ACTivate Capital Research
Investment Thesis
ACTivate Capital is a Canberra-based, ACT Government-backed early-stage venture capital fund built to keep the Australian Capital Territory's best deep-tech founders funded and headquartered locally. Its stated mission is "we invest in Canberra," leveraging the region's concentration of research institutions (ANU, CSIRO, University of Canberra, UNSW Canberra) and defence/government proximity to source founders commercializing institutional IP. The firm explicitly frames its mandate around dual objectives: strong financial returns and measurable positive impact for the local innovation ecosystem, including job creation. Fund Manager Ken Kroeger has framed the pitch bluntly: "Good companies can always find money - but money often takes you away from Canberra. Performance is our primary measure, but purpose matters too."
Stage Focus
ACTivate Capital invests at pre-seed, seed, and early Series A. The fund plans to back roughly 10-15 startups over the next decade, implying a highly selective, concentrated portfolio strategy rather than a high-volume seed program.
Check Size
Specific check-size ranges are not disclosed on the firm's website or in press coverage. Given a $50M target fund deploying into 10-15 companies over a decade (with reserves for follow-on), typical initial checks are likely in the low-to-mid six figures, but this is inferred rather than confirmed.
Lead Tendency
Not explicitly stated. As the primary institutional early-stage capital source in the ACT with government backing, ACTivate Capital is plausibly positioned to lead or co-lead local rounds, but no public source confirms lead tendency.
Recent Activity
ACTivate Capital launched publicly in November 2025 with a target fund size of AUD $50 million and an initial close of AUD $23 million. Cornerstone and founding limited partners include the ACT Government, UNSW Canberra, and local family offices, with Epicorp serving as General Partner. As a newly launched fund (November 2025), no individual portfolio investments made directly by ACTivate Capital have been publicly disclosed as of this research; the fund is in its early deployment phase.
Portfolio Highlights
ACTivate Capital's own site and launch coverage foreground the 20+ year track record of its predecessor entities, Epicorp and ANU Connect Ventures, which invested more than AUD $60 million since 2002 into more than 40 Canberra startups, generating roughly a 3x fund multiple and a 14% gross IRR historically. Named alumni companies from that legacy track record include Seeing Machines (computer vision, ASX-listed), Instaclustr (managed open-source data infrastructure, later acquired by NetApp), Windlab (renewable energy/wind resource assessment), Cohda Wireless (vehicle-to-everything connectivity), and Mediaware (broadcast media technology). These are legacy investments of the predecessor funds rather than ACTivate Capital's own post-launch deals, but the firm presents this history as direct pedigree and the same team/GP (Epicorp) carries it forward.
Team
- Ken Kroeger, Fund Manager - 25 years turning ideas into businesses across computer vision, mining, automotive, and simulation.
- Michael Cardew-Hall, General Partner & Board Chair - Former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Innovation at ANU; deep technology-transfer expertise.
- Victor Pantano, General Partner - Background in defence, space, and clean energy; Eureka Prize winner.
- James Palmer, CFO & Director - Former CFO at Seeing Machines and archTIS; prior EY partner.
- Kerrie Jackson, COO - Deep-tech commercialisation expert; former roles at ANU and the Cybersecurity CRC.
- Jenny Paven, Finance Manager.
- Murray Rankin, Investment Committee Chair - 30+ years of experience; angel investor in 20+ startups.
- Simon Uzcilas, Investment Committee Member - 25+ years of venture experience.
- Anne-Marie Perret, Director - Focus on biotech, defence, ICT, and renewable energy.
- Brian Schmidt, Director - Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist; former ANU Vice-Chancellor.
- Ian Cox, Director - ACT innovation-policy strategist who helped shape the CBR Innovation Network.
Decision Process
The fund has a formal Investment Committee (chaired by Murray Rankin, with Simon Uzcilas as a member) that sits alongside a broader board of directors, indicating an investment-committee-driven decision process rather than solo-GP or informal partnership sign-off.
Founder Preferences
The firm's stated approach is founder-focused mentorship beyond capital, explicitly targeting entrepreneurs commercializing research and institutional IP out of Canberra's university and research-agency ecosystem (ANU, CSIRO, UNSW Canberra, University of Canberra). Sector emphasis - defence, quantum, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and AI - suggests a preference for technical, often PhD-adjacent or research-spinout founders rather than generic consumer or B2B SaaS builders.
Geographic Focus
Exclusively Canberra / Australian Capital Territory-based founders and companies. This is a defining, non-negotiable mandate constraint rather than a soft preference.