Minister for Economic Growth, Breakthrough Victoria
Stories naming Tim Pallas. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Victoria's opposition pledges to shut down Breakthrough Victoria and sell its investments, calling the state fund a failure. The piece recalls portfolio raises, a rescue deal, an NYSE listing and the LaunchVic merger.
The Victorian government's VC fund Breakthrough Victoria slipped to a loss, its annual report showing startup investments, cost cutting and boardroom departures amid criticism of its spending and performance.
The Victorian government-backed venture fund's inaugural CEO Grant Dooley is resigning after nearly three years, with no replacement named; the fund's past backing of Neo-Bionica, Atmo Biosciences and RayGen is recalled.
Grant Dooley, Breakthrough Victoria's founding chief executive, will depart after roughly three years, staying briefly to aid the successor search. His tenure saw 27 portfolio companies and more than $350m committed.
Twenty Victorian medtech startups and scaleups each receive $50,000 grants under a program run with LaunchVic and the Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre; Livac and Tournicare are named recipients.
Breakthrough Victoria is putting $5 million into Neo-Bionica, a Melbourne medical device manufacturer, to grow its prototyping, clinical trial and production capabilities, with the company expecting as many as 45 additional roles.
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RayGen has banked a $51 million Series D co-led by SLB and Breakthrough Victoria to scale its solar and thermal storage technology, alongside earlier backers AGL Energy, Equinor Ventures and ARENA.
Breakthrough Victoria announces putting $20 million into RayGen Resources, a Victorian solar and thermal energy storage maker, to support clean energy, local manufacturing and the company's growth alongside its existing backers.
Breakthrough Victoria announces a $1m investment in Bygen, a Victorian activated carbon producer, as part of Bygen's $2.6m Series A with Alberts Impact Ventures, Investible, Artesian and Startmate.
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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.
Breakthrough Victoria puts $4 million into Jupiter Ionics' $9 million Series A for its green ammonia cell technology, alongside Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers and CIMIC Group.
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Victoria co-funds a feasibility study for a large magnesium plant using CSIRO's MagSonic process, commercialised by Magnium, which earlier raised $3.24 million and received Western Australian study funding.
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Silicon Valley agrifood investor SVG announces plans for a Melbourne base and a $50 million fund for ANZ agtech, recalling its 2020 challenge award won by Ceres Tag.
Breakthrough Victoria launched a $100m program with nine Victorian universities to fund university startups; its first $7.5m went into Melbourne's $15m Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, and RMIT spin-out Atmo Biosciences recently raised $9.6 million.