Government · 26 deals
Every published round Industry Growth Program 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.
Companies Industry Growth Program has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegro Energy | Recyclable, water-based battery chemistry | 13 Feb 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Allume Energy | Grant winner; shared solar and battery optimisation for multi-unit dwellings | 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Azaneo | Electric pulse weeding technology company | 13 Feb 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Brandsec | 12 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Cauldron | 13 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 0 | |
| Cauldron Ferm | Deep tech startup using hyper-fermentation to produce proteins, materials and chemicals w… | 3 Oct 2024, Grant | 2 | 1 |
| CoilRig | Developer of an affordable and environmentally friendly Coiled Tube drilling system. | 13 Feb 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Contactile | UNSW spinout whose tactile sensors let robot grippers measure force, slip and friction | 23 Jun 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Electrogenics Laboratories | 12 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Forager Automation | 12 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Harvest B | Developing plant-based meat ingredient systems for food manufacturers | 12 Sep 2025, Seed | 1 | 0 |
| Innovation Industries | Maker of Remote Monitoring Camera applications for the agricultural industry. | 13 Feb 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Iondrive | 20 Aug 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Kite Magnetics | Startup developing stator core motors for electric aviation | 28 May 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 0 |
| Laronix | A Queensland startup using artificial intelligence to replicate the natural voice of pati… | Nov 2025, Grant | 1 | 0 |
| Li-S Energy | lithium-sulfur battery developer | 11 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Lindo Life Science | 9 Feb 2026, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Li–S Energy | 13 Aug 2024, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Magic Valley | cultivated meat producer | 13 Feb 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 |
| Mako | Maker of shark skin-inspired film that reduces drag on aircraft to cut fuel use and emiss… | 2026, Grant | 1 | 0 |
| Millibeam | 2022, Grant | 1 | 0 | |
| Number 8 Bio | Sydney-based innovator in sustainable agriculture technologies reducing livestock methane… | 2026, Grant | 1 | 0 |
| Relectrify | Victorian-headquartered developer of battery technology | 22 Oct 2025, Grant | 1 | 0 |
| SDIP Innovations | 20 Aug 2025, Grant | 1 | 1 | |
| Xefco | Deep tech company using plasma-based deposition technology to dye and finish textiles wit… | 30 Apr 2026, Grant | 1 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for Industry Growth Program, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Industry Growth Program has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Industry Growth Program did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Ed Husic | Minister for Industry and Science (former) | RenewEconomy |
Stories naming Industry Growth Program. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
MILLIBEAM, an Australian deep-tech firm, has revealed Rakurai, a portable counter-drone device built on bespoke chip-level radiofrequency design; the piece notes prior Commonwealth grants behind its semiconductor technology.
Queensland medtech Laronix has built AI that recreates patients' own voices from brief recordings; the profile recalls its 2023 seed round, earlier federal grants and a 2025 non-dilutive award.
Also Startup Daily
Melbourne EV materials company Kite Magnetics has been awarded an Australian government grant to commercialise its motor-core material, with a larger Series A raise planned but not secured.
Also Startup Daily
MAKO has banked a $28 million Series A, headed by Virescent Ventures, to take its drag-cutting Flightfilm coating to market; the piece also recalls an earlier seed round and a government grant.
Also Startup Daily
Medowie drone maker VeraSys received a $2.2 million federal Industry Growth Program grant, announced 20 May, to commercialise CropSight, its AI weed-detection system built around the Brolga aircraft.
Breakthrough Victoria rounds up April–May 2026 portfolio news, including grants for Number 8 Bio and Xefco, Liquid Instruments' Series C, program selections, partnerships, regulatory clearances and two new Aravax directors.
Fermentation technology company Cauldron has banked fresh capital in a Series A2 extension led by Main Sequence Ventures, with three other backers, and landed on Fast Company's Asia-Pacific innovation list.
Biomanufacturer Cauldron Ferm has banked a $19 million Series A2, led by Main Sequence with Horizons, SOSV and NGS Super aboard, adding to an earlier $9.5 million round and a $4.3 million federal grant.
Also Startup Daily
Precision fermentation company Cauldron Ferm wins the regional startup category at Startup Daily's tech awards for the second straight year; the profile recalls its Series A, government grants and Mackay biomanufacturing plant.
