COMPANY NEWS: Salus Ventures, the Australian venture capital fund focussing on early-stage technology companies developing critical sovereign capabilities has experienced strong investor demand in excess of its $40 million target with cornerstone investment from the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).
Salus Venture over-subscribed debut fund, launched almost 12 months ago, was the first Australian fund dedicated to backing founders, typically at the seed stage, developing world leading dual-use capabilities enhancing Australia’s national resilience including in cybersecurity, defence, quantum, artificial intelligence, automation, aerospace and software.
The investment by the QIC managed Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF) supports Salus Ventures further expansion into Queensland and accelerates its investment in promising Queensland start-ups developing world-class technology.
Salus Ventures has emerged as one of the few new Australian managers to successfully complete a material fundraise despite the challenging markets and harsh fundraising conditions over the last year, in which there was a greater than 50% decrease in funds raised as confirmed in a report released this week by Cut Through Ventures.
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Salus Ventures general partner and co-founder Dan Bennett said, “Salus Ventures is delighted to have exceeded our ambitious fundraising target for our debut fund and by the strategic quality of the investor base. We believe Salus has unlocked a meaningful opportunity for our stakeholders as the dual-use market in Australia and globally is experiencing accelerated significance as the appetite to strengthen government and defence capabilities with privately developed innovation grows, driven in part by a shifting geostrategic landscape and trending to deglobalisation.”
The opportunity in the market is evident with Salus Ventures reviewing more than 600 companies in its first year of operations before investing in five promising Australian start-ups.
“We are also absolutely delighted to have secured a highly strategic investment from QIC which includes partnering to align mutual resources, networks, and expertise towards a shared goal of growing the deep technology ecosystem,” adds Bennett.
General partner and co-founder Marten Peck shared that “Salus Ventures’ executive team includes highly experienced deep tech investors who have held key operational and investment roles in various international hubs including the US, UK and Israel.
“Our uniquely experienced team is supported by a distinguished and highly strategic investor and advisor base all of whom serve as both expert mentors and powerful super connectors,” he adds.
“The team at Salus Ventures is dedicated to backing heroic founders and unlocking valuable opportunities in Canberra, Washington DC and London, created by vital policy including AUKUS Pillar II, the National Reconstruction Fund and the Advanced Strategic Capability Accelerator.
“While our capabilities extend across Australia and internationally, we identified Queensland as a strategic ecosystem with excellent characteristics to foster and accelerate innovation particularly relevant to our investment mandate,” Peck adds.
QIC Private Equity partner Nicholas Guest said Salus Ventures’ expertise, networks and capital will deliver significant benefits.
“Salus Ventures has rapidly established itself as a centre of gravity for emerging Australian national resilience start-ups,” Guest said.
“Salus Ventures will play a central role in achieving this by strengthening our local venture capital industry and growing the amount of capital available.
“Queensland boasts a rich history of excellence in many of these industries, including aerospace and defence, artificial intelligence, enterprise infrastructure and cybersecurity. The thematic coverage gained by Salus Ventures’ participation in the QVCDF program affords us the opportunity to tap into these industries, where commercial outcomes can be achieved by solving critically important national challenges.”
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