Investor · 5 deals
Deeptech incubator supporting investment-readiness for startups
Sydney, VIC
Every published round Cicada Innovations 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, and a place in one of its own programs is under Cohorts.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stralis Aircraft | Accelerator | 2024 | - | Lead | Radium Capital, Startup Daily | |
| LLEAF | Bridge / extension | 16 Sep 2022 | $3.5m | Participant | Forbes Australia, SmartCompany, Startup Daily | |
| Deteqt | Accelerator | undated | - | Participant | Main Sequence, Startup Daily | |
| Aquila | Accelerator | undated | - | Lead | Startup Daily (27 May 2025), Startup Daily (22 Apr 2025), SmartCompany, Startup Daily (24 Jun 2024), Techboard, Startup Daily (22 Jul 2022) | |
| ANT61 | Accelerator | undated | - | Lead | Startup Daily, Startup News (WA) |
Everyone Cicada Innovations has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
| Member | Program | Announced | Cheque | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergence Medical | Cicada x Tech23 | 2024 | - | Startup Daily (22 Apr 2025), Startup Daily (16 Jul 2024) |
Companies Cicada Innovations has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergence Medical | Building the world's first robotic system dedicated to arthroscopic surgery | 2024, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Stralis Aircraft | Developing hydrogen-electric propulsion systems that emit only water | 2024, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| LLEAF | 16 Sep 2022, Bridge / extension | 1 | 0 | |
| ANT61 | creating autonomous systems for in-orbit satellite servicing and repair | Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Aquila | using light-beams to transport energy across the globe wirelessly | Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Deteqt | Deep tech spin-out building diamond quantum chips for magnetic field detection | Accelerator | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Cicada Innovations, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Cicada Innovations has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Cicada Innovations did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred Lo | CIO (former) | Alberts Impact Ventures, @AuManufacturing |
| Liza Noonan | CEO | Forbes Australia |
| Sally-Ann Williams | CEO (former) | Startup Daily (22 Apr 2025), Forbes Australia, Startup Daily (13 Nov 2024), Startup Daily (16 Jul 2024), Startup Daily (3 Aug 2023), Brandon Capital, Brandon BioCatalyst, Cotton Research and Development Corporation |
| Sian Priest | Group Executive Impact and Ecosystems | Radium Capital |
Stories naming Cicada Innovations. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
An analysis of what Australian long-horizon research commercialisation requires, citing Gilmour Space, Cochlear and BluGlass as illustrations of patient capital and ecosystem support needs.
As Breakthrough Victoria and LaunchVic combine into Innovation Victoria, nine partner organisations will share government funding to run pre-accelerator programs for founders at the idea stage.
Breakthrough Victoria's chief executive marks his first year, tallying 70 investments, university and fellowship programs, a Jumar Bioincubator grant with partners, and looks ahead to a consolidated Victorian innovation entity.
Radium Capital's R&D lending has passed $1 billion across 1,000-plus companies since 2017; case studies recall WeMoney's $12 million Series A and ElectraLith's $27.5 million Main Sequence-led round.
Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·Fintech News Australia·Fintech News Australia
A profile of six life-science ventures that graduated from Melbourne bioincubator Jumar's debut program, one of which, Tessara Therapeutics, won a $3 million research grant in December.
Breakthrough Victoria, the Victorian government's $2bn investment fund, appoints Rod Bristow, previously Investible's CEO, as chief executive, succeeding inaugural CEO Grant Dooley. The article also recalls Seer Medical's administration.
Industry minister Ed Husic told a Tech Council summit the National Reconstruction Fund is close to its first investments after asking for a $300m drawdown; the piece recaps federal tech funding moves including PsiQuantum's.
Startup Daily and Cicada Innovations profile five health-focused deep tech startups selected for the August Cicada x Tech23 event in Sydney; one founder recalls earlier angel and VC fundraising.
