Image source: Five V CapitalOne of Australia’s leading growth-focused venture capital firms is readying to back the next big thing in Queensland tech innovation under a new partnership with Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).
Five V Capital will grow its investment focus and presence in the Sunshine State after securing matched funding under the QIC-managed Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF).
Cornerstone funding from the Queensland Government is being matched by investors into a select group of leading venture capital funds to supercharge investment into innovative Queensland companies.
QIC Private Equity Partner Nicholas Guest said the new partnership was aimed at building a more collaborative, sustainable and successful start-up ecosystem.
“If there was a recipe to strengthen a local venture capital industry, the likes of Five V would be a key ingredient,” Mr Guest said.
"As some of the largest investors in the funds they manage, alignment is a core principle to the Five V approach of sharing risk and reward with the businesses they partner with.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Five V Capital to Queensland through the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund and have great confidence in the outcomes we can drive by leveraging their extensive networks and international experience.
“The appointment of Queensland-based venture capital partners will ensure our local innovation sector benefits from Five V’s expertise, networks, and capital as we come together to help close the identified early-stage funding gap.
“In making more capital available, businesses do not need to leave our state to pursue funding elsewhere – they can establish, grow and remain in Queensland.”
As a specialist investor in B2B SaaS start-ups, Five V Capital is the growth partner to some of Australia and New Zealand’s leading companies, including Brisbane-based MarTech start-up, Dataweavers.
Five V Capital Head of Venture Capital Ed Bigazzi said the QIC partnership will allow his team to further embed themselves into and support the Queensland start-up ecosystem.
“The QVCDF funding will mean that we can invest in more of these businesses and have greater reserves of capital to back our winners,” he said.
“Five V's aspiration is to be the investor of choice for Queensland's leading B2B SaaS companies at the Series A stage.
“We aim to do this by providing capital and support to start-ups as they rapidly scale, leveraging our network to introduce customers and source talent.”
Mr Bigazzi said the continued strength of the business software (B2B SaaS) space is a major tailwind Five V can capitalise on.
“This thematic is a significant contributor to overall VC investment, both in Australia and globally,” he said.
“It’s also one which Australia's start-up ecosystem has relative strength in, including homegrown companies like Canva, SafetyCulture, and many more.
“We expect Australia's strength in this area and competitiveness on the global stage will continue into the future, and Five V seeks to identify and back the next wave of winners in this space.
“To do so, we have now appointed three Queensland-based venture partners with a wealth of experience, existing networks, a diversity of skillsets and perspectives, and the ability to offer practical on-the-ground assistance to the Queensland start-ups we back.”
In response to significant demand for the QVCDF, the Queensland Government has committed a further $55 million to expand the now-$130 million program.
QIC will deploy the additional funding to increase commitments to certain shortlisted venture capital funds and due diligence will commence on others to increase the thematic coverage of QVCDF investments.
The Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund comprises three core elements:
- Matched Funding – Queensland Government’s cornerstone funding to support matched funding into appointed venture capital funds.
- Accelerator Funding – a series of accelerator programs to increase deal flow for Queensland investors.
- Development Program - the appointed venture capital funds and accelerators will participate in the QVCDF Development Program to accelerate, develop and enhance the venture capital industry in Queensland.
For more information, visit our Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund webpage.
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Managing more than A$8.6 billion in AUM (as at 30 Sep 2023), we have sufficient scale to be meaningful to our partners but are not large enough to dilute our clients' investment opportunities. We invest from seed to growth stage, contributing up to A$10 million to support product development, team expansion and strategy execution with a focus on supporting local businesses developing innovative products and services.