What is it all about?

As part of Hort Innovation’s Frontiers program, this project has established a dedicated venture fund focused on investing into high-growth, early-stage agrifoodtech businesses for the horticulture sector.  

The investment aims to accelerate innovation across the horticulture value chain by supporting early-stage businesses with the potential to deliver meaningful benefits for growers, supply chains and the broader industry.

The venture fund will invest in research-intensive companies spanning areas such as automation, robotics, IoT and other adjacent technologies relevant to horticulture. Targeting businesses from pre-seed stage through to Series A, the fund will help promising companies commercialise and scale technologies that address industry challenges and unlock new opportunities for productivity, sustainability and profitability.

A key objective of the fund is to strengthen the connection between innovation and industry adoption. By supporting the development and commercialisation of emerging technologies, the investment will help bring new products, services and business models to Australian growers and the horticulture value chain. The approach is expected to foster stronger collaboration between industry, researchers, investors and technology companies, helping accelerate the translation of innovation into practical outcomes.

The investment will operate over a seven-year period to FY2030/31, providing long-term support for innovation and industry transformation. By attracting and growing high-growth potential companies with relevance to horticulture, the venture fund will contribute to a thriving research and development ecosystem while helping build a more productive, resilient and sustainable Australian horticulture industry.