Fast-growing Brisbane tech firm Skedulo secures backing from $100m QIC-managed fund

A fast-growing Brisbane tech start-up will ramp up the size of its workforce after securing backing from a $100m QIC-managed investment fund.

Skedulo co-founder and chief executive Matt Fairhurst.

A fast-growing Brisbane tech start-up which played a critical role in the fight against the pandemic has just secured backing from a $100m QIC-managed investment fund.

Skedulo, launched just nine years ago in Brisbane and now operating globally, deployed its cloud-based software to help schedule about 10 per cent of all the Covid vaccinations in the US.

The equity stake taken by the Queensland government’s $100m Business Investment Fund follows a $US75m ($101m) injection by Japanese investment bank SoftBank last year and another $40m from other investors previously.

Chief executive Matt Fairhurst, a software engineer and former QUT student who co-founded the company, welcomed the latest injection of capital, which will help grow his Fortitude Valley workforce from 70 to 105 over the next 18 months.

“As we keep expanding internationally our biggest team is still in Brisbane, leading our engineering and product development,” Mr Fairhurst said Tuesday.

Skedulo allows companies in any industry to remotely manage the scheduling of their workforce and gather other key performance data.

The service, which has a starting cost of $59 per month, has taken off as greater numbers of people work from home or outside of traditional office spaces.

“Our mission at Skedulo has always been to support the 80 per cent of workers who do not work at a desk every day—and the companies that employ them,’’ Mr Fairhurst said.

He said the influx of money, which has sparked speculation that Skedulo may be headed for an IPO, will allow the company “to double down on our work to champion the hugely underserved deskless workforce’’.

Skedulo co-founder and chief executive Matt Fairhurst. Source: supplied.

“This cements our progress in enabling more deskless workers from around the world to focus on the important work they do, from mobile phlebotomists and solar technicians, to commercial cleaning professionals and vaccination administrators,’’ he said.

Last year Mr Fairhurst said the company surpassed 35 million scheduled appointments around the world via the Skedulo platform.

With a majority of America’s 330 million population now vaccinated, that number has grown substantially. Major US sports associations, including the NBA and NFL, as well as the public education system, were among those who chose to use Skedulo to coordinate their vaccine roll outs.

The $100m Business Investment Fund, overseen by the government-owned Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), has previously taken equity stakes in Gilmour Space Technologies, Buildsafe and VALD.

It’s part of the government’s $3.3bn Queensland Jobs Fund, which incentivises business owners to move to the state or expand their existing operations.

Treasurer Cameron Dick, the Minister for Trade and Investment, said the funding was aimed squarely at creating more high-value tech jobs in the state.

“Skedulo has demonstrated significant success in recent years, and our government is excited to partner with them and contribute to their next phase of growth,” Mr Dick said.

“Even with five offices across the world now, including San Francisco, London, Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney, Skedulo continues to recognise the benefits of doing business in Queensland.

“By investing in Skedulo’s future, locally, we’re ensuring more homegrown talent stays in the Sunshine State.”