Main Sequence is a venture capital firm founded by CSIRO in 2017 that invests in early-stage deep tech startups across Australia. The firm manages the CSIRO Innovation Funds and focuses specifically on commercializing science-based research originating from publicly funded institutions. Main Sequence targets startups with science at their core and established connections to academic or government research programs, providing both capital and operational expertise to bridge what they term the "valley of death" between laboratory discovery and viable commercial enterprises.
The firm's investment mandate centers on deep tech domains where scientific breakthroughs translate into deployable technologies. Main Sequence works with founders transitioning from academic research environments to entrepreneurship, offering not just funding but also networks and specialized knowledge in scaling science-based ventures. Their portfolio companies are characterized by technically ambitious foundations - often emerging from years of fundamental research - that require patient capital and domain expertise to reach commercial deployment.
Led by CEO Bill Bartee, Main Sequence operates as a bridge between Australia's publicly funded research infrastructure and commercial markets. The firm's model addresses the specific challenges faced by researcher-founders: navigating regulatory pathways for novel technologies, building engineering teams capable of translating prototypes into production systems, and establishing supply chains for components or materials that may not have existing commercial sources. Their focus on startups solving large-scale technical problems means portfolio companies typically face multi-year development timelines and require deep technical validation before market entry.