Press Release
Silicon Catalyst Expands to Australia Partnering with the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund: Building a Bridge from Australia to Silicon Valley
Santa Clara, California and Brisbane, Queensland Australia, October 31, 2025
Silicon Catalyst, the only accelerator focused on the global semiconductor industry, announced today the launch of SiliconCatalyst.AU and ChipStart AU. Silicon Catalyst’s proven model to fast-track startup innovation globally is porting its platform locally to the Australian start-up community with the mission to help semiconductor hardware start-ups succeed. Australia joins a string of countries and regions including the UK, the EU, Israel, and Japan, expanding Silicon Catalyst’s global footprint. The ecosystem that Silicon Catalyst has created lowers the capital expenses associated with the design and fabrication of silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs), sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices by providing advanced design tools and services from a comprehensive network of In-Kind Partners (IKPs). The startup Portfolio Companies in the Accelerator leverage IKP tools and services, including design tools, simulation software, design services, foundry PDK access and MPW runs, test program development, tester access, banking and legal services. The world-class Silicon Catalyst network of advisors and investors further facilitates their journey from idea through prototype toward volume production.
ChipStart is a global pre-seed “startup recipe” which accelerates founder’s time to product and market, going from idea to silicon without needing millions in up-front capital. Startups get access to EDA licenses, IP libraries, and production multi-project wafers with our ecosystem partners like TSMC, Synopsys, GlobalFoundries, Arm, and MathWorks. And even more importantly for Australian startups, they tap into a network of 400 advisors—experienced chip executives, technologists, and investors, with most based in Silicon Valley. The same ChipStart model has worked brilliantly in the U.K. and across Europe, and now extended to Australia. For Australian founders, it’s a bridge straight into Silicon Valley including global customers, investors, advisors, partners and inspirational pioneers of tech. The model also affords tapping into unique Australian talent working in Silicon Valley who have signed up as advisors specifically to support young Australian startups. These include key technical staff at some of the top companies in Silicon Valley.
The launch of SiliconCatalyst.AU and ChipStart AU is a national program finding its roots in Queensland. The state has been a standout in supporting advanced manufacturing and deep tech, with strong university clusters and pragmatic policy. Through our partnership with the $130 million QIC-managed Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund, we are launching a valuable program for accelerating Queensland semiconductor and quantum startups.
James Lougheed, President of SiliconCatalyst.AU, brings a proven track record as a seasoned semiconductor executive with international experience as well as being an Australian citizen, born and bred. He has 30 years of experience in the global Semiconductor and electronics industry living and working in Singapore, China and the US. James most recently ran the largest business unit at MaxLinear as VP & GM of the High-Performance Analog & Accelerator group and prior to that was Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at Exar Corporation. He has also held management positions at Cirrus Logic, Apexone Microelectronics, Future Electronics and EDMI.
“Australia has always punched above its weight in research—photonics, quantum, and materials—but we’ve historically been light on commercialization. The engineering talent and creativity are there, but founders often lack the support structure that helps transform prototypes into products and revenue,” said Mr. Lougheed. “We’ve had important tech hardware research commercialization successes like Cochlear and Resmed but the wins have been too rare. That’s changing. State and federal governments are backing advanced manufacturing and sovereign-chip capability, and organizations like Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) are taking real leadership. QIC are demonstrating vision—backing multiple accelerators under the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (VCDF), a Queensland Government program managed by QIC. The VCDF is an ideal founding partner for us as we bring ChipStart AU to life, being another international program driven by the Silicon Catalyst model and ecosystem. Australia now has a wave of hardware companies making great strides. Now is the time for Silicon Catalyst to play its part to accelerate this momentum,” added Lougheed.
“The Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund is proud to be backing Silicon Catalyst in bringing its proven semiconductor and quantum accelerator model to Australia,” said Leo Channon, QIC Ventures Investment Director. “The addition of Silicon Catalyst and its ChipStart AU program is an excellent complement to Queensland’s growing deep-tech ecosystem, providing critical pathways for semiconductor and quantum startups to scale from prototype to production. This collaboration underscores Queensland’s ambition to be a leading hub for advanced manufacturing, quantum, and silicon technologies.”
SiliconCatalyst.AU and ChipStart AU are interested in startups working on everything from low-power IoT and RF systems to quantum hardware and sensors—applications from Space and Defense to Medtech to AgTech – anything that benefits from silicon innovation. Australia has proven it can build world-class enterprise SaaS companies—think Atlassian and Canva—so now it’s time to replicate that commercialization success into more hardware wins.
“We’re building the infrastructure for innovation. By linking Australia’s brilliant research base with a proven global commercialization platform, we can fast-track the next generation of chip startups,” said Pete Rodriguez, CEO of Silicon Catalyst. “Our goal is to create an environment where a founder in Queensland can prototype, validate, and tape-out silicon with the same tools and mentorship as someone in San Jose. It’s about leveling the playing field, derisking the equation for investors, and ultimately exporting Aussie innovation to the world. We’re delighted to welcome our newest partner from down under.”
The program is now open and accepting applications. Applications for cohort 2026 will close 30th November 2025. For more details on SiliconCatalyst.AU, click on this link, and for direct applications, click on this link