Auckland-based insurance premium payments platform Simfuni has raised NZ$2.8 million in a Series A to save brokers time and money. The round was led by Kiwi VC funds Icehouse Ventures and GD1, with support from K1W1 and NZVC. The insurtech platform integrates with any insurer, broker group or premium funder’s quoting and invoicing software in… Read more »
Geographic remoteness is part of our identity as Australians. Stories of founders relocating to a larger startup ecosystem are common, particularly for founders outside of Sydney and Melbourne. Most notably, Sydney-based Canva, one of Australia’s most successful startups, was originally founded in Perth. But five years into the development of Australia’s crowd-sourced funding (CSF) regime, … Read more »
A agtech startup tackling the security and transparency of carbon credits has raised $6 million to take the next big leap in Australia’s digital farming revolution Melbourne-based Sensand brings together agricultural land management, carbon project operations, and environmental markets on a single platform. The funding came in a single cheque from Robert Costa, chair of… Read more »
Sydney startup MagicBrief has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round for its marketing platform which acts like the lovechild of Canva and Pinterest for advertising. The round was led by Blackbird with support from Archangel Ventures. Several individual founders also chipped in as angel investors, including Vimeo’s Zach Klein, UsTwo’s Matt Miller, Tim Doyle… Read more »
A Brisbane startup focused on fleet energy management and AC charging for electric vehicles (EVs) has raised $5 million in a Series A from existing investors. EVOS was cofounded by three former employees of the Nasdaq-listed Queensland fast charging company Tritium. It previously raised $1.7 million in a Seed round two years ago and since… Read more »
Proptech Inspace has raised $6 million in a Series A for its virtual inspection software platform for commercial property promotions. The round was co-led by Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and local VC Our Innovation Fund (OIF), an existing investor, with Investible also once again chipping in. Inspace previously raised$ 4 million in a… Read more »
A deep tech startup cofounded by three globally recognised atomic physicists at Australian National University has raised $12 million to develop miniaturised quantum sensors for mining, underground resources and navigation. The round was led by existing investor Blackbird with support from Right Click Capital. A previous Seed round raised $2 million, with ANU also on… Read more »
South Australian customer retention fintech Sherlok has raised $3.4 million to help mortgage brokers get better home loan deals for their clients. The round was led by VC Rampersand, with participation from Investible and its Club Investible syndicate, supported by Paloma and Common Sense Ventures. A pioneering use case of open banking from the three-year-old… Read more »
A Kiwi B2B marketplace for the hospitality and food service industry developed by a cofounder Xero has crossed the ditch to Australia after raising NZ$6 million (A$5.5m). Upstock is the brainchild of Duncan Ritchie and Philip Fierlinger, who was part of the 2006 founding team of ASX-listed accounting platform Xero. The raise was backed by Icehouse… Read more »
Cybersecurity startup Nullify, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help software developers and security teams detect and fix potential vulnerabilities in code as it’s being written, has raised $1.1 million in a pre-Seed round led by OIF Ventures. Former XM Cyber founding team Adi Ashkenazy and Zini Shahar, now running the security advisory firm Skylight… Read more »
New Zealand carbon footprint management fintech Cogo, which works with banks to help their customers measure and reduce their carbon impact, has raised NZ$1 million (A$910k) from existing impact investor Soul Capital. Soul’s NZ$20 million ‘Te Pae ki te Rangi’ Fund is focused on helping Kiwi startups with their global expansion. Cogo currently operates in… Read more »
Brisbane online prescription startup Midnight Health has raised $15 million in a Series B with ASX-listed insurer nib stumping up the cash for a third time 19 months to own more than three-quarters of the business. nib’s investment comes as regulators crack down on the sector, forcing medtech companies to shift from online applications for… Read more »
Green hydrogen startup HydGene Renewables, has raised $6 million to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels to produce the energy source. The round into the Macquarie University synthetic biology spinout was led by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which chipped in $2 million, and specialist UK investor Agronomics. HydGene’s technology is… Read more »
A wild idea to create an “internet of energy”, transmitting power from space using light beams has landed $3 million in Seed funding Aquila Earth is a renewable energy startup looking to create the world’s first global, wireless energy network. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures alongside Possible Ventures, Icehouse Ventures and Startmate. Aquila… Read more »
A vowel-challenged sales training startup for the TikTok generation has raised $4.6 million in a Seed round. The round for Melbourne platform frntlne was led by Matt Berriman’s RealVC with support from Investible, Hoperidge Capital, and Navitas founder Rod Jones. Frntlne creates TikTok-style product education videos for customer-facing staff in retail, hospitality and pharmacy with… Read more »
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Eucalyptus head of growth Matt Rossi departs to launch his own marketing startup, Oodle 
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