Demand for innovation-led assets is rising among Australian investors, but access gaps, limited information and funding constraints are stopping more capital from reaching emerging businesses.

New research from Black Tie Holdings, a Sydney-based digital capital markets business focused on real-world asset tokenisation, shows strong investor appetite across technology, healthcare, biotechnology, clean energy and fintech.

The Future of Funding & Innovation Report 2026-27 draws on survey responses from 100 Australian investors and interviews with industry leaders across funding, research and development, tokenisation and natural resources.

It shows that 86% of respondents are interested in investing in innovation-driven businesses or startups, while 90% report moderate-to-high risk tolerance. Technology was the most attractive sector, cited by 30% of investors, followed by healthcare and biotechnology at 20%, clean energy and sustainability at 14%, and fintech at 13%.

Access remains a major barrier. A lack of reliable and transparent information was named by 26% of respondents, followed by high perceived risk at 24% and insufficient capital at 19%.

Mind the gap

Caroline Macdonald, founder and CEO of Black Tie Holdings Group, said the findings show a disconnect between investor appetite and the infrastructure available to support it.

“Australian investors are ready to deploy capital into innovation right now,” Macdonald said. “The appetite and risk tolerance is there, and the sectors are clear, with technology, health and biotech, clean energy, and fintech top of mind. What’s missing is the infrastructure to connect investors with the right opportunities at the right time.”

She said digital marketplaces and tokenisation could help reduce information gaps and broaden access to higher-quality investment opportunities.

More than half of respondents were described as selective investors, backing opportunities when they align with their personal or financial objectives. A further 30% were highly active investors that proactively look for new opportunities.

Return expectations are also shaping behaviour. Many investors want innovation-related returns within shorter timeframes, with 42% preferring a one-to-three-year horizon. Black Tie said this could support faster scaling, while making it harder to fund longer-cycle areas such as biotech, deep technology and digital infrastructure.

Tokenisation and access

Tokenisation of real-world assets is identified as one of the near-term opportunities for Australia’s funding market. The process divides assets into smaller digital units, enabling fractional investment, secondary trading and broader access to asset classes that have historically been illiquid or limited to narrower investor networks.

Karan Bhai, vice president of products and delivery at Antier Solutions, said tokenisation is moving from experimentation into financial market infrastructure.

“Over the next three to five years, tokenisation will move from being a blockchain narrative to becoming a financial markets standard,” Bhai said.

He added that real-world asset tokenisation depends on legal structuring, compliance, custody and liquidity, meaning institutional capital and regulatory clarity will be central to its development.

Wider adoption will depend on investor education, regulatory confidence and credible market infrastructure, particularly as tokenised assets move into more mainstream financial use cases.

R&D gap

Black Tie also pointed to Australia’s underperformance in research and development compared with OECD peers. The country’s R&D Tax Incentive supports about 14,000 companies annually at a cost of $4 billion, but many eligible businesses remain unaware of the support available.

Marty Gauvin, principal advisor of R&D Certainty and one of the industry experts featured in the research, said the issue extends beyond awareness.

“A comfortable life can lead to complacency,” Gauvin said. “Businesses are often receiving very conservative advice and missing out on the government-led support that’s consistent with their goals. We need to elevate the R&D conversation at every level: government, business, and advisory.”

Black Tie said improved access to vetted opportunities, lower minimum investment thresholds, targeted tax incentives and government-backed programmes could encourage more capital into innovation-led assets.