Also Startup Daily
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.
Weekly roundup covering 19 Australian and New Zealand raises, headlined by Andromeda Robotics' $23m Series A, plus Freckle, Marloo, X-Hemp, Harvest B, Wable, Starboard and Techstars Sydney's 12-startup cohort.
Also SmartCompany
Harvest B, a Sydney-based protein maker, raised a $3.5 million pre-Series A with Mandalay Venture Partners leading and Breakthrough Victoria contributing $2 million, alongside a $2.2 million federal grant and a 2021 seed round.
Breakthrough Victoria is putting $2 million into protein technology company Harvest B, joining a $5.6 million pre-Series A round with Mandalay VC leading and several other backers.
Visionary Machines has won a 4.4 million dollar government grant, matched by its investors toward an 8.75 million dollar project, to speed commercialisation and Sydney manufacturing of its Pandion counter-drone sensing system.
Roundup of the week's five most-read pieces: a hydrogen startup's pilot launch after its seed raise, federal grants to three manufacturers, an opinion piece, Codan's annual results, and a battery maker's failure.
Three companies named among recipients of $28.7 million in federal grant funding, with individual awards to SDIP, Iondrive and Caulmar; SDIP also featured on the publisher's innovative manufacturers list.
Also @AuManufacturing
Iondrive has secured up to $3.9m from Canberra's Industry Growth Program for a battery-recycling pilot plant, with an earlier $100,000 award from Green Industries SA funding urban mining research.
Gilmour Space Technologies has secured the maximum $5 million grant under the federal Industry Growth Program, money earmarked for its next-generation engine, even though its founder publicly attacked the national space regulator.
Also Startup Daily
Allume, a Melbourne company whose SolShare hardware shares rooftop solar among apartments, has raised A$10.2 million, with E.ON UK leading and contributing over A$8 million; earlier backers included Taronga, Trawalla and Mirvac.
Contactile, a Sydney robotics firm, has received a federal Industry Growth Program commercialisation grant to launch its tactile-enabled gripper internationally; the grant size was not disclosed.
Also contactile.com·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·contactile.com
Allegro Energy's chief executive argues local manufacturing can put Australia at the front of advanced manufacturing, recounting his flow-battery company's Hunter base, Origin Energy pilot and Series A capital, ahead of a Sydney panel.
CSIRO's ninth ON accelerator cohort of eleven research teams has completed the program, with three members winning grants, two filing patents, and individual awards announced.
Weekly roundup: CEA Technologies lands a $272m radar contract, five startups receive federal grants, Victorian factory insolvencies climb, and GFG Alliance's Whyalla Steelworks hunts new financing.
Five companies including battery maker Allegro Energy share $2.51 million in the latest federal Industry Growth Program grants; Allegro receives $1.85 million for its redox flow battery technology.
Also AgFunderNews·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing
Allume Energy has received a $3.8 million federal Industry Growth Program grant to scale local manufacturing of its SolShare hardware, which splits one rooftop solar array across apartments.
Also RenewEconomy
1414 Degrees says its SiBox silicon heat-storage technology is nearing commercialisation, with federal expansion support on offer, and recalls a February consortium grant win for its SiPHyR hydrogen project.
Manufacturing roundup: Noizend's grants and UTS work, PPK's planned Li-S share distribution, a Bathurst recycling trial, Aurecon's CETRI role, an ELA regulatory hire, BioPak's OzHarvest support, and ANSTO's reactor restart.
Battery maker Li-S Energy has opened its Geelong pouch cell facility and won a $1.7 million federal Industry Growth Program grant for a lithium foil line; four other firms also received IGP grants.
Ed Husic named the first Industry Growth Program grant recipients, with biomanufacturing startup Cauldron Ferm receiving $4.3 million and four other startups funded for drone batteries, radiation monitoring, anti-phishing and berry-picking robotics.
First grants from the federal Industry Growth Program include battery developer Li-S Energy, announced as Minister Ed Husic opened its Geelong facility. The $392 million program feeds the National Reconstruction Fund.
Also RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
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.
Four not-for-profit bodies will share $6.9 million in grants to advise growing small businesses, as the Industry Growth Program opens applications for matched grants of $100,000 to $5 million.