As Breakthrough Victoria and LaunchVic come together to form Innovation Victoria, Victorian founders will continue to be backed from the earliest stages of their journey — with new pre-accelerator programs designed to help turn strong ideas into real businesses.
At last night’s LaunchVic Gala, Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Steve Dimopoulos announced $3.5 million in funding for a new suite of programs to help early-stage founders test ideas, build capability, connect with customers and move towards commercialisation.
It’s the kind of support that will continue under Innovation Victoria: a clearer, more connected system that strengthens the earliest stages of the startup pipeline and helps more Victorians move from idea to viable, scalable business.
Nine leading ecosystem partners — Boab AI, Boson Ventures, Cicada Innovations, CoLabs Australia, HEX, Illume Ventures, Jumpstart Studio, MedTech Actuator and RMIT (DiscoveryHUB) — will each receive up to $400,000 to deliver pre-accelerator programs for Victorian founders.
Among the funded initiatives is VICTOR:AI, an eight-week pre-accelerator program that will support Victoria’s next generation of AI-native startups with hands-on access to AI tools, co-working space and milestone-based grants.
Cicada Innovations will also support up to 45 Victorian deeptech startups to become investment-ready, helping turn world-class research into commercial outcomes.
Together, these programs will strengthen the earliest stages of the founder journey — giving more Victorians the support, skills and connections they need to get started and succeed.
Victoria’s startup ecosystem has grown almost 20-fold over the past decade and now includes more than 4,400 startups, scaleups and unicorns valued at $139 billion, with Melbourne ranked third globally for startup creation rate.
As Innovation Victoria brings together the strengths of Breakthrough Victoria and LaunchVic, programs like these will play an important role in connecting founders with the capital, capability and support they need — from idea through to scale.
“Great startups need support early — when ideas are still being tested, capability is still being built and founders are taking their first steps. That’s why programs like these matter, and why they will continue under Innovation Victoria. This is about building on what LaunchVic has done so well and creating an even stronger pathway for Victorian founders — with the programs, support and connections they need to scale and grow.”
Rod Bristow, CEO, Breakthrough Victoria / Innovation Victoria