The Victorian authorities’s flagship tech funding fund, Breakthrough Victoria, ended up within the purple for a second 12 months in a row after simply 4 years in operation.
The fund, which minimize prices whereas ramping up funding, and growing returns on money deposits, posted a $5.7 million loss, in keeping with its 2025 annual report, attributing it to unrealised adjustments within the worth of investments, international change price fluctuations and an workplace relocation below new CEO Rod Bristow.
It follows a $3 million loss in FY24.
The sovereign investor, which has confronted sustained criticism by a number of outstanding members of the Victorian startup group, invested $118 million throughout 22 offers, having assessed 436 potential investments in FY25.
Half of the investments had been in new startups and funds, alongside 5 follow-on investments and 6 co-investments with the College Innovation Platform.
Maybe essentially the most notable funding of the previous monetary 12 months was the bailout of portco Seer Medical, which was revived after the metech startup’s directors discovered three traders prepared to again the enterprise with $40 million from Breakthrough Victoria BV), which retains a 25% stake, joined by neurodiagnostic tools producer Cadwell Industries, and Singapore’s TrialCap.
BV took a $30 million stake in 2022 and went on to supply further emergency funding to first failure in BV’s portfolio since its launch in 2021. Seer was handed to voluntary directors in early January.
The corporate’s money steadiness sat at $291.9 million together with $75.1m in un-utilised working grant funds from prior years ; • $138.9 million in capital funds for investments already accepted by the Board, together with uncalled capital of $54.9m; and • $70.4m in new authorities funding in 2025.
Maybe stung by criticism in earlier years about the price of the fund, Breakthrough Victoria was at pains to level out that expense progress continued to fall and sits beneath the Client Value Index.
The administration expense ratio has gone from 19.4% throughout its first 15 months of firm in the course of the preliminary setup section (Mar 2021 to June 22), to three.9% in FY24 and now 3.4% in FY25. Whole bills remained comparatively steady, growing by simply $100,000 final monetary 12 months to $17.8 million.
Breakthrough Victoria’s administration expense ratio. Supply: BV annual report
Chair John Brumby wrote within the annual report that whereas conventional capital “is retreating from deep tech and other future-focused sectors”, the fund is stepping in with a mission-driven strategy and funding focus aligned with Victoria’s financial priorities.
“Breakthrough Victoria’s investments have attracted over $1.29 billion in public and private capital alongside our own commitments, which equates to $3.21 in additional capital for every dollar Breakthrough Victoria commits,” he stated.
“These results demonstrate the catalytic role government-backed Venture Capital plays in transforming an economy through investment in innovation.”
CEO Rod Bristow, who took on the function in February stated Breakthrough Victoria had a web working revenue of $200,000 amid a 12 months of strategic transformation.
“While non-cash losses from foreign exchange, asset revaluations and disposals reflect temporary market volatility, particularly in the second half of the financial year, they do not impact the company’s core financial health and strategic positioning,” he wrote within the annual report.
“As of 30 June 2025, 45.5% of the portfolio was held in USD, underscoring Breakthrough Victoria’s global investment strategy and exposure to high-growth opportunities.”
Bristow stated that $3.21 in further capital is attracted from each $1 the fund commits, with a median of seven.7 co-investors per portfolio firm
“Breakthrough Victoria’s Internal Rate of Return since inception is tracking ahead of public and private benchmarks – exceeding the ASX Small Ordinaries Index over the same period – and an independent report found our investments are forecast to contribute up to $5.3 billion to Victoria’s economy by 2035,” he stated.
The monetary highlights embody funding values rising 23% to $321.5 million and web belongings rising to $605.2 million.
Startups receiving funding included artificial diamond creator Quantum Brilliance, livestock methane discount startup Quantity 8 Bio, additive manufacturing startup Conflux’s $11 million Collection B, Sydney proteins startup Harvest B’s $3.5m pre-Collection A and Umps Well being.
Breakthrough Victoria’s monetary outcomes. Picture BV annual report
