Funding for high-tech manufacturing

Evergreen private investment firm Manifex has announced the opening of its second round of investment funding to help start-ups commercialise their high-tech products.

Funding will be available to support companies that have developed technology in the advanced materials and advanced manufacturing sectors. Manifex was established in early 2014 and to date has been working with companies being incubated and assisted by VCAMM, the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing. VCAMM incubates companies and their technologies from very early conception through to investable businesses.

Manifex Managing Director Iain Ralph said its first round of investment is proving successful and its Asian and local investors were now looking at more opportunities and ventures in which to invest.

“As an evergreen fund we have the ability to raise capital as required to support the needs of our growing portfolio of firms to facilitate the commercialisation of their technology and assist in the ongoing growth of the business,” he said.

At the announcement of the new round of funding, Iain Ralph and Brad Dunstan, CEO of VCAMM, indicated that further investment capital will be made available to VCAMM incubated companies.

Manifex is co-located with Scoresby-based VCAMM, which had provided critical assistance over a number of years to companies that received capital injections as part of Manifex’s first round of funding. Two of these were Cytomatrix in Geelong and Circa Group in Coburg, which have developed world-first technology in their respective fields and now benefit from Manifex’s ongoing support.

Manifex’s interest is often in establishing an early relationship with a company that’s working with VCAMM, making it easy to ‘pass the baton’ (between VCAMM and Manifex) for ongoing commercial investment at an appropriate stage of commercialisation.

“Australia has some great minds and great opportunities for advanced manufacturing,” said Ralph. “Manifex and its investors have a knowledge and passion for new product businesses and I believe that with the injection of appropriate early-stage investment to qualified ventures, Australia will realise substantial economic dividends.”