$10 million for Qld startup incubator ilab

The University of Queensland has announced a $10 million fund for early-stage startups.

The fund, expected to begin operating this year, is a joint initiative of the university’s ilab incubator and Artesian Capital Management. Artesian will act as the fund manager and ilab will select and guide the startups through its operational programs, facilities and mentor networks.

The ilab incubator is a division of the university’s commercialisation arm, UniQuest. The Queensland Government has committed to funding ilab until 2019.

“One of the big issues for our start-ups is getting that all-important early stage support to assist them in developing into investment-ready companies,” said Ian Walker, QLD Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.

Artesian managing principal Jeremy Colless praised ilab as a leading startup incubator in Queensland.

“As a result of ilab’s successes and expansion, we are excited to be building a $10 million tax-effective fund to invest in ilab’s start-ups at all critical stages of their development,” he said.

“This will provide important support to Queensland’s early stage start-up businesses, as well as unparalleled opportunities to invest in the burgeoning Queensland tech start-up community.”

Adam Bender covers startup and business tech issues for Techworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

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