Startup investment analysis firm Techboard has extended the closing date for its annual Australian Angel Awards to November 7′ The awards celebrate the contribution Angel investors make to the startup ecosystem and overall economy and community in Australia, and this year are being supported by Angel Loop. Techboard CEO and cofounder Peter van Bruchem said Angel… Read more »
A new proptech startup designed to make moving less painful has raised $1.75 million in a Seed round. Sydney entrepreneur, Andrew Weinman developed Happly in early 2022, recruiting Jeremy Rosen, cofounder of mobile storage business Taxibox, as his co-CEO, 12 months ago before launching in Sydney this year. The free platform partners with the people… Read more »
Solar panel startup SunDrive has opened a pilot production and commercialisation facility in southern Sydney, having also landed another $11 million in funding from the government-backed Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen opened the plant in Kurnell on Wednesday. SunDrive, which has received extensive… Read more »
Workplace software giant Atlassian made a second acquisition in October, alongside its $1.5 billion M&A deal US video messaging startup Loom, snapping up Melbourne IT data quality management busines AirTrack. AirTrack helps enterprises gather, aggregate, and analyse multiple sources of data used across IT to make it easier to pinpoint and remediate any issues. The… Read more »
The 2023 Startup Muster report reveals how central artificial intelligence (AI) and impact principles are important to founders and central to the Australian ecosystem. The startup “census”, last released in 2018, saw more than 1100 people, including nearly 600 founders, answer a range of questions – delivering 165,000 responses – about the state of play… Read more »
National science agency CSIRO has expanded the qualifying criteria its Kick-Start program, which offers Australian small businesses can now access research and development (R&D) funding. Businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million are now eligible, up from the previous $1.5 million threshold. The Kick-Start program offers dollar-matched funding to access CSIRO’s research expertise… Read more »
Victoria’s startup agency, LaunchVic, is hoping to lure more venture capital to south, offering VC funds up to $300,000 in backing if they put up their shingle in the state. Eligible funds can either new or “new to Victoria,” under the incentive program, providing existing fund managers with operations elsewhere to set up local offices… Read more »
The $31 million Greenhouse climate tech hub has opened in Sydney’s newest skyscraper, Salesforce Tower. Four years in the making – the Covid pandemic slowed its opening by two years – Greenhouse has been backed by the City of Sydney with $31 million in funding, and is being run as a subsidiary of early-stage venture… Read more »
Sydney VC fund Investible is gearing up to launch a new global climate tech fund in a partnership with Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI). MCI is the VC subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest financial institution, Bank Mandiri. The joint venture Mandiri-Investible Global Climate Tech Fund will support and back climate tech startups in the Southeast Asia and… Read more »
Australian Red Cross innovation program Humanitech Lab has invested in two startups, Kara Technologies and AirSeed Technologies, with both receiving a $500,000 grant to take their ideas to the next level. Humanitech Lab is a mentoring and investment program harnessing technological innovation to meet critical humanitarian and social issues. It’s backed by the Telstra Foundation.… Read more »
UNSW Founders held its annual 10x Demo Day this week with 25 startups taking part, spanning programs focused on synthetic biology (synbio), climate, health, defence and an all-industries cohort that includes the crowd-lending impact platform LendForGood. The Climate 10x Accelerator was set up as part of the $280 million Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TraCE)… Read more »
Sydney quantum software startup Q-CTRL has partnered with Quad Investors Network (QUIN) to deliver quantum technology training in Australia and the US. Q-CTRL founder and CEO Professor Michael J Biercuk is currently in the US, and met with ambassador and former prime minister Kevin Rudd as the current PM, Anthony Albanese, visits the White House and… Read more »
Uber Australia has been fined $412,500 by regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after the rideshare and food delivery company sent more than 2 million emails in breach of Australian spam laws. An ACMA ivestigation concluded that Uber sent marketing emails to customers without an unsubscribe option, and on top of that, more… Read more »
GP-focused edtech Heidi Health has raised $10 million in a Series A. The round was once again led by Blackbird Ventures, with support from Hostplus, Hesta, Wormhole Capital, Archangel Ventures, Possible Ventures and Saniel Ventures. Heidi (rebranded from Oscar) previous raised $5 million in a Seed round led by Blackbird. The software platform enlists artificial… Read more »
Two local plant-based meat brands have merged as consumer interest in the sector wanes, alongside venture capital interest in the sector. All G Foods has spun out its Love Buds brand to joins vEEF by Fenn Foods to create a merged entity, the Aussie Plant Based Co. The two brands bring same, same but different,… Read more »
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