The Queensland Government Commits to Supporting a HealthTech Startup Community on the Gold Coast

Under a new agreement, the Queensland Government has locked in its long-term support for Australia’s leading early-stage healthtech program, LuminaX, ensuring Australian HealthTech upstart-ups find a community on the Gold Coast.

Economic Development Queensland has secured the LuminaX Accelerator to take place in Lumina, the Queensland Government’s 9.5 hectare development-ready land site dedicated to life sciences, health and technology on the Gold Coast.

In 2019, the failure rate of start-ups was around 90%, with 21.5% failing in the first year and 30% in the second year. According to research from CBInsights, 38% of start-ups failed due to a lack of funds and failure to raise capital, and 35% failed due to their inability to find product-market fit.

Delivered by Cohort Innovation Space, the Queensland Government’s coworking, innovation and laboratory space, the LuminaX Accelerator will support start-ups through these challenges by providing them with comprehensive support and taking them through a rapid and immersive educational program including a focus on customer discovery, customer validation and capital raising.

Each year the accelerator will validate and commercialise 10 high-growth start-ups with a focus on companies that are using technology or Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve problems in the medical and health care space.

Economic Development Queensland’s continued support for the accelerator program will help Cohort Innovation Space deliver on its five year aim to create a commercial cluster of 50 high-growth start-ups in the HealthTech sector within Lumina, diversifying the Gold Coast’s economy and boosting knowledge based jobs in the region.

LuminaX start-ups and alumni will join Lumina-based businesses and benefit from more than $5 billion of health, education and transport infrastructure already invested in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, including two light rail stations, Griffith University, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast Private Hospital, and residential and retail community Smith Collective.

The Queensland Government join the City of Gold Coast, VentureCrowd, the Mater, IntelliHQ and Bond University as partners of the accelerator.

Applications for 2022 LuminaX Accelerator opened on 28 February and close on 12 April. The 14-week program will take place from May through to August 2022 at Cohort Innovation Space.

Apply HERE