LaunchVic backs new VC funds and startup programs with $3.75M boost

Last Updated: Friday 25 July

LaunchVic has announced a $3.75 million investment to strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem, backing venture capital funds, university-led entrepreneurship programs and community events.

At the 2025 Victorian Startup Gala on Thursday night, Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson revealed $2.1 million in funding for seven new VC funds to land in Victoria and back local founders.

The funds — Advance VC, Boson Ventures, FundBase, Scale, Tidal Ventures, Triple Bubble and Unlock Capital — will each receive $300,000 to set up in the state through LaunchVic’s VC Support Program.

The funds are expected to collectively raise over $275 million in early-stage capital, targeting local startups from seed to Series A.

Student entrepreneurship will also get a lift, with $1.45 million in grants awarded to Australian Catholic University (ACU), Deakin University, Federation University and La Trobe University to deliver pre-accelerator programs on campus – expanding startup support to over 90,000 university students across the state.

And Aussie Founders Club will scale up its founder events series with a $200,000 grant to deliver more than 60 community events over three years.

“The Victorian Government through LaunchVic continues to invest in startups and Victoria’s future,” Minister Pearson said.

“Innovation is a key part of a strong and growing economy, and we’re proud to back Victoria’s startups and help build an ecosystem in Victoria where entrepreneurs prosper and contribute to economic growth.”

LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick said the funding was designed to create a whole-of-ecosystem lift.

“Victoria’s startup ecosystem continues to grow and this targeted support will help it to reach its full potential.”

“This latest funding will provide whole of ecosystem support across many areas including strengthening the venture capital landscape, backing startups emerging from universities and fostering a diverse and thriving grassroots community.”

About the New VC Funds

Advance VC: Australia’s first VC fund of funds with a focus on secondaries.
Boson Ventures: A DeepTech fund investing in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, cleantech, and agtech.
FundBase: A platform making VC and startup investing accessible to retail and wholesale investors.
Scale: A VC fund supporting women-led startups from pre-seed to Series A.
Tidal Ventures: A Sydney-based VC expanding into Melbourne to back local B2B and B2B2C startups.
Triple Bubble: A fintech-focused fund investing pre-product to IPO, led by Judy Anderson, Brian Collins and Up Bank Co-Founder Dom Pym.
Unlock Capital: A specialist early-stage fund focused on AI-native startups.