university.
The Pre-Seed Launch Fund is designed to bridge the gap between proof-of-concept funding and private venture capital. It will invest up to A$500,000 in each venture. Examples of uses for the pre-seed funding include developing the business, drug development or regulatory plan, and product and customer validation to raise follow-on rounds.
The fund’s focus areas include medical devices, novel drugs, engineering hardware, clean technologies, new materials, robotics, cybersecurity, AI, software and quantum computing. The fund is open to university staff, students, affiliates and alums within five years of graduation.
The first ventures to receive funding include DAC Labs, a technology that captures and purifies carbon dioxide from the air; EndoAxiom, a developer of an oral pill for type 1 diabetes; and Prokardia, a developer of therapies for heart disease.
The fund’s team will also provide support to founders on how to commercialise ventures, form a business strategy and build industry connections.
Australia has one of the world’s most mature university investment ecosystems. More than half of the country’s universities have access to an investment fund that can help commercialise academic research. University funds have proven to help boost the number of spinouts that commercialise.
The University of Sydney is also a partner in Uniseed, an Austrialian venture fund that invests in spinouts from more than a fifth of Australia’s universities.
