Australian Founders Launch A$15M Seed Fund
A group of founders and early employees from the Australian health-tech startup Eucalyptus have launched a new A$15 million fund. The group is targeting seed and Series A startups, aiming to counter the recent trend of massive, late-stage megadeals and back a new wave of Australian innovators.
The new fund, called "Episode 1," is led by Eucalyptus co-founder and CEO Tim Doyle, alongside co-founders Charlie Gearside, Benny Kleist, and Alexey Mitko. They are joined by other early employees of the health-tech company, pooling their capital and experience to invest in the next generation of Australian startups. Eucalyptus, the venture behind the new fund, was founded in 2019 and operates a portfolio of digital healthcare brands. These include Pilot for men's health, Juniper for weight management, Software for dermatology, and Kin for reproductive health. The company has expanded its services to the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. The launch of the seed fund follows the massive success of Eucalyptus itself. The company was recently acquired by the U.S.-based Hims & Hers Health for A$1.6 billion (US$1.15 billion). This major exit provided a significant financial return to the founders and early employees who are now backing the new fund. The A$15 million fund is strategically focused on seed and Series A investments, a segment of the Australian venture capital market that has seen comparatively less activity. In 2025, while total startup funding in Australia increased to $5.48 billion, the number of deals actually decreased, with a significant portion of capital flowing to large, late-stage companies. This focus on early-stage ventures aims to fill a critical gap in the local ecosystem. While late-stage funding rounds have been on the rise, seed and early-stage investment have seen a sharper decline. Just 7% of Australian venture capital funding goes to seed-stage companies, despite this stage historically generating outsized returns for investors. The founders' experience scaling Eucalyptus from a startup to a billion-dollar company will be a key part of their offering to new portfolio companies. CEO Tim Doyle, who previously worked at the mattress startup Koala, will be joining Hims & Hers as Senior Vice President of International as part of the acquisition.