Breakthrough Victoria invests $3 million in Millibeam, a Sydney maker of 5G chipsets expanding in Melbourne, alongside existing backers Main Sequence and Archangel; the piece recalls a 2022 seed round and a federal grant.
Also Defence Connect
Alberts Impact Ventures profiles Harvest B, tracing how its blended plant-and-meat proteins cut cost, fat and emissions, and recalling its own backing of the food tech company.
Breakthrough Victoria defends its spending and investment record against critics urging its abolition, pointing to portfolio companies, university partnerships and recent backing of startups including Aravax.
Roundup of manufacturing news: Namoi Cotton agrees a takeover scheme with Louis Dreyfus, Bio-Gene receives an R&D tax payment, SPEE3D and NIOA appoint executives, and Cicada opens workshop applications.
The NSW government has engaged Cicada Innovations, via a $7.8m grant, to operate a Westmead incubator supporting early-stage medical technology ventures; the story also recalls Allergan's $350m buyout of Elastagen.
Cicada Innovations is opening a health-tech incubator at Sydney's Westmead precinct with NSW government grant backing, working with Brandon Capital and Brandon BioCatalyst to help researchers commercialise medical discoveries.
Deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations is opening a health-focused facility at Sydney's Westmead precinct with Investment NSW backing, working with Brandon Capital and Brandon BioCatalyst to help early medical startups commercialise.
Profile of four agtech founders tackling food security: Invertigro's modular vertical farms, Regrow Ag's satellite soil-carbon measurement, Lleaf's light-altering greenhouse film, and Sea Forest's methane-reducing seaweed cattle supplement.
Sydney diagnostics developer SpeeDx banked $26 million for American expansion, with $5 million from Andrew Forrest's new fund Tenmile and follow-on support from Platinum and Northpond.
Also SmartCompany
Wi-Fi HaLow chip maker Morse Micro raised a further $30 million for its Series B from Australian superannuation funds, lifting the round to $170 million; its earlier seed and Series A raises are also recapped.
Also SmartCompany·Techboard·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
A weekly roundup covering five funding rounds: HealthMatch's Series C, Monday Distillery's crowdfunding, Sonder's Series B, Lleaf's bridge round, and Spice AI's seed raise.
Danish investors ALFA Ventures and 2 Degrees led a $3.5 million bridge round into Sydney agtech Lleaf, joined by UNSW and Cicada Innovations, ahead of a planned Series A.
Stone & Chalk announced the initial companies joining its NSW Government-backed Scaleup Hub in Sydney, aiming to support technology growth and innovation.
Peak Medical's acceptance into the Medical Device Partnering Program is announced, alongside MTPConnect launching a government-funded medtech commercialisation program with partners including Flinders University and Cicada Innovations.
CRDC profile celebrates FluroSat founder Anastasia Volkova topping The Australian's 100 Innovators list, recalling its startup workshop support since 2017 and FluroSat's acquisition of Dagan's soil modelling capability to form Regrow Ag.
Also AgFunderNews
Australian health-data analytics firm Prospection has closed a $45 million Series B, cornerstoned by Ellerston JAADE with Main Sequence and Horizons Ventures participating; its $10 million Series A dates to February 2020.
Index of the venture firm's portfolio updates: financing rounds for AdvanCell and ENA Respiratory, grant awards via incubator programs, two closes of Fund Six, board hires, and Myricx Bio's completed sale to Novartis.
Also Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Uniseed·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·SmartCompany·AFR Technology·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·finance.yahoo.com·enarespiratory.com·Mirage News·advancell.com.au·Forbes Australia·datapile.co·Dealroom·Forbes Australia·datapile.co·Biotech Dispatch·fundedstartupsdaily.com·fundedstartupsdaily.com
Sydney-based tropoelastin biotech Elastagen agreed to an Allergan takeover offering US$95 million upfront plus contingent payments; the GBS Ventures-backed company previously drew MDF and federal grant funding.
Also GBS Ventures