Air-conditioning energy and emissions reduction startup, Conry Tech, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Seed round led by Bandera Capital with support from Kiwi VC Pacific Channel. The Melbourne startup was cofounded in 2020 by long-term collaborators Ron Conry and Sam Ringwaldt, both experts in developing HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) products that cut CO2 emissions.… Read more »
An artificial intelligence (AI) startup of develop real-time data analysis of sales for retailers has raised $4 million in a Seed round led by Square Peg. GoodWork.ai is working with global retailers to build analytics AI for retail merchandise, finance and operations teams to make trade performance analysis fast and easy. The AI analyses the… Read more »
Twelve Western Australian tech companies are heading to the US as part of a new accelerator program funding by the state government. Innovation and digital economy minister Stephen Dawson said the Cook Labor government’s Global Growth Accelerator Program (GGAP) kicks off in January with a three-month course to prepare the dozen startups for an international market.… Read more »
The federal government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund has made its second investment, taking a $13 million equity stake in Canberra startup Quantum Brilliance. It follows $40 million for a mining tech manufacturer announced last month. The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) funding is for QB to build Australia’s first quantum diamond foundry for its… Read more »
New Zealand artificial intelligence-augmented startup Grw AI has raised NZ$2.4 million ($2.2m) in a record pre-Seed round led by US investors in less than a month at a NZ$12 million valuation. The investment from a roll call of West Coast VCs and Silicon Valley angel investors with see the Grw AI team relocate from Auckland… Read more »
Founders by their very nature see things others have yet to realise. Their challenge is to then get others to see that vision, believe in and back it. And then convince their customers to use a solution they didn’t know they need. Seven years ago, Dr Elliot Smith’s Maxwell Plus was just such a startup.… Read more »
A report into the state of play for Western Australia’s startup sector has warned the state risks slipping behind its East Cost rivals unless there’s a great focus on reforms and funding for the sector. The report, ‘Dare to Venture: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Western Australia’, by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre argues… Read more »
Seven venture capital firms will look to invest up to $150 million in Western Australian startups underpinned by a $45 million commitment from the state government’s WA Venture Capital initiative (WAVC). Premier Roger Cook announced an additional $15 million for WAVC at West Tech Fest in Perth, topping up the government’s initial $30m commitment. Cook… Read more »
A new investment fund focused on and run by women has been kick-started with $100 million Western Australian philanthropist Nicola Forrest. The funds have come from the Minderoo Foundation, which Forrest established with her ex-husband, mining billionaire Andrew Forrest. The philanthropic fund has gender equality is a priority focus. Future Generation Women (FGW) will be… Read more »
Sydney early-stage VC Investible will partner with UNSW’s Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE) program in a co-investment partnership to back climate tech startups emerging from the university. The Technology Commercialisation Venture Scheme will target Seed and Series A investments into UNSW climate-tech spin-offs and companies supported through TRaCE. The first-of-its-kind for an Australian… Read more »
Zip cofounder Larry Diamond has called time on his board roles at the ASX-listed buy-now-pay-later fintech, stepping down as a director and US chairman, effective immediately. “Now is the right time for me to step back from my day-to-day role at Zip,” he said in a statement to the ASX. “I’m very proud of what… Read more »
MGA Thermal has added climate tech fund Electrifi Ventures and Climate Salad to its cap table with another top up of the clean energy startup’s pre-Series B, taking the total raised to $14.15 million. While the Hunter Valley startup, developed what it calls Miscibility Gaps Alloy (MGA) Blocks to absorb and store thermal energy made from… Read more »
Law firm Maurice Blackburn is wading into an issue that’s vexed the federal government, competition watchdog the ACCC, as well as the media, investigating a potential class action against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct in Australia’s digital advertising market. The idea is likely to be tempting to publishers Google has not struck deals with under… Read more »
Skip Capital has led a $6.6 million raise for a construction tech platform that keeps track of quality and compliance during a build. The first raise for three-year-old Melbourne startup Visibuild was also backed by unnamed private and non-institutional investors, with the funding earmarked for product development as the business looks to expand across Australia… Read more »
WiseTech Global director and cofounder Maree Isaacs has sold her 8.17% stake in RealWise Holdings, the company that owns more than a third of ASX-listed logistics company (ASX: WTC), to the man she launched the business with 30 years ago, Richard White. White already owns the other 92% of RealWise Holdings, meaning he now owns… Read more »
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