Seer Medical co-founder forced to revise key claims in Breakthrough Victoria dispute
The case between the state-based venture capital fund and a struggling portfolio company has become a flashpoint in the debate over government funding for startups.
The Victorian government's beleaguered tech investment vehicle Breakthrough Victoria has won a partial court victory in a dispute with the co-founder of portfolio company Seer Medical in a case that has become a flashpoint in the debate over public funding for startups.
Ousted Seer co-founder Dean Freestone is suing the medtech company and BV in the Federal Court alleging he was unfairly dismissed in March, in a period of mass layoffs at the company.
The layoffs came more than a year after BV made a $30 million investment in Seer Medical in July 2022, with the job cuts reported at the time as being linked to to a restructuring deal cut with new investors.
BV, which has been a lightning rod for criticism amid Victoria's worsening debt position, was set up in 2021 with a long term state budget commitment of $2 billion and as of June 2024 had received $585 million in state funding.
