Accelerator · 1 deal

Big Idea Ventures

Disclosed deals

Every published round Big Idea Ventures 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
The Leaf Protein Company	Unnamed stage	12 Jun 2024	$850k	Participant	Genesis Pre-Seed Fund Breakthrough Victoria Hugh Victor McKay Fund Loyal VC	SmartCompany (17 Dec 2024), SmartCompany (14 Jun 2024), SmartCompany (12 Jun 2024)

Portfolio

Companies Big Idea Ventures has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.

Company	What it does	First invested	Rounds	Led
The Leaf Protein Company		12 Jun 2024	1	0

Funds

Fund closes reported for Big Idea Ventures, as distinct from the investments it has made.

Fund	Announced	Committed	Target	Close	Sources
No fund closes recorded for Big Idea Ventures yet.

Portfolio companies acquired

Companies Big Idea Ventures has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Big Idea Ventures did.

Company	Bought by	Kind	Announced	Price
No portfolio company of Big Idea Ventures is recorded as having been acquired.

Coverage

Stories naming Big Idea Ventures. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

2 deals

Sydney biotech Smart MCs and UNSW land $900,000 for next-gen cell manufacturing tech

Sydney biotech Smart MCs and UNSW won Australian Research Council funding of $900,000 for microcarrier development; the company earlier joined Big Idea Ventures' accelerator, raised pre-seed, and received a 2023 government grant.

Startup Daily 10 Jul 2025 Smart MCs Big Idea Ventures Macquarie University University of New South Wales Australian Research Council Christopher Marquis Kristopher Kilian Dr Payar Radfar

Unnamed stage $850k

Melbourne's The Leaf Protein Company raises $850,000 to turn abundant foliage into edible ingredients

Melbourne startup extracting protein from leaves has raised $850,000 in a round led by the University of Melbourne's Genesis fund, with Breakthrough Victoria, LaunchVic, Loyal VC and Big Idea Ventures also investing.

SmartCompany 12 Jun 2024 The Leaf Protein Company LaunchVic Smart MCs University of Melbourne Big Idea Ventures Breakthrough Victoria Genesis Pre-Seed Fund Hugh Victor McKay Fund Loyal VC Connor Balfany Fern Ho Hun Gan

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

12 deals

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Pluton Biosciences bags $16.5m, Babylon Micro-Farms secures funds, José Andrés launches climate institute

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting funding rounds for Pluton Biosciences, FLINTpro, eFishery and others, a first close by Big Idea Ventures' fund, Wicked Kitchen's acquisition of Current Foods, plus partnerships and launches.

Also AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews

8 deals

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Local Bounti lands $145m, Momofuku Goods bags $17.5m, Vow's 'mammoth' meatball

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting funding for Momofuku Goods, STEER, Cauldron, EV Biotech, Extracellular, Quisto, Local Bounti and Agreena, the shutdown of New Age Eats, and partnership and product news including Vow's mammoth meatball.

Also AgFunderNews