ANU Connect Ventures

ANU Connect Ventures

ANU Connect Ventures was established in 2005 as a venture capital partnership between the Australian National University and MTAA Super, an industry superannuation fund. The firm was created to commercialize intellectual property emerging from ANU and the broader Canberra research ecosystem. Nick McNaughton, a veteran technology executive and active angel investor, has served as CEO since inception, shaping the fund's thesis of translating university research into investable startups. The firm deploys pre-seed and seed-stage capital, typically writing initial checks between $100,000 and $500,000. The fund operates exclusively within the ACT and surrounding region, targeting university spin-outs across enterprise software, life sciences, clean technology, and agricultural tech. Historically, ANU Connect Ventures structured investments as equity alongside matched Commonwealth government grants through programs like Commercialisation Australia. Confirmed portfolio companies include Lithicon, a microscopy imaging platform acquired by FEI Company, and Liquid Instruments, a precision test-and-measurement hardware firm that has raised further venture rounds. The fund operates as a single vehicle with deep ties to ANU's technology transfer office. While total assets under management remain undisclosed, the firm has backed more than 25 companies since inception, with several achieving commercial exits. In January 2020, the fund announced a re-structure, transitioning investment management to a new entity, ANU Connect Ventures Pty Ltd, with continued backing from ANU and a refreshed mandate to invest across the university's research pipeline. ANU Connect Ventures functions as a rare structure in Australian venture capital: a university-anchored, superannuation-backed seed fund. Unlike most university commercialisation arms that operate as internal grant programs, the fund makes equity investments and takes board seats, aligning it more closely with independent venture firms. The hybrid public-institutional ownership creates a patient capital base, with a mandate driven by research impact as much as financial return. This governance structure makes it a distinct, region-specific player in Australia's pre-seed landscape.