Significant Early Venture Capital
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Overview
With over two decades of Australian investment in building capability in research and universities, Australia now enjoys some of the most extraordinary talent and globally leading minds. This talent is creating knowledge and has the capacity of solving some of the big problems of our time but if we can’t take this know-how and intellect into the world, then this brilliance is lost and the opportunity we have will remain just that – an opportunity. As business builders and investors, Significant has been taking up this challenge for nearly two decades. Working in collaboration with universities, researchers and state governments, we, as a collective group have a track record in translating this knowledge bank into technology, into products, into services and ultimately into businesses that: - Have become global companies - Re-shaped markets - Solved sustainability problems - Created jobs and - New career pathways for Australians Significant has the capacity to create high value niche modern manufacturing industries and exports for Australia and are extremely proud of their achievements. Significant leads by example to show that Australia can commercialise its inventions, that sustainable globally competitive businesses can be created in Australia, and that early-stage investment can create immense value for investors, demonstrating that through action Significant is able to attract more capital to invest in this important space and is be able to shift the mindset (read the AFR article) that Australia is great at innovation but not at execution.
- Total investments
- 4
- Lead investments
- 2
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Finance
- Financial Services
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- Vantari VR
Participated · Series A · Dec 2023
Vantari builds VR-based healthcare training solutions enabling doctors, nurses and other clinicians to practice and refine lifesaving procedures in safe, scalable virtual environments. The platform emphasizes immersive, repeatable simulation for clinical skills and procedural training. The company targets medical professionals seeking hands-on practice opportunities without patient risk. In December 2023 Vantari secured $7 million in a Pre-A financing. The article does not disclose revenue, user counts, or other operating metrics. No founding year or location is provided in the article.
- Cyban
Led · Series A · May 2022
Cyban is building a non-invasive bedside medical device that continuously measures oxygen levels in the brain to help prevent permanent brain damage or death after traumatic brain injury. The device aims to replace invasive probes and reduce medical complications, disability risk, and ICU length of stay, delivering cost savings for hospitals. Breakthrough Victoria is investing $2 million in Cyban as part of a $6.25 million Series A round; Significant Early Venture Capital and InterValley Ventures are also participants. Proceeds from the round will support regulatory submissions in Australia and the United States and fund the start of local manufacturing in Victoria. The company plans to scale commercialization efforts from Victoria and expects the program to create up to 50 new Victorian jobs over the next four years. Quotes in the release emphasize the company’s potential to scale globally and accelerate time to market with this funding. Cyban develops a novel, non-invasive Brain Pulse Oximeter and accompanying sensor platform to monitor brain oxygen levels in ICU patients. The technology aims to provide real-time monitoring as an alternative to eye-dilation checks, expensive brain scans, or invasive intracranial procedures. The device and platform originate from the work of ICU specialist Dr Barry Dixon, who led Intensive Care Research at St Vincent’s Hospital for 15 years. Cyban is focused on commercialisation and using recent funding to finish a go-to-market prototype. The company plans expanded clinical trials in the US and will pursue regulatory clearance ahead of a planned market release in 2024. Cyban recently closed an oversubscribed $5.25M Series A to fund team growth, trials, and regulatory work as it moves toward commercial launch.
- Mastt
Participated · Equity · Mar 2022
Mastt offers a cloud SaaS platform that consolidates documents and data to give capital and infrastructure portfolio owners transparency and real-time analysis across portfolios and individual projects. The platform uses smart algorithms to partly automate benchmarking and reporting, enabling faster decisions to prevent cost and time blowouts. Mastt says it has quadrupled monthly recurring revenue and is now used across more than 500 global projects totalling over $25 billion in value. In the past year the company expanded remotely into the US and Middle East. The team plans to almost double headcount and invest in machine learning capabilities to drive predictive decision making and faster insights for infrastructure portfolio managers. Mastt offers a cloud SaaS platform that serves as a nerve centre for capital project owners, providing transparency and real-time analysis to prevent cost and time blowouts across portfolios. The product replaces manual collation of thousands of documents and spreadsheets, enabling granular, immediate decision‑making for asset owners and client‑side project managers. Mastt counts clients such as the Australian Army, Jacobs Engineering, RPS Group and Aurecon, and has supported nearly $10 billion worth of capital and infrastructure projects during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The company is supported by Microsoft and participated in Microsoft’s international Scale‑Up program. Mastt raised $2.2m to fuel growth and prepare for an overseas expansion tied to an expected infrastructure boom. The founders plan a remote global expansion in the second half of 2021 to scale the business beyond Australia. Founded in 2019, the team combines construction industry and engineering software experience.
- H3D
Led · Equity · Aug 2021
Founded in 2018 out of Swinburne University, H3D has built an automated CAD and 3D-printing platform that rapidly designs and produces custom-fit healthcare products, initially focusing on the hearing market with items like hearing aids, noise protection and custom earphones. Its proprietary software combines machine learning, advanced 3D algorithms and real-time cloud processing to let labs batch-process hundreds of complex jobs in minutes, replacing labor-intensive workflows that can take technicians up to 30 minutes per case. The company has also developed a smartphone-based 3D scanning solution that captures accurate ear scans using computer vision, AI and AR, eliminating the need for traditional ear impressions. With offices in Australia, Denmark and Ireland, H3D is beginning to extend its technology to dental labs worldwide, aiming to alleviate technician shortages and quality inconsistencies in that sector. Management positions the platform as a cornerstone for the future of AI-driven digital manufacturing in healthcare. The startup’s early backers include Swinburne University and Starfish Ventures, and it has generated meaningful commercial traction in the global hearing market. The recent capital injection will fund global dental-market expansion and the commercial roll-out of its mobile scanning product.
Team
No current team members are available.