Temasek, Morgan Stanley join $403 million Australia-backed fund
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Temasek and Morgan Stanley were among Australian venture capital firm Main Sequence's backers.
PHOTOS: GAVIN FOO,REUTERS
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SINGAPORE - Main Sequence, the venture capital firm founded by Australia’s national science agency, raised A$450 million (S$403 million) from global investors for a third fund to drive investment in deep technology deemed crucial to the country’s national interests.
The firm raised the funds from Daiwa Securities Group, The Grantham Foundation, LGT Crestone and NGS Super, alongside existing backers including Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Singapore’s Temasek, according to a statement on Wednesday.
Australia’s federal government added A$75 million via the so-called Economic Accelerator programme.
Main Sequence was formed to help commercialise novel research in areas critical to Australia’s national interests.
It has helped to build some of its portfolio companies from scratch.
“We see the biggest opportunities, and the biggest need on the planet, in decarbonization of all forms across food and agriculture, industrial technologies and other areas,” Mr Mike Zimmerman, partner at Main Sequence, said in an interview.
The firm will also focus on cyber security, quantum computing and advanced semiconductor technology.
“The world needs some very concrete solutions to these big problems.”
Since launching its first fund in 2017, Main Sequence has backed 53 companies, with assets under management of more than A$1 billion.
Some of them have gone global. They include Regrow, which helps agriculture and food companies such as Cargill and General Mills decarbonise their supply chain; and Advanced Navigation, which was started to commercialise research of co-founders Xavier Orr and Chris Shaw into navigation technology used in robotics, aerospace and vehicles.
Some of its other bets include Q-CTRL, a quantum computing start-up, and Samsara Eco, which developed an enzyme-based technology to break down complex plastics into their original chemical elements for recycling. BLOOMBERG
