Data analysis startup WhyHive has raised $600,000 in a pre-Seed round. The company’s first raise comes after six years of bootstrapping and was led by Skalata Ventures, with support from Culture Amp’s Jon Williams, Linktree’s Alex Zaccaria and Up Bank’s Dom Pym. The Melbourne startup describes itself as “like Canva, but for data: easy to… Read more »
Brisbane battery company Redflow has been placed in voluntary administration and its shares suspended from trade just weeks after unveiling plans for a 5 MWh project with Queensland’s energy generators, Stanwell Corporation. Richard Hughes and David Orr from Deloitte were appointed voluntary administrators of Redflow and three subsidiaries by its board on Friday, not long… Read more »
A margin trading product offered by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken failed to meet its legal obligations under Australia’s Corporations Act, a Federal Court judge has ruled. The judgment hands a rare win to corporate regulator the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) amid an ongoing focus on regulatory compliance in the crypto sector. Justice John Nicholas… Read more »
Shared mobility giant Uber is killing off Uber Carshare, its global experiment in hiring neighbour vehicles, after less than three years. The service will shut down in Australia in three weeks on September 12, while the US and Canada will close on 9/11. The experiment began in January 2022, when Uber paid $105 million to… Read more »
Shares in logistics software company WiseTech Global are on a fresh tear today, setting new records following the company’s FY2024 annual results on Wednesday. Founder and CEO Richard White is already a billionaire thanks to the success of Sydney-based WiseTech, which the former AC/DC guitar technician launched in 1994 by writing code for Australian freight… Read more »
Australia’s first dedicated pre-seed venture fund, Maxine Minter’s Co Ventures, has closed its first fund after hitting its $5 million target. Co Ventures Fund 1 is the result of nearly two years of work by Minter, who started fundraising in September 2022, before announcing the launch of her fund in April 2023. The support from… Read more »
The annual Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Renewables Startup Showcase will return to Sydney in November and the hunt is now on for startups looking for investment to take part. Innovation Bay, the membership community for technology founders and investors, is collaborating with ARENA for the fifth year of the event, on Thursday, November 21.… Read more »
The wildly ambitious SunCable renewable energy project, which plans to build Australia biggest solar farm in the Northern Territory, has been approved by the federal government. Officially known as the SunCable Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), the 12,000 hectare solar farm – that’s 3000x the MCG precinct – will be built on a pastoral station between Elliot… Read more »
Sydney software proptech Sitemate has acquired fellow Startmate alumni software startup Nomad Fleet in a deal worth $2 million. Surprisingly, it’s the first time in Startmate’s 13-year history that two of the 250 startup to emerge from the accelerator program have teamed up in an M&A deal. Both Sitemate cofounder Hartley Pike and Nomad founder Will… Read more »
Andrew Barnes, cofounder Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1, is following in the footsteps of Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar and relinquishing the co-CEO role at the $3 billion business. Barnes has shared the role with cofounder Chris Eigeland since 2021 and spent nearly a decade as CEO since founding the edtech unicorn in a Brisbane garage with… Read more »
Sydney spacesuit startup Metakosmos, which is developing the “Kosmosuit” for life in space, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round. The round was led Saudi Arabian technology group Alzadhar Al-Sanai and will be used by Metakosmos to accelerate its innovation pipeline, advance spacesuit technology and launch spin-off applications in multiple industries for new markets.… Read more »
Early childhood edtech LoveHeart AI has raised $2.3 million in a Seed round for its “super-intelligent aide for educators”. The raise was backed OIF Ventures and Skalata. Loveheart was founded in 2022 by Himal Randeniya, who used the proceeds from his first venture, Project Academy, to buy and run several early childhood education centres. He… Read more »
AfterWork Ventures OG partner Jessy Wu has left VC for a new career as founder of her own media and communications agency. Encour. The outspoken investor, who’s dealt with hundreds of founders as the $20 million early-stage VC fund went on to back 30 companies, joined AfterWork in 2021 when it launched. “Joining the firm… Read more »
Shant Kradjian, the owner of consumer electronics retailer digiDirect, has acquired the assets of failed ASX-listed Booktopia in a deal that will bring the online bookseller back online and out of administration. The sale price, which has not been disclosed, will not see a return to shareholders. Booktopia racked up debts of around $60 million,… Read more »
The acquisition hunger of cashed-up Australian tech companies has continued with link-in-bio platform Linktree scooping up social media scheduling platform Plann for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2016 by former ad exec Christy Laurence, Plann was named Startup Daily’s Startup of the Year. She left her corporate job after suffering a brain injury. Initially told… Read more »
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