July 20, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

SVG Ventures is bringing its proprietary platform comprising its flagship THRIVE Accelerator Program, Corporate Innovation Program, development programs, and more to the state of Victoria, Australia. 

The leading global agtech investor has chosen to establish a new Australian and New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne in order to fast-track the advancement of agricultural technologies and to support Victorian farmers.

Also working to position Victoria as a prime agtech hub, SVG will launch a $50 million THRIVE Australia Ventures Fund designed to facilitate ongoing international investment in the agtech sector of the region, and to grow and enhance the local ecosystem in Victoria and across Australia and New Zealand.

“This is a significant vote of confidence in Victorian AgTech and the payoff will be in jobs now and in the future,” said Tim Pallas, Minister for Economic Development. “It will provide a major boost for the innovators developing new products and processes to transform agriculture in Victoria and around the world.”

Founded in 2014 and based in Silicon Valley, SVG Ventures works with entrepreneurs, investors, and Fortune 500 corporations to transform businesses, accelerate growth, and drive innovation. Recognized by Crunchbase as the “most active agtech investor”, SVG Ventures | THRIVE has grown to have a global reach of more than 6,000 startups in over 100 countries.

Backed by the Andrews Labor Government, this expansion into Victoria will give the region’s farmers access to more cutting-edge technology, and will give local startups greater opportunities to scale and commercialize their products and processes.

The Office of the Premier of Victoria, The Hon. Daniel Andrews, stated that the government’s International Investment Strategy is working to attract global organizations from high-impact industries to secure technologies, skills, and to create jobs to drive long-term growth in the Victorian economy. 

Within this strategy is the AgTech Regional Innovation Network, which helps to connect farmers, technology experts, entrepreneurs, research organizations, and universities. Included under the umbrella of this Network is the Victorian AgTech Entrepreneurs Initiative that supports pre-accelerator programs to increase the number and quality of agtech startups.

Not New to the Neighborhood

This is not SVG Ventures | THRIVE’s first foray into Australia. In May 2020, a three-year partnership was announced between CSIRO, Australia’s top national science organization, and SVG Ventures | THRIVE to establish a robust pipeline of Australian food tech and agtech “science to seed” startups. 

“This partnership exemplifies our focus on global entrepreneurs and continued commitment to solving the critical challenges facing the Agrifood sector,” said John Hartnett, CEO and founder, SVG-THRIVE at the time. “Creating opportunities for Australian AgTech startups to access global venture capital investment is critical to successful commercialization of these innovations.”

To celebrate the launch in early 2020, the partners hosted an inaugural THRIVE Challenge in Melbourne at which two CSIRO startups – DiagamiRs and HiveKeepers – won awards of seed funding and participation in the THRIVE Accelerator program in Silicon Valley.

Today, Hartnett reflects on the beginning of a new chapter for SVG Ventures’, stating, “We are excited to embark on our ANZ journey from Victoria – a large agricultural market, home to world-leading research organizations and a central location to capture agtech success.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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