LaunchVic

LaunchVic is a Victorian statutory entity created to support startup and innovation ecosystems across Melbourne, Geelong, and regional Victoria. It was established after the 2015 Victorian election commitments and builds on precedents such as StartupAUS, CSIRO programs, and state innovation strategies. LaunchVic works alongside institutions like Monash University, University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Deakin University, and industry bodies including Invest Victoria, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Tech Council of Australia.

History

LaunchVic was established in 2016 following policy advocacy by groups such as StartupAUS, Stone & Chalk, and the Committee for Melbourne. Early influences included models from Techstars, Y Combinator, and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Initial board appointments drew from leaders with backgrounds at Google, Atlassian, Seek, Telstra, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The entity’s inception responded to reports from the Australian Productivity Commission, recommendations in the Australian Innovation System Review, and comparative analysis of programs like NSW Innovation and Productivity Council and the Victorian Innovation and Technology Agenda. LaunchVic’s milestones include seed funding rounds for accelerators, partnerships with City of Melbourne, and program evaluations by auditors including the Victorian Auditor-General's Office.

Governance and Funding

LaunchVic operates under Victorian statutes with oversight by the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and reporting to the Premier of Victoria and the Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy. Governance structures include a board of directors, advisory panels, and grant assessment committees featuring representatives from Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, PwC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte, and Pitcher Partners. Funding has been provided through state budget allocations, specialist funds administered with partners such as ME Bank and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and co-investment arrangements with venture capital firms including Blackbird Ventures, AirTree Ventures, Square Peg Capital, OneVentures, and international investors like Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. Financial oversight and audit processes reference frameworks used by Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

Programs and Initiatives

LaunchVic has funded accelerators, incubators, and outreach programs modeled after Startmate, BlueChilli, River City Labs, and Cicada Innovations. Initiatives included partnerships with universities—Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria University, La Trobe University—and research organisations like CSIRO and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Programs targeted sectors including fintech with links to Xero, medtech aligned with St Vincent's Hospital, agritech reflecting collaborations with RMIT Food Innovation Lab and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (Australia), and creative tech involving Australia Council for the Arts. LaunchVic supported events and conferences such as Pause Fest, MELT Festival, CeBIT Australia, and Rolling Stone Australia engagements, and worked with hubs like Collingwood Yards, The Cluster, Creative Victoria precincts, and regional partners in Ballarat, Bendigo, Warrnambool, and Shepparton. It also backed research linking to programs at Grattan Institute and evaluations by KPMG Australia.

Impact and Metrics

Evaluations of LaunchVic referenced metrics comparable to those used by Techstars, Crunchbase, and PitchBook including startup formation rates, capital raised, jobs created, and follow-on investment. Reports documented connections to exits and acquisitions by corporations like Atlassian, News Corp Australia, Optus, and exports facilitated through Austrade networks. Measuring social impact, LaunchVic partnerships reported outcomes tied to innovation precinct performance seen in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and collaborations with CSIRO Data61. Independent analyses by academic teams from University of Melbourne, Monash Business School, and think tanks such as Australian Innovation Research Centre assessed long-term spillovers to manufacturing clusters and service sectors.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques centered on allocation transparency, comparisons to national programs such as National Innovation and Science Agenda, and debates about public subsidy of private accelerators endorsed by firms like BlueChilli and Startmate. Media commentary in outlets including The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, and ABC News questioned evaluation rigor and regional reach versus metropolitan concentration in Melbourne CBD. Academic critiques from researchers at La Trobe University and RMIT University raised issues about measurement frameworks and opportunity costs compared to alternative public investments such as in TAFE and research facilities. Litigation and parliamentary inquiries invoked by opposition members from Victorian Liberal Party and The Nationals prompted reviews by the Victorian Ombudsman and audit scrutiny by the Victorian Auditor-General's Office.

Category:Organisations based in Victoria (Australia) Category:Innovation in Australia