Matt Berriman, the man who founded fast-growing mobile advertising start-up Unlockd before it went bust due to a run-in with Google, will make his return to the local tech start-up scene as the bearer of a $US700 million ($946 million) cheque, on behalf of a US-based SPAC, looking to buy one or two local firms and list them on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr Berriman has taken on a number of investment and advisory roles since closing down Unlockd in 2018, but has now added the position of senior advisor to the SPAC – or special purpose acquisition company – Tailwind, which has launched three NYSE-listed SPACs, raising over $US1 billion.