Melbourne FinTech startup Clover, an automated investment advice platform, has announced the raising of a seed funding round by a number of investors including superannuation fund Equipsuper. Though the startup wasn’t willing to reveal the exact amount, Startup Daily was able to confirm that Clover raised over $1 million.
Sydney-based fintech startup zipMoney, described as ‘online lending meets the checkout’, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) yesterday after raising $5 million in an oversubscribed reverse takeover of mineral exploration company Rubianna Resources.
Over the years, one thing that’s become increasingly clear about Dropbox is that it plays the long game when it comes user acquisition. It doesn’t aim to convert users to paying customers overnight or over months, but over years.
SMS-based on-demand service ASAP, which gives you whatever you want as soon as possible, was founded by two Sydney-based university students Dylan Samra and Kelvin Nguyen earlier this year, with Daniel Cunningham joining as a co-founder shortly after. Six months following its launch, ASAP has raised capital and merged with former rival Ketings.
It seems the co-founders are actually focusing on the more interesting side of alcohol delivery startup Liquorun: its logistics management platform. The software platform is now an entity of its own called Swift, which is growing fast and has customers from all over the world.
The number of female tech startup founders in Australia is growing slowly but steadily, increasing from 16 percent in 2011 to 19 percent in 2013, with only a fifth of these founders coming from a tech background.
Sydney-based startup Simply Wall St, which makes the stock market easier to navigate, has just announced the closing of a $600,000 funding round led by Mike Quinn from Innovation Capital, with participation from Sydney Angels and their Sidecar Fund. This brings the total amount raised by the startup to $700,000, including the original investment from AWI ventures.
German home cooking delivery startup Marley Spoon has officially landed in Australia, adding another player to the booming food space as it launches its service in Sydney.
Ten months after merging, Australian startups Beat the Q and Posse have announced the closure of an oversubscribed Series A $5 million funding round led by Westpac’s $50 million venture fund Reinventure and 12-year-old venture capital firm Exto Partners. The new investment will be used to fund product development – specifically, to improve the payment process for customers when dining out or buying coffee and to introduce new features – as well as marketing and scaling merchant acquisition.
Today marks a significant milestone in not just the Australian startup’s journey, but the US drone industry as well, with Flirtey and NASA both anticipating the green light to conduct the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved deliveries by drones on US soil in Wise, Virginia as part of an event being labelled ‘Let’s Fly Wisely’.
Australia’s biggest property portal, realestate.com.au, has joined forces with Melbourne based 3D visualisation startup Scann3d as well as property developer BPM, to transform the online property ecosystem. As a result, rather than house hunters and property investors having to rely on two-dimensional floor plans to assess the value of an investment, they can walk through an interactive virtual world and explore developments before they exist in the physical world.
Melbourne-based online art marketplace Redbubble has raised $15.5 million in its latest capital raise, with the company looking to use the funds to push its international expansion.
Due to the failure of last year’s budget, and strong expressions of public disapproval, the Australian government has smartly chosen to revise its plans. Treasurer Joe Hockey took to the podium yesterday to deliver the details of the new budget, which focuses on small businesses, a welcome change.
Yesterday, there was one story that dominated the Australian startup ecosystem: Ninja Blocks, a local pioneer in the Internet of Things space, would be closing its doors. It was a clear-cut case of not being able to continue building the company due to a very limited financial runway.
Some may think it would be crazy to think that Real Estate and Domain, both disruptors themselves could ever fall to their knees. However, that doesn’t stop startups from launching something similar with an “individual twist” on the concept that hopefully gives them a unique selling point from the two industry heavyweights.
The Canva brand is now worth more than Woolies, Telstra and Bunnings
VC-backed crowdfunding platform Stride Equity is offering a new funding model for startups
Antler Investor Memo Series: Adtech startup MADU monetises visual content in a post-cookies publishing
Female-founded fermentation startup Cauldron lands $10.5 million to transform how new foods and fibres are developed
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