LaunchVic is offering a $300,000 sweetener to VCs keen to set up shop in the state to back local startups

Victorian startup agency LaunchVic is offering grants of up to $300,000 to venture capital funds and angel groups to set up in Victoria and back local startups.

To qualify, they’re either just kicking off or “new to Victoria”, which means interstate VCs looking to put boots on the ground in the southeast can apply for the cash.

But there are other provisos: the VC Funds must target a raise of $10 million, and angel groups are expected to unlock at least $2 million in private capital.

The grants are not a commitment to the fund – it’s to defray set up costs, such as legal fees and company registration, supporting new staff salaries, and to facilitate capital raising.

LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick said the focus is to unlock more capital to support more startups to scale, because amid growth in late-stage venture investments beyond Series B, there’s stagnation in early-stage VC funding in the state.

“Just 10% of total venture funding was invested into Victorian pre-seed and seed stage companies in 2024,” she said.

“We need to continue our focus on unlocking more capital for early-stage Victorian startups by fostering an expert and active investment community.”

Since LaunchVic kicked off support for the investment sector five years ago, the startup body has supported the establishment of 10 angel networks in Victoria. They’ve gone on to invest a combined $29.3 million into Victorian startups.

One of them is the Birchal First Syndicate, launched to back Victorian hardware technology startups. The angel syndicate combines its lead investments with retail investor support on crowdfunding platform Birchal’s equity capital raising campaigns. Within 90 days, $1.9 million was invested in three startups – battery-powered aircraft engine retrofitter Dovetail Electric Aviation, Volt Solar Tile and medtech startup Cormagna.

Meanwhile, the VC Support program has funded eight new funds hang their shingle in Victoria, including Kiwi deeptech fund Pacific Channel, which crossed the Tasman with the funding.

For more details and to apply, see launchvic.org/grants.