06 October, 2020 Media releaseLeading wealth manager Atlas Advisors Australia and venture fund Stoic Venture Capital celebrate the 20th anniversary of top university commercialisation fund Uniseed.
Stoic Venture Capital is the co-investment Fund of Uniseed, a commercialisation fund which focuses on financing early-stage companies that emerge from member universities. To work together, Stoic Partner Geoff Waring has joined the Uniseed Investment Committee.
Dr Waring said Stoic Venture Capital’s exclusive relationship with Uniseed enabled it to build a portfolio focusing on the most promising pioneering ventures in medicine, science and digital technology in Australia.
Since making its first investments with Uniseed in 2018, Stoic Venture Capital has co-invested in 17 investments to date.
Dr Waring said nine of the total 17 companies are developing new drugs, medical devices and health treatments. The fund recently added Ferronova to its portfolio.
“Uniseed’s specialist team has been instrumental to our strategy and will support our growth of the next few years,” Dr Waring said.
“We look forward to further strengthening our ties through mutually beneficial opportunities in the future.”
Atlas Advisors Australia is the largest limited partner in Stoic Venture Capital.
Atlas Advisors Australia Executive Chairman Guy Hedley said Uniseed continued to perform exceptionally well despite the harsh trading environment and is consistently delivering gains for investors during this challenging time.
“This is a testament to the strength of Uniseed’s exceptional team,” he said. “Our strong relationship with Uniseed has enabled Stoic Venture Capital to access unique technology companies that will deliver exceptional long-term capital gains for investors.
Mr Hedley said the portfolio was supporting start-ups in vital areas such as healthcare and disease prevention that were developing treatments for some of the most challenging health threats.
“Uniseed has invested in a total of 58 start-ups since establishing in late 2000, with these companies collectively employing more than 650 staff and raising over $760 million,” Mr Hedley said. “This is assisting the growth of sectors that are vital to our economy, jobs and future.
These include: probiotic drink PERKii, which is available in Woolworths and Coles supermarket chains and other outlets; Wildlife Drones, which has developed innovative drone radio-tracking technology and is setting a new standard for wildlife research; Forcite, which has created the first smart helmet for motorcycling; and Agerris, which is revolutionising agriculture and transforming on-farm operations with robotics, AI and intelligent systems, with early customer engagement.
Other companies in the portfolio are in or near clinical trials, including:
• Enhancing immunity to fight respiratory diseases (Ena Therapeutics);
• Drug development for treating kidney disease (Certa Therapeutics);
• Addiction rehabilitation (Kinoxis);
• Eye damage from diabetes (Occurx);
• Breast cancer side effects treatment (Que Oncology);
• Magnetic nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis (Ferronova).
About Stoic Venture Capital
Stoic Venture Capital provides financing for early-stage companies, particularly those arising from university research. Stoic is unconditionally registered as an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) and takes a collaborative approach to investing in the highest potential companies. Atlas Advisors Australia AFOF is the major limited partner for the Fund. www.stoicvc.com.au
