Two Australian deeptech startups form $150m company

Two Australian start-ups, NextOre and MRead, have merged to form MagnaTerra Technologies, valued at US$150 million.

Both companies originated from CSIRO and use magnetic resonance technology to detect minerals, explosives, and narcotics.

NextOre, founded in 2017, developed sensors to separate copper ore from waste.

MRead created landmine detectors with greater accuracy than traditional metal detectors.

After the merger, NextOre shareholders hold a 65% stake in MagnaTerra.

The deal included an US$11 million capital raise, led by RFC Ambrian’s QCM Fund, with investment from Shaw and Partners and private investors. CSIRO retains a one-third ownership stake.

John Shanahan, former CEO of MRead, will lead MagnaTerra.

🔗 Source: The Australian Financial Review

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Deep tech commercialization remains a bright spot in Australia’s innovation landscape

MagnaTerra exemplifies the growing success of commercializing scientific research from national laboratories, highlighting a path for translating public R&D into economic value.

This merger represents RFC Ambrian’s second major CSIRO commercialization success, following gold sample testing company Chrysos which listed on the ASX in 2022, showing a repeatable pattern for bringing government research to market.

The $150 million valuation demonstrates significant investor confidence in deep tech applications of magnetic resonance technology, comparable to growth trends in the broader sensing technology market where global MRI equipment sales alone are projected to reach $10.8 billion by 2030 1.

Similar to how medical MRI revolutionized diagnostics, industrial applications of magnetic resonance are finding high-value applications in critical sectors like mining and security, attracting strategic corporate investors like Worley and Codan Group who provided early capital.

This pattern of successful commercialization stands in contrast to Australia’s historically mixed record in translating research into commercial ventures, suggesting a maturing ecosystem for deep tech spinouts.