ICT start-ups dominate $10.4 million Commercialisation Australia round

More than 25 businesses will share in $10.4 million in the latest round of Commercialisation Australia grants, with 11 of the winners coming from the information and communications technology sector.

Commercialisation Australia is a Federal Government initiative aimed at helping researchers, entrepreneurs and innovative companies convert ideas into successful commercial ventures.

The maximum funding amount is $2 million.

According to Industry and Innovation Minister Greg Combet, the latest funding round highlights the government’s commitment to entrepreneurs, “to improve efficiency and productivity”.

“The government has allocated $10.4 million to transform 28 leading-edge inventions into money-making products, services and processes,” Combet said in a statement.

“This is an effective program, as getting inventions into the marketplace is the key to ensuring both industry and the community benefit from innovation.”

One company that almost received the full funding amount is On-Market Bookbuilds, based in NSW and led by Ben Bucknell, which received $1,846,466.

On-Market Bookbuilds is a patented process to more efficiently price and allocate private placements and initial public offerings.

“This innovation will allow all eligible investors to participate in placements and IPOs via a fair and transparent process,” it says.

“Australian companies would benefit from access to a larger pool of potential investors and a competitive pricing mechanism.”

The funding will be used to hire an experienced business development team to enable the development of an early-stage marketing and sales post-launch strategy.

It will also allow the company to extend its patent protection to the world’s largest capital markets.

Of the 28 businesses that received funding, 11 operate in the ICT sector, including Run With Robots, a cross-platform system for mobile online social game development.

Based in South Australia, Run With Robots has developed Roar Engine – a game development software suite.

The platform allows developers to concentrate on the design and logic of the game without having to figure out back-end technology issues, as this is delivered via pre-built game building blocks.

“Roar Engine has the potential to be a cross-platform solution allowing developers to implement their games on the web and on mobile devices such as iPhones, Android smartphones and tablets,” the company says.

The funding will be used for a proof-of-concept trial with new channel and distribution partners.

Another noteworthy funding recipient is Beat the Q, a smartphone app that allows people to order and pay for coffee and food in advance. It is already used by 27 cafés in Sydney.

“The technology is designed to work with computers, tablets or mobile phones and is optimised for touch smartphones,” company chief Adam Theobald says.

“The technology delivers greater efficiency for businesses, with orders arriving electronically to an installed terminal.”

The funding will enable Beat the Q to engage expert advisers to assist in areas such as legal, capital raising and other advice to aid its commercial expansion.