Clive Dickens’ Meliora Company has unveiled a $3m pre-seed AI investment fund focused on CTO-led startups building practical, vertical AI and generative products. Backed by high-profile advisors and early bets on emerging Australian ventures, the fund pairs capital with hands-on execution to accelerate real-world AI adoption and durable returns.
Clive Dickens has spent much of his career helping organisations navigate digital transformation. Now, through The Meliora Company, he is betting that the next wave of transformation will not be driven by broad AI ambition but by tightly focused, CTO-led startups turning artificial intelligence into measurable commercial advantage.
Meliora has announced Meliora Ventures Fund One (MVF1), a specialist $3 million USD pre-seed investment fund dedicated to early-stage companies building what Dickens calls “AI where it is the clear differentiator.” The fund is being raised from sophisticated wholesale investors and will concentrate on Vertical AI startups, generative AI products and SaaS technologies where artificial intelligence is not a feature but the core engine of value.
The logic behind the fund is as much operational as it is financial. Dickens and his team are convinced that the real winners in the current AI cycle will be companies that shorten build cycles, tighten unit economics and create products customers adopt faster because AI has been woven into the foundation, not added on top.
“We are investing where AI is the clear differentiator,” said Dickens, Managing Partner at Meliora. “We are focused on CTO-led companies, Vertical AI startups, Generative AI products, SaaS technology with an AI edge, and related technology that unlocks international scale.”
For Meliora, the emphasis on CTO-led founders is deliberate. The firm believes that the people best placed to translate AI potential into practical, shippable products are those who understand the technical constraints and opportunities from day one. Rather than chasing concept-driven startups, Meliora is seeking teams that are already building, iterating and solving for real-world use cases in specific industries.
MVF1 is structured not just as a source of capital but as an extension of Meliora’s advisory capabilities. Dickens argues that early-stage founders often need more than funding; they need commercial strategy, operational discipline and access to networks that can help them move from prototype to scalable business.
“Our aim is simple: to compound outcomes for investors through disciplined entry, concentrated support and transparent governance,” he said. “We pair capital with execution through our Meliora advisory arm, resulting in a portfolio designed for repeatable wins, co-investment opportunities and durable returns.”
That approach is already visible in Meliora’s existing investments. The firm has backed AI-focused startups including IV.AI, Relevance AI and Source, working closely with founding teams to accelerate growth through hands-on strategy and commercial guidance. Those experiences have informed the thesis behind MVF1 and the conviction that a tightly curated portfolio of AI-native companies can outperform broader early-stage bets.
Meliora has also confirmed it will participate in the upcoming funding rounds for two Australian AI startups, Springboards.AI and StoryDesk.AI. Both companies, according to Dickens, exemplify the type of founder profile and product focus the fund is seeking.
“We are excited to be investing in these two rising stars in the Australian AI space,” he said. “Both Springboards.AI and StoryDesk.AI epitomise what we are looking for: CTO-led companies with a clear focus on unlocking the exciting potential of AI within a particular vertical industry.”
Jack Lonergan, Partner at Meliora, sees these companies as early indicators of a broader shift in how AI is being productised.
“We are seeing a huge range of startups who are now unlocking the massive potential of AI and the large language models that underpin it, and then turning that into tangible new products that are not only transformative for businesses but significantly simplify and improve the daily lives of their consumers,” he said. “Meliora’s Ventures Fund One seeks to be at the forefront of that wave, empowering focused, entrepreneurial teams to solve real world problems in highly innovative ways for the first 1.2 billion weekly active AI users across the world.”
To strengthen the fund’s ability to support founders from pre-seed through early scale, Meliora has brought on two high-profile strategic advisors. Shazam co-founder Chris Barton and former Singtel Optus and Seven West Media senior executive William Hedberg will lend their expertise to the fund, working alongside the Meliora team to identify opportunities and mentor portfolio companies.
Both advisors have deep experience guiding technology businesses through early growth phases, and Dickens believes their involvement adds both credibility and practical value to the fund’s proposition.
“I’m very excited that we’ve been able to attract two entrepreneurs of Chris and William’s calibre to partner with us and lend their expertise as advisors, as Meliora Ventures explores investment opportunities both internationally and here in Australia,” he said.
The timing of MVF1 reflects a broader moment in the AI ecosystem. As enthusiasm for generative AI continues to surge, many investors are struggling to separate sustainable businesses from speculative experiments. Meliora’s thesis is that the most compelling opportunities lie in startups that apply AI in narrow, industry-specific contexts where value can be demonstrated quickly and adoption follows naturally.
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