TLDR:
– The Queensland government has allocated $130 million from the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF) to five venture capital firms
– Corporate training tech unicorn Go1, workplace software unicorn SafetyCulture, technology company Octopus Deploy, and space company Gilmour Space are among the successful start-ups from Queensland
Queensland’s state government has named the first five venture capital (VC) firms to receive funding from the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF). Over 85 VC firms and accelerators applied for the fund, which was initially $75m but increased to $130m due to high demand. Three of the chosen firms, Antler, Salus Ventures, and Five V Capital, have committed to setting up shop in Queensland as a requirement of the funding. The remaining two firms, Main Sequence Ventures and Mandalay Venture Partners, will use the money to boost their activity in the state. The QVCDF, managed by QIC’s private equity team, provides matched funding of up to $20m to approved VC funds, with the caveat that 1.25 times the allocated amount must be injected into Queensland-based start-ups. The funding aims to prevent businesses from needing to leave the state for funding elsewhere and generate approximately $200m in local start-up funding overall.
