logo
How this VC fund landed $100m from UniSuper

How this VC fund landed $100m from UniSuper

One of Australia's largest industry funds UniSuper has lifted its venture capital allocation to $100 million, ignoring fears Labor's super tax reforms could remove the incentive for retirement savings to be invested in technology start-ups by increasing its stake in CSIRO-owned Uniseed.
The super giant made its foray into venture investing in 2022 with $75 million into Uniseed – a fund co-owned by the nation's research agency, CSIRO, and nine major Australian universities – and has now increased this with a further $25 million.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in
‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in

Sydney Morning Herald

time21 minutes ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in

The NSW government will end its incentive to install a home solar battery from July in favour of an enhanced Commonwealth scheme, and use the savings to encourage households to allow their stored energy to be remotely accessed by the grid. Since last November, NSW consumers have been able to access a rebate of up to $2600 (depending on the size of the battery) to attach storage to their rooftop solar systems. The scheme resulted in 11,400 battery installations across the state in six months. The program will conclude at the end of this month, while the Australian government's $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program is set to start on July 1. The federal rebate, announced before the election, will reduce the cost of a battery by about 30 per cent, making it about double the size of the state scheme. The NSW government will redirect the money to its Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, a program designed to reduce electricity demand during peak periods. In particular, the government is doubling the payments to encourage solar households to sign up to a virtual power plant (VPP) – a group of solar-powered batteries linked by software, which are owned by households and small businesses that have consented for excess stored power to be sold to the grid. Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said VPPs were important because it increased the stability of the grid and this lowered power bills for everyone, not just those households with solar panels and batteries. 'There's a private benefit and a public good,' Smith said. 'It's actually important to find ways to try to integrate the individual home batteries into a much bigger collective battery system.' The Smart Energy Council says a 6 kWh battery at $6000-$8000 would meet the needs of nine out of 10 homes. The federal subsidy would be about $2232 and the NSW incentive to connect to a VPP would be about $444. On an 11.5kWh battery, the federal subsidy would be about $4278 and the NSW support for a VPP connection would be $850.

‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in
‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in

The Age

time22 minutes ago

  • The Age

‘Better bang for buck': NSW to cut battery subsidies as federal scheme kicks in

The NSW government will end its incentive to install a home solar battery from July in favour of an enhanced Commonwealth scheme, and use the savings to encourage households to allow their stored energy to be remotely accessed by the grid. Since last November, NSW consumers have been able to access a rebate of up to $2600 (depending on the size of the battery) to attach storage to their rooftop solar systems. The scheme resulted in 11,400 battery installations across the state in six months. The program will conclude at the end of this month, while the Australian government's $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program is set to start on July 1. The federal rebate, announced before the election, will reduce the cost of a battery by about 30 per cent, making it about double the size of the state scheme. The NSW government will redirect the money to its Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, a program designed to reduce electricity demand during peak periods. In particular, the government is doubling the payments to encourage solar households to sign up to a virtual power plant (VPP) – a group of solar-powered batteries linked by software, which are owned by households and small businesses that have consented for excess stored power to be sold to the grid. Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said VPPs were important because it increased the stability of the grid and this lowered power bills for everyone, not just those households with solar panels and batteries. 'There's a private benefit and a public good,' Smith said. 'It's actually important to find ways to try to integrate the individual home batteries into a much bigger collective battery system.' The Smart Energy Council says a 6 kWh battery at $6000-$8000 would meet the needs of nine out of 10 homes. The federal subsidy would be about $2232 and the NSW incentive to connect to a VPP would be about $444. On an 11.5kWh battery, the federal subsidy would be about $4278 and the NSW support for a VPP connection would be $850.

Albanese's cautious approach risks a repeat of Turnbull's wasted majority. He must find a middle path
Albanese's cautious approach risks a repeat of Turnbull's wasted majority. He must find a middle path

Sydney Morning Herald

time37 minutes ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Albanese's cautious approach risks a repeat of Turnbull's wasted majority. He must find a middle path

Anthony Albanese had a chance on Tuesday to expand the scope of his second-term agenda, following his thumping election win on May 3, and lay out a more ambitious reform plan. It was a chance he very deliberately chose not to take. Mindful of the uncertain international environment; a looming meeting with US President Donald Trump (the source of much of this uncertainty); the risks of exceeding his mandate so soon after the election; and conscious of the need to begin to rebuild faith in government, institutions and even the media, Albanese stuck to his narrowly defined path. In his first major speech to the National Press Club since the election, Albanese hewed closely to the policy script he took to the election campaign – cheaper childcare, making Australia a renewable energy superpower, developing advanced manufacturing, and expanding Medicare bulk-billing. There was a concession of a sort, in the form of a roundtable meeting in August that will bring together business, unions and government to discuss the government's growth and productivity agenda – an acknowledgement, at the very least, that major business groups are not exactly thrilled with the government's industrial relations changes, to see wages rising faster than inflation, and that (of course) they desire a cut to the company tax rate. Loading There was also an acknowledgement that Australia may well have to spend more on defence in the years to come, but Albanese made clear – as he has been saying privately for weeks – that he would not simply set an arbitrary target for defence spending as a proportion of GDP, but rather that 'we will always provide for capability that's needed'. But these are uncertain times. The Reserve Bank of Australia used the word 'uncertain' 21 times in the minutes of their most recent board meeting, compared to just twice seven months ago, on the day Trump was elected. Labor true believers hoping Albanese would unleash his inner Paul Keating in this second term, emboldened by a 94-seat stranglehold on the House and a progressive majority in the Senate, will have been left disappointed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store