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CSIRO Fund of Funds
Bill Bartee runs CSIRO's A$200M Australian government-backed venture fund-of-funds, anchoring emerging deep-tech VC managers since 2017.
CSIRO Fund of Funds
CSIRO — Australia's national science agency — established its Fund of Funds in 2017 with an initial A$200 million commitment from the Australian Government, managed by former Blackbird Ventures and Southern Cross Venture Partners partner Bill Bartee. The vehicle was created to address a persistent gap in Australian early-stage venture capital: institutional reluctance to back first-time or emerging managers commercializing public-sector research. The fund invests as an LP in Australian VC firms, not directly in companies, differentiating it from the agency's direct investment programs like CSIRO's Main Sequence Ventures. The fund's mandate spans the full spectrum of deep technology derived from CSIRO's 3,000-plus researchers and its network of university partners. It commits to generalist and specialist venture managers targeting pre-seed through Series A stages, with underlying exposure flowing into sectors including quantum computing, synthetic biology, AI/ML, renewable energy storage, medical devices, and agritech. Named portfolio VC managers have included Main Sequence Ventures and other Australia-based firms raising inaugural or sophomore funds. The co-investor pool draws sovereign capital alongside superannuation funds and international institutions seeking Australian innovation exposure. Geographic deployment is concentrated in Australia, particularly the Sydney-Melbourne-Canberra innovation corridor, with some portfolio companies expanding into the US and Southeast Asian markets. The fund targets a market-rate return while fulfilling a policy mandate to strengthen Australia's venture ecosystem. Bartee's team operates with autonomy from CSIRO's balance sheet and research divisions, though it benefits from privileged deal-flow visibility into the agency's commercialization pipeline. In 2021, the Australian Government expanded the model by creating a separate A$2 billion commercialization fund alongside additional CSIRO-directed venture allocations, signaling continued public-sector commitment to the fund-of-funds architecture Bartee's team pioneered. The headcount is lean relative to the mandate, reflecting the LP-only posture that avoids the operational complexity of direct investing.
General information
Firm type
Generic
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
Australia
City
Sydney
Corporate office
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Principals
Bill Bartee
Fund Manager
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at CSIRO Fund of Funds?
Bill Bartee serves as the Fund Manager. Bartee brought deep Australian venture capital experience from his prior roles at Blackbird Ventures and Southern Cross Venture Partners. He operates the fund with a lean team, maintaining independence from CSIRO's direct research and balance-sheet investment activities.
Is CSIRO Fund of Funds a direct investor in startups or does it back other VC firms?
The CSIRO Fund of Funds operates exclusively as a limited partner in Australian venture capital firms — it does not take direct equity stakes in portfolio companies. This LP-only posture differentiates it from CSIRO's separate direct-investment vehicles, such as Main Sequence Ventures. The structure is designed to catalyze emerging VC managers rather than compete with them for deals.
What investment stages and sectors does the fund target?
The fund backs managers investing across pre-seed through Series A stages. Underlying sector exposure spans the full deep-tech spectrum emerging from CSIRO's research infrastructure, including quantum computing, AI/ML, synthetic biology, medical devices, renewable energy, and agritech. The mandate is deliberately broad to reflect the diversity of CSIRO's 3,000-plus researcher base.
Where does the capital come from?
The initial A$200 million capital was provided by the Australian Government as part of a broader innovation policy agenda to commercialize public-sector research. The fund does not raise external capital and is a sovereign-funded vehicle managed through CSIRO's governance structures. In 2021, the government extended the model with an additional A$2 billion commercialization fund.
How does the fund source its underlying VC manager relationships?
The fund benefits from privileged visibility into CSIRO's research commercialization pipeline, which generates a steady stream of spinout opportunities requiring venture backing. Bartee's team evaluates emerging Australian VC managers, often acting as an anchor LP in inaugural or sophomore funds. The proximity to CSIRO's ecosystem provides an informational edge in manager selection, though the fund maintains a formal, independent investment process.
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