The University of Sydney will take an equity stake in up to 50 health and technology spinouts through a new commercialisation fund aimed at bridging the early-stage funding gap.
As other states ramp up their research translation efforts, the university has gone it alone and created a $25 million Pre-Seed Launch Fund to bring more of its pioneering health and technology research to market.
It will offer staff, students and recent graduates up to $500,000 to take their ideas “from concept to commercialisation”, building on existing startup support mechanisms offered by New South Wales’ largest university.
EndoAxiom, a spinout developing oral insulin, and direct air capture manufacturing company DAC Labs, are among the first ventures to receive backing through the $25 million fund.
Described as “first-of-its-kind” for NSW, the fund has been created to help bridge the gap between proof-of-concept funding and private capital and will see the University of Sydney become a “first investor” in promising research ventures.
It will focus on novel drugs, medical devices, engineering hardware, clean technologies, evidence-based programs, new materials, robotics, cybersecurity, AI, software and quantum computing.
The university will take an equity stake in the each opportunity that it invests in, either through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) note or a priced equity round worth up to $500,000.
Guidance and support will also be offered through the university’s venture investment and commercialisation teams, as well as access to cutting-edge research facilities and its incubator, the Sydney Knowledge Hub.
Companies will need to provide evidence of “significant links to the university to be eligible”, such as IP that was created by or affiliated with the university. A “strong relationship” to the university through startup program will also be accepted.
Five spinouts have already receiving funding, including EndoAxiom, a life sciences spinout founded by Prefossor Victoria Cogger, Professor David Le Couteur and Dr Nicholas Hunt that is developing an oral pill for type one diabetes.
The spinout, which has also secured VC investment from local BioTech incubator ProtoAxiom, expects its phase one trial results later this year, and is already being courted by major pharmaceutical companies, the university said.
DAC Labs, another spinout to receive backing, is developing technology to capture and purify carbon dioxide from the air using less energy than its competitors, having been founded just last year.
Other funded ventures include ASK Scientia, which is “transforming aerosol characterisation for inhaled and nasal drug products”, and ProKardia and Blood Vessels in a Box, which are both developing solutions for treating and testing treatments of cardiovascular conditions.
Interim deputy vice-chancellor (research) Julie Cairney said the fund was the “latest in a suite of programs we have developed over the past five years to help commercialise research and support social enterprises”.
The university also offers grant funding for proof-of-concepts and market validation, inventor mentoring and other startup support mechanism, including through the Sydney Knowledge Hub.
The Pre-Seed Launch Fund arrives as Victorian institutions like La Trobe University establish pre-seed investment funds as part of Breakthrough Victoria’s ambitious $100 million University Innovation Platform.
Breakthrough Victoria has also set up a $7.5 million program to seed 50 startups from the state’s universities, helping to address the VC gap for early-stage companies while creating a “talent pipeline” for future growth funding.
Despite flagging a state-backed VC fund last month, the NSW government’s long-awaited Innovation Blueprint arrived last week with no new spending commitments ahead of the June state Budget.
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