Breaking Bad, money pile
Funding

DOG’S BREAKFAST: Pet Circle’s $75m raise from US VC a rare highlight for Australian startups amid a 42% fall in funding for September quarter

- October 4, 2023 4 MIN READ

The ongoing El Nino drought of startup funding in Australia has continued in the first quarter of the new financial year, with total funding down 42% on 12 months ago, and falling by 9% on the previous quarter according to new analysis from Cut Through Ventures. The September quarter saw A$739 million invested across 77… Read more »

Singer and investor Angus Stone, with Eden Brew CEO Jim Fader, and backer Bernard Fanning
Funding

Rock stars Bernard Fanning and Angus Stone, and Paralympian Dylan Alcott, back dairy replacement startup Eden Brew in $25 million Series A

- October 3, 2023 2 MIN READ

Dairy alternative startup Eden Brew has raised $24.4 million in a Series A as it prepares to bring its animal-free products, including milk and ice cream, to market.  The two-year-old venture, created as a joint-venture by northern NSW dairy co-op Norco, CSIRO and its VC arm, Main Sequence Ventures, uses a fermentation process to brew… Read more »

Infravision cofounders Chris Cox and Cameron Van Der Berg
Funding

Drone-based power line installation startup Infravision lands $36 million Series A

- October 2, 2023 2 MIN READ

A Queensland startup helping power up America with drones to roll out power line upgrades has raised $36 million in a Series A. The round for Infravision was led by US sustainability investor Energy Impact Partners (EIP), supported by Equinor Ventures and Edison International (EIX). Robotics engineer Cameron Van Der Berg and military veteran Chris Cox… Read more »

Neara
Funding

Digital twin startup Neara pockets $15.25 million in Series B extension for offshore plans

- October 2, 2023 < 1 MIN READ

Energy sector digital twin startup Neara has raised $15.25 million in an extension of last year’s $20 million Series B round. The round was led by South African VC Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures), a frequent Australian investor, which also backed crypto gaming unicorn Immutable. Existing backers Square Peg and Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital also… Read more »

Office meeting, telephone, historic
Funding

Work comms startup that tells you how much time and money you’re wasting on emails and meetings raises $1.8 million Seed round

- September 22, 2023 2 MIN READ

While most of us suspect we waste too much of our working day in meetings and dealing with emails, employee communications startup Traffyk.AI has had a look at the size of the problem – it’s a day a week – and done something about it. The enterprise software startup has raised $1.8 million in a… Read more »

Paul Tory, Josh Goulburn
Funding

Produce marketplace Foodbomb acquired by hospitality ordering company

- September 20, 2023 2 MIN READ

Foodbomb, a six-year-old wholesale food marketplace, has been acquired by hospitality ordering platform Ordermentum for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2017 by Paul Tory and Josh Goulburn, Foodbomb raised $4.5 million in a Series A two years ago. Its backers include EVP, Athletic Ventures, Aura Ventures, Tony Gandel’s family investment vehicle, Tahmedia, and Platform Advisory Partners.… Read more »

Tikpay
Funding

Fintech tikpay pockets $1.6 million pre-Seed round to transform transport ticketing

- September 19, 2023 2 MIN READ

Melbourne fintech tikpay has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Seed round ahead of the launch of its pioneering account-based ticketing (ABT) and payments platform. The round was led by AfterWork Ventures and Black Nova VC with participation from Investible, Func Ventures, Metagrove Ventures, and two transport industry insiders. While Sydney commuters have been able to… Read more »

R&D, science, man looking in microscope
Funding

Breakthrough Victoria pours $43 million into five universities to help turn research into startups

- September 19, 2023 2 MIN READ

The Victorian government’s $2 billion investment fund, Breakthrough Victoria has backed five Victorian universities to help them bring research to market in a deal worth $87 million.  Deakin, La Trobe, Monash and Swinburne universities have contributed $9 million funding matched by Breakthrough Victoria, with RMIT matching the $7.5 million it has received. Each partnership will… Read more »

Amp cofounders Cameron Priest and Patrick Barnes
Funding

Exit kings return with an 18-month-old ecommerce startup that just banked $28.5 million Series A

- September 12, 2023 2 MIN READ

The founders of TradeGecko and Advocately, Cameron Priest and Patrick Barnes, are back with a bang thanks to their new e-commerce startup, Amp, which has secured US$18.5 million (A$28.5m) in a series A, having only launched last year.  AMP is their solution for the challenge retailers face in using dozens of different apps to run… Read more »

Retail shop window
Funding

Afterpay cofounder backs his brother’s retail data startup in $2 million Seed round

- September 12, 2023 2 MIN READ

Merchandise data startup Flagship has raised $2 million in a Seed round to help retailers to make better data-based decisions of maximising product appeal for in-store shoppers The round led by Sydney VC Tidal Ventures, with support from Afterpay’s billionaire cofounder Nick Molnar, backing his brother Simon’s startup play. Macdoch and Co Ventures, NRL player Luke… Read more »

Yaala Sparkling cofounders Tara Croker and Mel Davey pitching on Shark Tank
Funding

Indigenous Shark Tank pitch lands Yaala Sparkling $125,000 from ethical investor Dr Catriona Wallace

- September 12, 2023 2 MIN READ

Australian bush flavours drinks brand  Yaala Sparkling has landed a $125,000 investment from Shark Tank ‘shark’ Dr Catriona Wallace. The Queensland Indigenous-owned business, cofounded by Wiradjuri Yinaa woman Tara Croker and her mother Mel Davey, is developing a range of  alcohol-free drinks flavoured with native ingredients sourced from Indigenous wild harvesters and local farmers. Yaala… Read more »

Lighter Capital CEO Melissa Widner
Funding

Lighter Capital has $30 million to lend to startups, with Invest Victoria backing the revenue-based VC alternative

- September 5, 2023 < 1 MIN READ

Venture capital alternative Lighter Capital has a $30 million war chest to lend to local startups thanks to support from the Victorian government and iPartners.  The 13-year-old revenue-based Wall Street financier offers non-dilutive funding to founders in the US, Canada and Australia. Invest Victoria tipped $10 million into the $30 million fund, supported by New York… Read more »

Medigrowth cofounders Adam Guskich and Todd McCelland
Funding

Cannabis biotech Medigrowth skins up $3.44 million in crowdfunding campaign

- August 25, 2023 2 MIN READ

Victorian medical cannabis biotech Medigrowth has raised one of the largest equity crowdfunding campaigns in the sector’s six-year history, banking nearly $3.45 million from more than 2000 investors. The CSF campaign on Birchal is the third largest in the platform’s history, with Medigrowth hitting its minimum target of $500,000 in just 45 minutes before gaining… Read more »

Satellite Orbiting Earth
Funding

Satellite inspection startup raises $12 million Series A

- August 22, 2023 2 MIN READ

Sydney satellite monitoring startup HEO Robotics has raised $12 million in a Series A two years after its last round. The raise was led by Sydney VC AirTree Ventures with support from the new $40 million sovereign capabilities early-stage fund Salus Ventures. Salus invest up to $1.5 million into initial rounds for cutting-edge tech for… Read more »