Courier service Sendle has raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Federation, with participation from Full Circle Venture Capital, Rampersand, and Giant Leap Fund.
More money in venture capital means more companies can be funded in the Australian ecosystem, argues AirTree Ventures’ Daniel Petre.
Bookended by Canva’s $51 million unicorn-making round in January and Deputy’s $111 million Series B at the end of November, Australia saw venture capital investment in local startups reach $1.25 billion in 2018.
HubSpot is the latest company to move into the corporate venture capital space, building on its handful of investments with the launch of a dedicated US$30 million ($41.5 million) fund.
The government has thrown its support behind the nation’s SMBs with the announcement of a major new fund using Commonwealth bonds to back small business.
Having backed over a dozen companies already, investment bank Investec is raising a dedicated fund to invest in Australian startups.
BetterLabs, the innovation arm of Western Australian motoring club and mutual organisation RAC, has launched a $3 million seed fund to invest in early-stage startups.
If the capital raising process drags on founders get totally distracted from running their business, start panicking, and stress about running out of cash.
As the statistics show, access to capital can be life or death for a business – but it can be difficult and expensive to obtain.
Melbourne-headquartered video production marketplace Genero has raised $4 million in a funding round led by existing backer Ellerston Capital to pursue growth in the United States.
Australian edutech startup OpenLearning has raised $8.5 million in a Series A round led by Malaysian companies Prestariang Berhad and Paramount Corporation Berhad, with participation from a handful of local investors.
Automotive giant Daimler has led a US$175 million ($231 million) funding round for Estonian rideshare startup Taxify, bringing the company’s valuation to US$1 billion.
Sydney human resources startup Employment Hero has raised $8 million in a Series B round co-led by Seek and OneVentures, with participation from existing backers AirTree Ventures and AMP.
Startups in the wide-ranging Australian healthtech sector have raised more than a combined $165 million in funding, while biotech sits at $87.8 million.
Despite the fact they predominantly serve customers across regional areas, agtech businesses are earning a name for themselves in the wider startup space.
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