Pioneering food delivery service Menulog is being killed off at the end of the month by its European owners after nearly 20 years, most likely a victim of the rapid local expansion of rival Uber Eats. The business was founded in Sydney by Dan Katz, Leon Kamenev and Kevin Sherman in 2006. A decade later,… Read more »
As ROI goes for investing in deep tech, Sydney deep tech innovator Cicada Innovations has delivered in spades over the past 25 years. The organisation celebrated its 25th anniversary this week, estimating that its role in Australia’s economic growth tops $8 billion, including $6.5 billion in capital raised, high-skill jobs creation, and broader innovation innovation… Read more »
The government-backed Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has tipped $25.3 million in new funding into Sydney startup SunDrive, which is developing cheaper, copper-based solar panels. It’s the second major funding injection from ARENA, which also tipped $11 million into SunDrive in 2023 and has now supplied nearly $40 million in capital. SunDrive began life in a… Read more »
The Albanese government has finally responded officially to the Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review handed to them 19 months ago, although the review’s chair, still sees major gaps, despite a pledge to adopt all 11 recommendations. It also comes 8 months after the former minister Ed Husic said in March, ahead of the election,… Read more »
The Victorian government’s flagship tech investment fund, Breakthrough Victoria, ended up in the red for a second year in a row after just four years in operation. The fund, which cut costs while ramping up investment, and increasing returns on cash deposits, posted a $5.7 million loss, according to its 2025 annual report, attributing it… Read more »
Canberra’s startup community has a new local venture capital fund, with ACTivate Capital securing an initial close of $23 million towards a $50m target. The Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) fund will have a dedicated investment pipeline to commercialise local research and help Canberra-grown businesses scale into global markets. ACTivate Capital will invest at… Read more »
Startup 360 cohost Simon Thomsen is flying solo this week, taking a deep dive into philanthropy with Antonia Ruffell, CEO of StartGiving, and the Australian MD of global tech charity initiative Pledge 1%. Technology is transforming the art of giving – with companies such as Atlassian, Canva and now Airtree cofounder Daniel Petre, founder of… Read more »
Sydney venture fund EVP’s Federal Court battle to recover $10.4 million it invested in StrongRoom AI just weeks before it was placed in administration will potentially have new revelations next week when the company’s failure is examined in court by its liquidator. The legal action, begun in March this year, when EVP successfully applied to… Read more »
Gold Coast AI workforce startup Zeligate has raised $500,000 in a Seed round. The deal California B2B early-stage VC DNX Ventures, which also has an office in Tokyo and principal based in Australia, making its first local investment. Zeligate will look to raise a Series A in 12 months to end 2026. Founded in 2023… Read more »
Cytophenix, an infection management medtech using rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests to quickly identify effective antibiotics for patients, has raised $1.3 million in pre-Seed funding. Founded in 2023 by a team of expert researchers, clinicians, and engineers, including Dr Kieran Mulroney, Dr Christine Carson, Sherief Khorshid, Teagan Paton, James Telders and Tim Inglis, Cytophenix is a… Read more »
The federal government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) has invested $54 million in Australian founder Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) medical devices company Synchron as part of a US$200 million (A$305m) Series D. Synchron was spun out of University of Melbourne by cofounders Dr Tom Oxley, Prof Nicholas Opie, and Dr Rahul Sharma in 2012. The company is… Read more »
Institutional investors may have been keen for a slice of Carma’s IPO, which raised $70 million at $2.70 a share, but retail investors weren’t as keen to get behind the wheel when the four-year-old digital car retailer made its ASX debut on Wednesday, with falling up to 10% on their opening day of trade, and… Read more »
Government investments worth more than $31 million in Canberra quantum computing startup Quantum Brilliance have led to the world’s first commercial quantum diamond foundry opening in Melbourne today to produce computer circuits using lab-grown gems. Quantum Brilliance, founded in 2019, using research undertaken at ANU, is the world’s leading developer of miniaturised quantum computing products,… Read more »
Queensland agtech startup Nbryo has raised $10 million for its livestock genetics platform. The agri-biotech is developing a bovine IVF platform to deliver scalable, high-quality outcomes for cattle producers globally. The round was co-led by existing investor Tenacious Ventures, and Kiwi government-backed new believer AgriZeroNZ, with the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), founding investor the Murdoch… Read more »
David Fairfull, the cofounder and former CEO of failed marketing startup Metigy has pleaded guilty to two charges in a prosecution brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). A year after first appearing in Federal Court in the ASIC case, and facing five counts of making false and misleading statements, plus one count… Read more »
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