Breakthrough Victoria, the state government’s $2 billion investment fund, has backed edtech startup Cadmus, which is helping universities detect generative AI plagiarism, chipping in $600,000 as part of an undisclosed total round for global expansion. Cadmus emerged in 2015 out of a research project at the University of Melbourne. The software platform has sophisticated learner… Read more »
Chalk up another $32 million to the investment tally in 2022 with belated news emerging this week that software fintech Constantinople banked a US$23 million (A$32m) Seed round in May last year. If two’s enough to be a trend, then late funding announcement are the new black after meal ordering platform Me&u revealed last month… Read more »
Four-year-old Melbourne online mortgage broker Finspo has raised another modest round, pulling in $2.55 million in a Series D for upgrades to its digital platform. The company did not disclose who supported the raise. Founded by ex-bankers in 2019, and launched in 2020, Finspo previously raised $2.7 million in Series A in November 2020, $4 million… Read more »
Melbourne healthtech startup Eyetelligence, which uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology and retinal imaging to screen for eye and other diseases, has raised US$12 million (A$17.75m) from New York investor Ascertain. Eyetelligence’s AI-enabled products are already being commercialised in Australia, including by Bupa Optical and the optometry chain George & Matilda, as well as in… Read more »
New Zealand procurement startup Cotiss has raised $2.2 million in pre-Seed funding. The round led by Blackbird Ventures, supported by Icehouse Ventures, AfterWork Ventures, Phase One, and Co-Ventures. Cotiss is looking to help small and medium-sized procurement teams with simple, intuitive software that improves efficiency and saves money for organisations in high regulation and compliance industries… Read more »
Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1 has stitched together an undisclosed capital raising deal to acquire German summary startup Blinkist in a deal believed to be worth $100 million. Go1 has been on a merger spree since raising $140 million on a $2.8 billion valuation in June last year. GO1 previously raised $273 million in a… Read more »
Short-term rental management startup MadeComfy has raised $10 million in venture capital and debt as it looks to cover more cities across Australia. Founded in Sydney in 2015, and Airbnb strategic partner, MadeComfy previously raised $1.1 million in 2017 and then $6 million in 2018 from Investec. Commencer Capital acquired the $60 million Investec Emerging… 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 »
End-of-life planning platform, Safewill, has raised $5.5 million in what the startup is calling a Series A for the second time in 19 month. The tech platform previously raised $3 million in a Series A in October 2021. The latest round was led by Carthona Capital, supported by existing backer Reinventure, plus Flying Fox Ventures.… Read more »
Stakeholder engagement platform Fresh Equities has raised $4 million and is changing its name as it looks to improve public company communications with investors. The round was led by Sydney VC EVP. The business has also rebranded as InvestorHub as it looks to expand into international markets such as the UK, Singapore, Canada and the… Read more »
Concerns over mail order weight loss brands Juniper and Pilot by Australian doctors haven’t dampened investor appetite its parent telehealth company, Eucalyptus, which has raised $50 million on a $520 million valuation. The round was backed by several existing Eucalyptus investors, including Blackbird Ventures, the Woolworths VC fund W23, and US investor Mary Meeker’s BOND… Read more »
Federal government investment fund the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has doubled down on its funding for Infradebt, tipping an additional $100 million into the ACT-based renewables financing firm, taking its total backing to $150 million. Infradebt is a specialist infrastructure project finance fund manager/financier, providing capital for renewables and battery storage projects as well… Read more »
Business planning platform Empiraa has eschewed venture capital for a second time to raise $518,000 on a $7.5 million valuation. The Melbourne startup was founded in 2021, and went on to raise $637,000 in December that year, after an initial $110,000 pre-seed round. Founder Ash Brown said business had “a half-time pivot due to changing… Read more »
Mr Yum rival Me&u raised $30 million in a round led by Acorn Capital in December 2022 to give the 3.5-year-old startup enough runway for its push to be profitable next financial year. The raise was led by Acorn Capital, with the only acknowledgement of the investment appearing in the ASX-listed (ASX:ACQ) investment company’s December… Read more »
Music licensing platform Melodie has raised $1 million at a $15 million valuation, a more than four-fold increase on the $4m valuation when the software startup previously raised $600,000 in September 2021. The raise included follow-on investments from Code Barrel founder Nick Menere, and The Drop Festival co-owner Peter Strain. The funds will be used… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
