Deep Tech · VC Firm

Main Sequence

Australia's CSIRO-founded deep tech VC; initiated Q-CTRL's seed in 2017 and anchors the Australian quantum ecosystem from Diraq to Deteqt (seed lead, April 2026). Five quantum companies across computing, sensing and quantum-safe security.

Active Sydney, AustraliaFounded 2017

Investment thesis

Founded by CSIRO in 2017 to bridge the research commercialisation valley of death, investing in spin-outs and startups connected to Australia's publicly funded R&D, from pre-seed (Atmosphere fund) to Series B.

Initiated Australia's first VC-backed quantum company, Q-CTRL, in the fund's very first investment batch (October 2017), and has since backed Quantum Brilliance, QuintessenceLabs, Diraq and Deteqt: five quantum companies across computing, sensing and quantum-safe security.

Over A$1B under management across three funds (A$240M, A$310M, A$450M), with CSIRO and the Australian Government as cornerstone backers and LPs including Hostplus, Temasek and Lockheed Martin; Fund 4 expected late 2026.

The natural first call for Australian quantum spin-outs: leads at seed, opens corridors to CSIRO, NRFC and Breakthrough Victoria, then brings in international specialist leads (Square Peg, Airbus Ventures, GP Bullhound) for later rounds.

Anti-thesis

The patterns that trigger a fast no with this fund.

  1. Mandate is anchored to Australia's publicly funded R&D sector: a quantum startup with no Australian research or operations nexus is a hard fit
  2. Rarely leads beyond seed in quantum; large rounds need an international or specialist lead (Square Peg, Airbus Ventures, GP Bullhound, Quantonation took the lead in every post-seed quantum round)
  3. Quantum is one slice of a six-challenge generalist deep tech portfolio (60+ companies, ~5 quantum): no dedicated quantum pocket
  4. Typical check size is undisclosed; the only sourced quantum leads are A$5M and $9.7M seeds, so temper expectations for large solo tickets

Notable quantum portfolio

Full portfolio
Q-CTRLQuantum BrillianceDeteqtQuintessenceLabsDiraq

Frequent co-investors