All things tech and innovation. From first idea to fundable venture.
Venture build, research, and early capital for deep tech founders.
Venture building and advisory for highly regulated tech.
We exist to help good ideas move from concept to early-stage venture and growth, where the technology is highly regulated and/or solving a major problem across Australia's National Innovation Priorities.
Australia has world-class research, deep scientific talent, and genuine technology capability across advanced manufacturing, healthtech, cleantech, defencetech, agtech, and other priority sectors. What it has historically lacked is the right kind of build partner at the earliest stage: someone who understands both the technology and the regulatory environment, and who can help a founder move from a compelling idea to a fundable, market-ready company.
Sands Venture Labs was built to fill that gap. We bring together deep technology commercialisation expertise, extensive experience in the technology sector and national policy, and a genuine understanding of the regulatory frameworks that shape what is viable in Australia's priority innovation sectors. We work with founders and institutions before company formation, when the foundational decisions matter most.
Founded by people who have done it.
Sands Venture Labs is led by two principals who bring complementary expertise across deep technology commercialisation, the technology sector, and national policy.
Ilana Feain
Managing Director
Dr Ilana Feain is a physicist, entrepreneur, and deep-tech commercialisation specialist with a career spanning astrophysics, medical physics, space technology and tech policy research. She has held leadership roles in major scientific and commercial ventures, and served most recently as the Head of Research at the Tech Council of Australia. Ilana co-founded Leo Cancer Care, a pioneering medtech company, and spearheaded the creation of Quasar Satellite Technologies, an Australian spacetech venture in phased-array communications. She brings to Sands Venture Labs a rare combination of scientific depth, commercial experience, and a track record of building tech ventures from research to market.
Deep tech commercialisation, space and sensing technologies, medical technology, research-to-market strategy
Damian Kassabgi
Managing Director
Damian Kassabgi brings extensive experience across the technology sector, national policy, and public affairs. He served most recently as CEO of the Tech Council of Australia, the peak body for Australia's technology industry, and has held senior roles at Afterpay, Uber, and Google. Damian also brings deep experience in the public sector and national policy development, having previously held leadership roles within the offices of two Prime Ministers. He brings to Sands Venture Labs a unique combination of technology sector leadership, policy expertise, and an understanding of the commercial and regulatory environment that shapes Australia's innovation economy.
Technology sector strategy, national policy, public affairs, commercial leadership
Deliberate. Rigorous. Sector-specific.
We work with a small number of ventures
We are not a volume business. We work with a carefully selected group of founders and institutions at any one time, which means every engagement receives the full depth of our attention and expertise.
We operate at the earliest stage
Our work begins before company formation. We are most useful and most differentiated at the stage where the foundational architecture of a venture is being designed.
We bring sector-specific knowledge
We do not offer generic venture build or advisory services. Our expertise is specific to highly regulated technology sectors aligned with Australia's National Innovation Priorities, including advanced manufacturing, healthtech, cleantech, defencetech, and agtech.
Work with us.
We partner with technology founders at the pre-seed stage and with institutional partners seeking rigorous venture build and advisory capability.