On Monday, as federal treasurer Jim Chalmers sent his first Labor budget to the printers, a bunch of PRs on expensive retainers to startups sent Startup Daily their pre-budget wish lists. It was little like emailing Santa you Amazon gift list on Christmas eve. On Tuesday, Chalmers delivered socks, jocks and chocolates in the second… Read more »
Australian VC Square Peg Capital has raised US$550 million (A$860m) for its fifth fund, which it plans to use to continue backing its existing portfolio companies in later stage raises. The new fund takes total capital Square Peg has raised in a decade to more than US$1.6 billion (A$2.5bn) using the funds to back companies… Read more »
Victoria’s government-backed startup agency, LaunchVic, is supporting three local accelerator programs with a total of $3.1 million in funding. CEO Dr Kate Cornick the funds will help fast track the growth of up to 160 local startups. “By backing programs with a proven track record of helping founders, we will ensure LaunchVic supports our rapidly… Read more »
Climate tech startup Greener has raised a strategic $4 million in a Series A to help small businesses move towards net zero emissions The round was led by NAB Ventures with support from RealVC. The company previously raised $1 million in Seed funding 12 months ago. Founder Tom Ferrier said 300g of CO2 is attached… Read more »
New innovation and investment firm, Skafold signed on former Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas as its new senior technology advisor. The role is responsible for exploring and advising all Skafold activities related to blockchain, digital currencies, digital regulation and technology more broadly. Skafold’s diverse innovation and investment ecosystem works closely with innovators and entrepreneurs to… Read more »
Supermarket giant Coles will begin delivering groceries to customers via drone from next month as part of a trial with the Alphabet subsidiary Wing. The drone delivery trial in South East Queensland kicks off next Wednesday, November 2, and will cover the Gold Coast suburbs of Ormeau, Ormeau Hills, and Yatala with orders from the… Read more »
A $3 billion plan to build twin office towers at Sydney’s Tech Central, next to the Atlassian tower currently under construction, has been approved by the City of Sydney. Central Place Sydney, a joint project between Dexus and Frasers Property Group, is adjacent to Central Station at the southern end of Henry Deane Plaza, sits beside Atlassian’s 40-story… Read more »
Electricity retailer Amber has raised $13.4 million in a Series B extension. The additional funding comes nearly 18 months after the Commonwealth Bank backed Amber’s initial $20 million Series B round in May 2021. CBA and another existing backer Square Peg led the round, with motoring mutual the NRMA investing as part of its focus… Read more »
Brisbane turns its attention to tech this week with a series of events celebrating the best of Queensland fast-growing tech and startup sector. The week-long Something Fest, Queensland’s digital, innovation and technology festival, kicks off on Monday with the Something X, an all-day conference organised by the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur that brings together globally renowned… Read more »
Global tech giant Microsoft is taking on Canva with a new free graphic design app in Microsoft 365. A web preview of the Designer app is already available for early use, with the company’s corporate VP, Liat Ben-Zur, saying the app is born out of PowerPoint, where Designer uses AI to make template suggestions as you… Read more »
Nola, a computer vision startup that helps businesses estimate where people will be and when, alongside helping customers find the shortest queues at events, has raised $200,000 from VC and accelerator program Skalata Ventures. Cofounder Victoria Zorin came up with the idea three years ago as her frustration grew while stuck in queues at a… Read more »
New Zealand martech startup eVouch has raised NZ$500,000 (A$450,000) in a pre-Seed round. The raise was backed by leading NZ VC GD1, along with Phase One and Uniservices and several others. The capital will support growing international demand, and to bring on more developer support. Founder Eugene Yao initially launched eVouch as a way to help local… Read more »
Edtech platform Clipboard, which helps school manage the extracurricular activities of students, has raised $3.1 million. The round was led by SaaS-focused Sydney VC EVP, with support from existing backer Jelix Ventures, and Sprint Ventures., Clipboard is an online attendance tracking system that streamlines timely communication for staff, students and parents as students move around… Read more »
Canberra food tech startup Nourish Ingredients has raised US$28.6 million (A$43m) in Series A to produce synthetic fats that make fake meats taste better. Horizons Ventures – the private investment arm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing – doubled down on the idea, having backed the initial US$11 million raise by Nourish in 2021. Horizon’s… Read more »
Sydney doctor, founder and angel investor Dr Amandeep Hansra has joined the CSIRO’s deep tech investment fund Main Sequence as a principal. Dr Hansra, a Bondi GP, has been in general practice for nearly two decades and co-founded the investment syndicate Australian Medical Angels, as well as founing Creative Careers in Medicine, which provides consulting services… Read more »
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