Data centre founder Boorer backs Canberra's $50m tech fund

Per the report, the fund is the fourth from founder Fiona Hindmarsh. Investment banker Rob Snow was appointed general partner. The Snow family, the Hindmarshes and data centre pioneer and CDC founder Greg Boorer will invest alongside.

The numbers

According to Region Canberra, the fund aims to back about 20 pre-revenue startups. It hopes to tap the AI-driven boom in digital infrastructure and in newer industries such as robotics, automation, energy systems and health technology, along with national defence needs.

The paper also reports that the government-supported Canberra Innovation Network, led by chief executive Petr Adamek, has put about $900 million into the local economy over 10 years. Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the investments reflected confidence in Canberra’s innovation ecosystem, and the report says the new capital signals a maturing market.

What the report does not say

The article does not name any data centre project, site or investment the fund will make, and it does not link the fund to CDC’s Beard campus. Fiona Hindmarsh described the sector as at “a generational turn”, the paper says.

What’s next

The first investments will show which of the roughly 20 early startups the fund backs, and whether any serve the digital infrastructure market. No investments are named yet.