The NSW government has launched a new $20 million fund aimed at helping startups and innovative companies turn emerging technologies into commercial products. It also announced new grants for several bioscience startups.
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Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Anoulack Chanthivong revealed the Emerging Technologies Commercialisation Fund at an event at Sydney’s climate tech hub, Greenhouse, last week.
The fund was first outlined in the 2025–26 NSW budget and forms part of the government’s Innovation Blueprint, its broader plan for supporting innovation and research commercialisation in NSW. The first funding round has a $7 million pool.
Chanthivong said the program is aimed at a common challenge faced by emerging technology companies trying to bring innovations to market.
“It targets the well-known ‘gap’ in the innovation pipeline: the stage where promising technologies have early evidence but still need funding and support to mature into investable, scalable solutions,” he said.
“The new fund does this through repayable grants that help de-risk development and accelerate commercialisation outcomes.”
The program incorporates elements of the state’s Biosciences Fund and Physical Sciences Fund, while expanding support to technologies that could strengthen local manufacturing capability.
Alongside the announcement, the government also revealed new recipients of the $4.75 million Biosciences Fund, a commercialisation program supporting biotechnology and life sciences startups.
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The latest round included All G, which is developing infant nutrition designed to more closely replicate the composition of human breast milk. HydGene Renewables also received funding for a biocatalyst technology that converts waste biomass into green hydrogen used to produce industrial chemicals such as ammonia and methanol.
Funding also went to Number 8 Bio, which is developing a methane inhibitor designed to reduce emissions from cattle and sheep. The startup received $11 million in a Series A round back in November.
Swan Genomics received support for a simplified DNA sequencing platform aimed at making the technology cheaper and more accessible for hospitals and diagnostic laboratories.
