The University of Melbourne, Australia’s second-oldest university, announced that it has raised A$100 million (about $70 million) for the first close of its university-specific fund Tin Alley Venture Fund No 1.
The fund, which is a joint venture between the university and investment firm Tanarra Capital, seeks to invest in and propel the development of high-potential startups developed within the University of Melbourne ecosystem.
It will provide capital as well as skills and connections to help founders grow their teams, develop commercial-grade products and services, and drive customer acquisition and global expansion, the university stressed.
“The Tin Alley Ventures fund will create significant new entrepreneurial opportunities for our world-class researchers, students, and alumni as well as medical research institutes and hospitals affiliated with the University of Melbourne,” said vice-chancellor professor Duncan Maskell.
Tin Alley Ventures was launched in June last year with an A$25-million investment from the University of Melbourne. The fund is now targeting a second close in mid-2023.
According to reports, the first close of the fund was backed by university chancellor Allan Myers and his business partner John Higgins, Acciona Australia CEO Bede Noonan, Goldman Sachs Australia chair Christian Johnston, former Qantas chair Leigh Clifford, and BGH Capital founding partner Ben Gray.
“Raising A$100m demonstrates confidence in the future commercial potential of our university startups,” Maskell added.
The fund aims to provide investments from A$500,000 up to several million dollars.
Tin Alley Ventures was launched last year along with the $15-million University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, which provides funding for early-stage research, ideas, and new technologies to seed-fund-ready companies.
According to a previous announcement, the two funds will model the approach of embedding dedicated venture capital capability into the university. Both funds will be open to university students, university-affiliated organisations, and alumni.
Now in the final stages of hiring its investment team from candidates around the world in a global search process, the new Tin Alley Ventures team will be supported by Tanarra Capital, which has a strong track record in venture investing.
Last November, Australian venture capital firm Blackbird announced it has raised A$1 billion ($640 million) for a new fund that will invest in general companies in Australia and New Zealand.