Sources who spoke to Street Talk reckon QIC will pump the initiative up to $100 million, but won’t go near $700 million as it would overload the ecosystem and create valuation inflation. In other words, there just aren’t enough opportunities in Queensland to absorb the funds.– and they’re willing to jump through hoops to get it.
Queensland has produced some of Australia’s biggest start-ups including Brisbane-based corporate training tech unicorn Go1, workplace software unicorn SafetyCulture which started life in Townsville and. However, Australia’s start-up culture is largely based in Sydney and Melbourne where it’s easier to find high-skilled tech workers.
Other states have launched similar initiatives to try and lure capital and expand their start-up scenes, including South Australia’s $50 million Venture Capital Fund, managed by Artesian Venture Partners, and Western Australia’s Venture Support pilot program. has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.