New Zealand funds management software startup Caruso has raised A$3 million in Seed funding as it looks to cross the ditch as establish an Australian office. The round was led by Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures, with support from GD1, Chris Heaslip, founder of Pushpay, and the Rae family of Gull Oil. Caruso plans to add… Read more »
Financial industry professional development platform Nuggets Academy has raised $700,000 in a round led by Antler Australia. The edtech, which deals with the mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training people are required to undertake annually, emerged out of the Antler program last year with its initial pre-seed funding from the accelerator and VC. Also backing… Read more »
Outstaffer, an HR tech platform that helps businesses find, hire, equip and pay staff has raised $1.5 million in its first external round after three years of bootstrapping. The round was co-led by by the startup’s new chief operating officer, Michael Locaso (formerly COO of Listing Loop), with Utiliti Ventures, 1in100 Ventures and Side Stage… Read more »
Renewable energy deployment platform Orkestra has raised a second Seed round in less than 12 months, this time banking $2 million, with local VC Tidal Ventures once again leading the round. Orkestra previously raised $1.1 million in November last year in a round led by Tidal. While the VC called it a Seed round in… Read more »
BlueScope Steel’s venture capital arm, BluescopeX, Aconex cofounder Rob Phillpot’s Gravel Road, and Archangel Ventures have co-led a $1.5 million Seed round for a Melbourne proptech software startup that educates commercial builders on the benefits of engineered timber for commercial construction. The raise for CLT Toolbox was also supported by Flying Fox Ventures and Dan… Read more »
A Melbourne startup founded by two former Amazon employees to improve online search for related objects has raised US$5.2 million (A$8.1m) in a Seed round led by Blackbird. Marqo is an AI-powered vector search engine. Vector search is a way to find related objects with similar characteristics using machine learning to find semantic relationships. The raise was… 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 »
The founders of Sequoia Capital-backed Sample have rebranded and changed the focus of the business, raising another $2.4 million Seed round from new investors in the process. As Sample, cofounded in 2021 by former Grab staffers Jascha Zittel and Elliott Gibb, the startup raised $920,000 in pre-Seed funding, led by Sequoia Capital India, in December… Read more »
Waave, a fintech using open banking to build a direct debit alternative to card payments, has raised $4.7 million in a Seed round. The round was backed by a range of prominent individuals, including Menulog boss Morten Belling, eCommerce pioneer Paul Greenberg and Chemist Warehouse founder Jack Gance, who joins the fintech as an advisor.… Read more »
CommandPost, a crisis management startup designed to improve emergency response times and coordination has raised $200,000 in Seed funding from Melbourne VC Skalata $200,000. Founder Alex Rixon-Booth worked in emergency service response and decided to take things to the next level in the wake of miscommunications during the recent NSW floods and Black Summer bushfires… Read more »
A New Zealand deep tech manufacturing startup helping produce cleaner hydrogen with fewer precious metals has raised NZ$2.5 million (A$2.3m) in a Seed round. Bspkl has developed a new, more sustainable way to produce catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) for the hydrogen industry. CCMs typically use platinum and iridium in solid membranes to maximise hydrogen production.… Read more »
A software startup developed by two University of Queensland graduates has raised $200,000 in a Seed round backed by Melbourne VC Skalata Ventures. Lewi Software is tackling an unsexy part of asset management in the chemicals sector – wastewater management, which has suffered from underinvestment on the software from compared to the rest of the… Read more »
B2B marketing partnerships platform Partnar has raised $200,000 in a Seed investment from Melbourne early-stage VC Skalata Ventures. The marketplace startup describes itself as a “matchmaker for business collaborations” connecting brands and businesses in the face of rising costs and decreasing reliability from online advertising. Partnar offers an alternative to pay-per-click marketing campaigns for brands to… Read more »
Employee wellbeing startup Foremind has raised $200,000 in Seed funding from early stage investor Skalata Ventures. The cash will be used to improve access to mental health support in the construction and building sector. Cofounder and engineer Joel Anderson was inspired to build Foremind after a poor experience using an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Around… Read more »
Brisbane fintech Bloom Impact Investing has raised $525,000 in seed round co-led by Up bank cofounder Dom Pym, with the founders of Envato, Collis and Cyan Ta’eed, doubling down on the investment app. In a sign of the realigned times, the funding is less than Bloom’s $675,000 pre-seed raise in October 2021. That round was… Read more »
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