On 8 November 2023, we held our first Started @ Melbourne Showcase, hosted by the University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, in partnership with Breakthrough Victoria and the University of Melbourne.
The event showcased the founders from the University’s first pre-seed startup cohort and celebrated their journeys so far.
The University has invested in seven startups: Carbon Cybernetics, Kali Healthcare, NIRGenie, Tiny Bright Things, Torch Recruit, Melbourne Pollen and Psychae Therapeutics, each with a unique mission to create a profound and lasting impact on the world.
Kali Healthcare
Kali Healthcare is developing a new portable AI-powered pregnancy monitoring system, made up of a small wearable device and sensor patch that can be used at home, providing greater ease of use and access to care for mothers. The company is commercialising IP developed during Dr Emerson Keenan’s PhD in Professor Palaniswami’s laboratory, clinically supervised by Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot.
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Dr Emerson Keenan
CEO & Co-CTO, Kali Healthcare, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot
CMO & COO, Kali Healthcare, Obstetrician, Associate Professor University of Melbourne
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Professor Marimuthu Palaniswami
Co-CTO, Kali Healthcare, Professor, University of Melbourne
Get in touch with Emerson Keenan
Go to Kali Healthcare
NIRGenie
NIRGenie, a Bionics Institute spinout company, has designed and developed a new device, EarGenie, that provides clinicians with information critical to the early intervention of hearing loss and language delay.
Get in touch with Jeffrey Ng
Go to NIRGenie
Carbon Cybernetics
Carbon Cybernetics’ vision is to dramatically transform the lives of millions of people suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders through transformative treatments that enable revolutions in neurology, psychiatry, and patient care. The company is commercialising IP developed in the Faculty of Science.
Get in touch with Justin Spangaro
Go to Carbon Cybernetics
Psychae Therapeutics
Psychae Therapeutics is developing pharmaceutical-grade botanically derived medicines and accompanying psychological treatment tools for major mental health conditions including trauma, mood disorders and addiction.
Get in touch with Daniel Perkins
Go to Psychae Therapeutics
Melbourne Pollen
Melbourne Pollen (part of the Pollen Service) is the first integrated, Australia-wide service providing access to real-time, location specific air quality information for the millions of Australians sensitive to air hazards such as pollen, pollution and bushfire smoke.
Get in touch with the Melbourne Pollen team
Go to Melbourne Pollen
Tiny Bright Things
Tiny Bright Things offers microscopy tools to enable imaging and measurement down to the nanoscale at lightning speed, enabling whole new fields of discovery and supercharging manufacturing with real-time process insights. Accelerated by an investment round led by Uniseed with the University of Melbourne as a key participant, the company is commercialising IP developed in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.
Get in touch with Ray Dagastine
Go to Tiny Bright Things
Torch Recruit
Torch Recruit is a recruitment software platform designed to simplify and optimise the hiring process for clinical trials. The company is commercialising IP developed in the Department of General Practice and Primary Care in the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.
Get in touch with Stephen Dolan
Go to Torch Recruit
Meet the Genesis Pre-Seed Fund investment team
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Hun Gan - CEO University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund
Hun brings strong startup experience and technology expertise to the investment team having invested in, led, mentored and grown over 30 deep tech startup companies out of universities, research organisations such as National ICT Australia (NICTA) and CSIRO.
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Dr Brian Pang - Investment Manager (Tech and Physical Sciences)
Brian has extensive experience across investment management and technology commercialisation. He draws from his experiences, including as a co-founder of Brain Builder Mathematics School, to enable the successful commercialisation of startups as a Venture Creator.
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Dr Winnie Gao - Investment Associate (Life Sciences)
Winnie holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from MIPs, Monash University. She worked at AdAlta, a clinical stage biotechnology company where she co-led several research projects and spanned research and development and business development teams. Winnie has also worked closely with IP attorneys on in and out-licensing.
First published on 13 November 2023.
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The University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund
The University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund helps researchers, students, and alumni establish investment-ready startups.
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Supporting founders
Genesis is a fund that provides pre-seed financial investment, but also has a support ecosystem designed to help startups succeed.
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Apply for funding
How do I apply for Genesis Pre-Seed Fun support, and what will the assessment team be looking for?
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Get in touch with the investment team
Get in touch with our team of startup specialists.