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500 Startups In Australia: 500 Startups To Open Their Headquarter In Melbourne

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Silicon Valley’s venture capital firm 500 startups is going to make its new headquarters in Melbourne after they have raised AU $60 million from Victorian government as a startup fund LaunchVic. LaunchVic is an official Victorian government central innovation ecosystem to support startups, LaunchVic is now partnering 500 startups to streamline their support even better.

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Victorian Government added, “The new location in Melbourne will support minimum 40 startups in the next 2 years providing them access to global venture capitalists, mentors and businesses.

According to ZDnet, the new office will also host yearly events which will help supporting startups and investors from outside the accelerator program.

In a blog post, 500 Startups said it was an ideal time for the firm to join the nation’s innovation ecosystem.

“The Australian ecosystem is at a point, with more venture funding available than ever before and government seriously pursuing an innovation strategy to polish and support startups,”

Founder of 500 Startups Dave McClure said the firm had already invested in 20 Australian startups.

He further added, “Partnership with Victorian Government and LaunchVic program will help us to bring the crux of Silicon Valley to Australia through our investor, startups and corporate programs. We can’t wait to inspire more geeks like us to follow their entrepreneurial drive,”

“The move also further strengthens Victoria’s growing reputation as the destination of choice for tech and startup investment, following moves by global leaders including Zendesk, Square, Slack, and Cognizant to set up their HQs in Melbourne,” Dalidakis’ statement read.

Australian economy is already growing and now their immigration programs attract more international students and skilled permanent workers. This creates more opportunities for innovative and brilliant people working in Australia, also it will bring more need for capital flow in order to boost economy through innovation and technology.

While the value of the grant provided to 500 Startups was not disclosed, LaunchVic said it dished out a total of AU$4.9 million to startup-focused initiatives in the second round of its funding program.

Recipients that received less than AU$1 million in the second round include Startmate, Girl Geek Academy, ACMI, Life, Seeva, Frankston Foundry, and Education Changemakers, with 500 Startups among those that received north of AU$1 million.

500 Startups is the second global accelerator program to receive funding from the Victorian government, with Startupbootcamp receiving AU$600,000 in LaunchVic’s first round of grants.

It’s also not the only US accelerator to make its way onto Australian shores in the last few months. In January, Boulder, Colorado-headquartered accelerator Techstars chose Adelaide as its first launch location in the Asia-Pacific region.

Techstars Adelaide will be a three-month defence and security-focused program with 10 startups receiving up to $120,000 each in exchange for 6 to 9 percent equity. The program is slated to take place from July to September this year.

In December last year, San Francisco-based curated co-working community RocketSpace partnered with Australian real estate group Dexus Property to launch a network of campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane to provide startups with desk space as well as access to capital, hands-on workshops, peer group roundtables, networking events, and corporate partnerships.

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