UNSW chancellor David Gonski and Simon Sheikh’s impact investment fintech Future Super are among the investors in a new US$100 million fund to back artificial intelligence (AI) startups. King River Capital said it’s nearing the final close of its latest A$157 million fund, which continues its ongoing strategic focus on AI-driven software startups both here… Read more »
Sydney investment firm Quadrant Private Equity has made another foray into startups, with plans to take an equity stake in Legal Vision. The size of the investment was not disclosed, but it’s the first from the Sydney PE firm’s latest and 10th fund, the $660m Quadrant Growth Fund 3, which looks to invest between $50… Read more »
An AI-driven eCommerce software platform with the same name as one of the country’s best known Australian financial services companies has raised $20 million. Amp, founded in 2022, has been backed by existing investor, Singapore’s Openspace Ventures, with Sydney’s One Ventures also hitting the EFT button. TradeGecko founder Cameron Priest and Advocately founder Patrick Barnes,… Read more »
An eight-year-old workplace safety and wellbeing app founded by three former public servants and used by McDonald’s has raised another $40 million. Sydney scaleup Sonder pitches itself as an EAP alternative that makes it easier for staff to get help. The latest funding came from existing investors Blackbird, MA Growth Ventures. and Seek, with super… Read more »
An Australian-American cybersecurity startup has raised US$3 million (A$4.75m) in Seed funding to develop its artificial intelligence-driven defensive systems. The round for Harmony Intelligence was led by Airtree Ventures, alongside 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and execs from Canva, Adept AI, and Plaid as well as The Lean Startup author Eric… Read more »
A Queensland renewable energy tech company has taken on its first external investment, banking $15 million in a round led by Ellerston Capital’s Industrial Growth Fund and Fifth Estate Asset Management. The raise for EcoJoule Energy, which provides solutions for managing renewable energy integration, will be used for international expansion, as well as a national… Read more »
Flowing Bee, the AI-powered behavioural insights platform for marketing strategy and execution, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Seed round. The raise was led by Archangel Ventures, with participation from The University of Melbourne Genesis pre-seed Fund, Antler, LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, and M8 Ventures, plus strategic angel investors. The cash will be used to… Read more »
Three years after a record $2.2 million pre-Seed round for two teenagers to solve the problem of abandoned online sales, their eCommerce fintech has raised another $18 million in a Series A. The round for Brisbane startup Instant was led by Belgian early stage VC Hummingbird Ventures, which revels in the title “the best venture… Read more »
Sydney advertising and electric vehicle charging startup Jolt has eschewed VC funding for its latest global expansion, instead striking a $214 million (C$194m) loan agreement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to fast track its charging network across the top of North America. The funds will see Jolt install 1,500 fast and free kerbside chargers… Read more »
A Kiwi startup that wants to make kids love maths as much as playing Roblox has raised NZ$1.5 million (A$1.35m) in pre-Seed funding. The round for Polymath was co-led by Blackbird’s NZ office and fellow Aotearoa VC GD1. The app gamifies maths for kids, underpinned by an algorithm that adapts learning moments to each child’s progress.… Read more »
The former head of product at Kayla Itsines’ fitness app Sweat has launched his own startup, raising $600,000 in pre-Seed funding for a booking site for caravan parks and campgrounds. ParkBooker.com is the brainchild of Josh Volk and will go live later this week. The round was backed by Singapore fund Rising Tide Investment, Turo… Read more »
A startup hoping to chip away at China’s dominance in copper production with a new low-cost way of extracting it from low-grade resources has raised $1.05 million in a Seed round. Banksia Minerals Processing (BMP) was spun out of University of Queensland and has been backed by UniQuest, and IP Group, and grant funding from the… Read more »
Global contractor credentials platform MyPass has raised $7.5 million Series A. The round for the 12-year-old worker onboarding, compliance and credentials management business, which counts BHP, Shell, Woodside and UGL among its customer base, was led by Sydney VC OneVentures. The capital will be used for expansion in North and South America and accelerate product… Read more »
A Melbourne startup building AI agents for the disability and aged care sectors has raised $2.5 million in Seed funding. The round for Minikai was led by Tidal Ventures with participation from Antler. Tigerspike founder Luke Janssen previously backed the startup with a six-figure pre-Seed investment nearly 12 months ago. Minikai’s AI agents are hoping to… Read more »
Battery storage tech startup Allegro Energy has scored a $1.85 million federal government grant to bring its battery technology to mass production. The Newcastle-based startup is one of five early stage tech companies funded under the $400 million Industry Growth Program. Allegro Energy has developed water-based Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) to store renewable energy. The… Read more »
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Worker credentials platform MyPass clocks on with $7.5 million Series A 
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