ASX-listed jobs platform Airtasker (ASX:ART) has cut a new media-for-equity deal with 4 Ventures, the VC arm of Channel Four Television, worth £2.5 million (A$5.1m). The media inventory deal for its British subsidiary, Airtasker UK, is the third as the business hit a gross marketplace volume annualised run rate (ARR) of more than $21 million… Read more »
A Sydney climate tech startup looking to electrify heavy freight supply chains has shown what’s possible in a demonstration trial with impact toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap. New Energy Transport (NET), founded in 2024, by Daniel Bleakley and Scania’s former head of innovation, Fredrik Pehrsson, is a trucking company delivering zero-emission heavy road… Read more »
Enterprise software scaleup Octopus Deploy, which bootstrapped for 11 years, before a $220 million raise in 2021 took on $US30 million (A$45m) in fresh capital from its existing and only investor, New York VC Insight Partners, ahead of a major acquisition. The new funding was secured in 2024 before the Brisbane business spent $43 million… Read more »
ASX-listed defence technology company DroneShield will spend $13 million developing a new R&D facility in Adelaide, South Australia. The investment covers three years of operational and capital expenditure. DroneShield sells protection against threats such as drones and autonomous systems as well as electronic warfare solutions and off-the-shelf counter-measures for terrestrial, maritime or airborne drone attacks,… Read more »
Wellington startup PAM (Personal Administration Manager) has raised NZ$570,000 (A$502k) in the first close of its Seed round to help parents deal with the life admin of raising a family. Initial support was led by Flying Kiwi Angels, with participation from Icehouse Ventures, Even Capital’s Sarah Park, Easy Crypto founder Janine Grainger, Foggy Valley, Wainot… Read more »
Melbourne scaleup Heidi Health has raised US$65 million (A$98m) in a series B, just seven months after banking nearly $27m in a Series A top up. The round was led by New York hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen’s VC arm, Point72 Private Investments, supported by exiting backers including local VC Blackbird, and US funds… Read more »
British risk management firm Ideagen has acquired WorkSafe Guardian, a smartphone safety app for lone workers. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition delivers an exit for South Australian VC Eastend Ventures just three years after investing in the decade-old Adelaide startup. WorkSafe Guardian was founded by Greg Lindner and Adam… Read more »
Australian-born, US-based OpenSolar has banked US$20 million (A$30m) in a fresh raise as it looks to expand its AI implementation in the renawables design and sales platform. The raise was backed by existing investors Titanium Ventures – the former Telstra VC fund – and London- and Copenhagen-based 2150 Sustainability Fund, as well as Google, and… Read more »
Fintech Zeller is taking its business banking platform to the UK in its first international expansion. The fast-growing Melbourne unicorn has appointed former ByteDance executive Lars Weber as UK country manager and is looking to put 40 pairs of boots on the ground there over the next three years, with team members already recruited from… Read more »
Embattled bank ANZ has shut down its venture capital arm, 1835i, just three weeks after cashing in its chips in Airwallex – US$44 million ($A67m) stake sold to the fintech’s founders and executives. The writing was on the wall for the business, which still had 10 companies in its portfolio, when ANZ, under new CEO… Read more »
Liftwomen the female-focused crowdfunding platform, has raised $1.3 million as it looks to expand into Asia. The raise was led by Singapore VC Braxton Capital Ventures with support from former Alibaba Australia boss Maggie Zhou and former AXA chair Asia Gordon Watson. The cash injection is earmarked to Asian expansion, especially Hong Kong and China,… Read more »
Indi, an AI-powered co-pilot app helping parents of children with complex care needs, has raised $1.46 million. The round was led by Giant Leap and supported by Antler, along with several strategic angel investors. The capital will be spent on talent to accelerate platform development and expand partnerships with allied health clinics and families. Indi… Read more »
A Brisbane startup hoping to unleash the unrealised productivity gains of workplace artificial intelligence has raised $2.3 million in pre-Seed funding to help people refine ideas and inspiration using AI. The round for Enhance Labs was led by Blackbird Ventures with support from QIC Ventures. Enhance was cofounded by former Amazon engineer Haziq Nordin, former… Read more »
New Zealand fintech Wych has raised NZ $1.5 million (A$1.32m) to accelerate open banking delivery in New Zealand and Australia . The round was New Zealand FinTech Fund (NZFF) with participation from the NZX-listed Booster Innovation Fund (BIF) and other strategic investors. Wych provides secure, real-time financial information and data exchange to power the next generation… Read more »
The NSW government has finally confirmed Stone & Chalk as operator of the relocated and rebranded Sydney Startup Hub at Tech Central with Fishburners as anchor partner. The move provides certainty for Fishburners, one of the city’s original startup coworking spaces, which was left marooned at the Startup Hub’s former Wynyard site after the government… Read more »
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