New Zealand customer insights innovation platform Ideally has raised $2 million in a Seed round as it looks to expand its presence in the Australian market. Auckland VC Icehouse Ventures backed Ideally, which emerged from TRA Labs and Previously Unavailable – the partnership behind brand tracking phenomenon Tracksuit. Ideally’s self-service platform tests product-market fit, delivering… Read more »
After three years of pandemic, many hoped 2023 would be the year when things finally got better. But from what we saw, a lot of people couldn’t put 2023 in the bin fast enough and start a new year. Nonetheless, there’s always a highlight, so we asked five leaders in tech and venture capital for… Read more »
The biggest impediment to Australia shifting from a services-based industry to one based on science and engineering is a longstanding deep tech “scaleup problem” according to a new report from incubator Cicada Innovations. The inaugural “Cicada x Tech23 2023 Insights” report is based on data from 128 deep tech applicants to Cicada x Tech23 2023,… Read more »
Bootstrapped brand collaborations startup Collabosaurus has been acquired by marketing guru Lauren Swidenbank. The terms of the M&A deal were not disclosed. Swidenbank is CEO and founder of Cali Social, a performance marketing agency specialising in female-first brands. She said the acquisition as a strategic move to expand into tech and leverage Collabosaurus’s unique position… Read more »
Mentorloop is no longer your typical startup. For starters, it’s been operating profitably for more than two years after pivoting the business away from a growth-at-all-costs strategy in response to 2020’s initial pandemic-led funding freeze. Now its cofounders argue that other founders should look to the “thriving middle” with their business and consider steering towards… Read more »
Day One.FM, the podcast network for Australian founders, investors and operators, best known for The History of the Startup Ecosystem podcast and documentary featuring 100+ interviews with key startup leaders has launched a new podcast, First Cheque. It looks to uncover the inner workings of early-stage investing and share practical knowledge from seasoned, successful investors. … Read more »
An all-in-one finance and lifestyle app for international students has raised $1.6 million in Seed funding. Mist was backed by Investible, Allectus Capital, Archangel Ventures, Seedspace, and The Hunter Angels. It wants to become the go-to app for international students, offering a streamlined solution for relocating to another country to study, especially around banking and… Read more »
Revenue in the Australian video game industry has risen to $345.5 million, up 21% on the FY2022, according to the latest data from the Australian Game Developer Survey (AGDS). The eighth annual survey, from peak industry body, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) corroborates Australian consumer sales data released earlier this year, showing the… Read more »
Pioneering Sydney VC investor has banked more than $100 million from sales of its early stage investment in human resources technology startup Employment Hero. The latest deal has produced what the sector calls a “dragon” – the return from a single investment matches the value of the entire fund. In this instance it’s a 1.5x… Read more »
A startup digitising security with what’s known as a digital lockout tagout (LOTO) has raised $600,000 in its Seed round. Smartlox is a cloud-based, real-time safety, security and smart access system that integrates with Nokē Bluetooth padlocks to increase the safety of frontline workers. It disrupts traditional lockout tagout practices through the use of electronic lockout… Read more »
Online wholesale marketplace Andisor has raised a $1M pre-Seed funding round. The raise was backed by Antler, LaunchVic’s female founder-focused Alice Anderson fund, Jam Pad Investments, and several prominent retail operators and leaders. Andisor emerged out of the Antler program in 2021, with founder and CEO Vandana Chaudhry, building a platform to connect enterprise-level buyers… Read more »
The Australian insurance market is worth $100 billion annually and $7 trillion worldwide, offering a massive opportunity for startups in the space With that prize in mind, Insurtech Australia brought together startups in the space, early-stage investors and business leaders in Sydney at at event sponsored by Investment NSW to debunk investment myths around early-stage… Read more »
US-based Fitbit has been ordered to pay an $11 million penalty in a Federal Court case brought by the ACCC for making false, misleading or deceptive representations to 58 users about their refund or replacement rights when a device was faulty. It’s the second time a Fitbit Group company has fallen foul of the consumer… Read more »
Fishburners, Australia’s largest startup community, is expanding its leadership team with the appointment of Majella Campbell as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). The move comes on the heels of Fishburners’ strategic vision to expand and deepen its influence on the Australian startup ecosystem as it continues to advance innovation in Australia, aligning with the broader… Read more »
Sydney user-generated video (UGV) startup Vloggi has launched a $750,000 equity crowdsourced funding campaign as it looks to ramp up its international focus. The campaign via CSF platform OnMarket is offering 250,000 full-paid ordinary shares at $3 each in Vloggi’s holding company Ciné Souk. Vloggi founder and CEO, Justin Wastnage re-launched in 2021, building his… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
