New Zealand agritech startup Metrovate has raised NZ$1 million (A$920k) to develop its precision plant growth “biostimulant”. The investment was made by early-stage accelerator and commercialisation firm Sprout Agritech with support from its investment partners, US-based Finistere Ventures, Kiwi dairy giant Fonterra and venture builder OurCrowd, as well as the Te Pokapū Auaha Callaghan Innovation’s… Read more »
Budget cuts and ongoing criticism of the state government-backed Breakthrough Victoria have not slowed its capital deployment, with $5 million invested in medtech manufacturing startup Neo-Bionica. Founded in 2021 as a joint initiative of the Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne and based at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Neo-Bionica was developed to fill a… Read more »
Sydney fintech Data Zoo has raised $35 million (US$22.7m) taking on external capital for the first time. The funding came from Ashok Jacob’s Sydney investment firm, Ellerston Capital, via its JAADE fund, which has also backed startups Mable, Camms, and Phocas. The deal values the business at more than $100 million. Data Zoo’s software provides… Read more »
Welcome to The Ask, Our column designed for founders looking for capital. It may be venture capital, crowdfunding or another path, and is designed to flag your startup to potential investors. If you’re on the hunt for cash, we’re happy to share the news with Australia’s startup community. This is your chance to pitch directly… Read more »
Startup investing is risky AF and it’s also very beneficial to the Australian economy so the government has a number of different incentives to encourage it. Today, we are going to talk about one of these incentives called “Early Stage Innovation Company” (ESIC) which targets angel investors. If the stars align, then ESIC could mean… Read more »
Digital beef cattle management platform AgriWebb has raised US $US7.2 million (A$11m). The 10-year-old startup attracted listed Swedish climate solutions firm Munters Group as a new investor, with existing backers Germin8 Ventures, Grosvenor Food & AgTech, and Telus Ventures, the VC arm of the Canadian telecommunications giant, also part of the round. AgriWebb, founded in… Read more »
Welcome to The Ask, our regular column for founders looking for capital. It may be venture capital, crowdfunding or another path, but if you’re on the hunt for cash, we’re happy to share the news with Australia’s startup community. This is your chance to pitch directly to them. This week it’s we have a special… Read more »
Melbourne tech startup V2 Digital has pocketed a $30 million equity investment from Columbia Capital just 12 months after launching. The digital transformation and data consultancy takes vision to value in companies, combining its experience, data, software, and cloud expertise to upskill internal talent. Founder Craig Howe launched the business in April 2023 and now has… Read more »
Wollongong-based electrolyser startup Hysata, which is developing production methods for low-cost green hydrogen, has raised $172 million (US$111.3m) in a Series B, a record for clean tech in Australia. The round was co-led by the venture arm of oil industry giant bp, and Investec’s Hong Kong-based alternative investment firm Templewater, with both chipping in US$10m (A$15.2m).… Read more »
SupplyScope, a product development startup dealing with regulatory compliance and safety to get to market faster, has raised $300,000 from early-stage investor Skalata. The challenge faced by product suppliers is that takes months of testing and paperwork to get to market. As a result, many have bypassed larger stockists by selling direct-to-consumer and via online… Read more »
Gaming content generation platform Stori has rebranded as Nucanon having raised $500,000 in what the startup says is another pre-Seed raise. The latest round was led by Skalata with support Outlier Ventures, Paperclip Partners, and Sydney FC CEO Mark Aubrey, as well as existing investor Antler. Launched in 2022 by Nilushanan Kulasingham, who built his… Read more »
A Sydney-based online customer support platform using AI to answer questions has raised $3.85 million. The raise for Brainfish was led by Peak XV (the renamed Sequoia Capital India), with support from Macdoch Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, MadPaws CEO Justus Hammer and US and Australian angel investors. It’s the second round for the business in… Read more »
An eight-year-old Sydney-based Airbnb property management platform has raised $10 million as it looks to grow through a merger and acquisition startegy. Hometime, founded in 2016 in Perth, previously raised around $12.7 million in debt and equity in 2019 from the likes of NAB Ventures, One Ventures, and AS1 Capital. The latest cash injection comes… Read more »
Fintech Kashcade has raised an additional $1 million from existing investor Prandium Capital and several high net worths, alongside a $22 million warehouse facility funded by asset-backed lending specialist Rixon Capital. The digital lender offers startup founders non-dilutive capital and will use the debt warehouse to expand into the R&D lending space, so companies can… Read more »
The federal and Queensland governments have put the house on a US quantum startup over local rivals in a financial package worth $940 million (US$620m) to build a quantum computer in Brisbane. PsiQuantum was founded in Palo Alto, California in 2015 by expat Australian professors Jeremy O’Brien, Terry Rudolph, Mark Thompson and Dr Pete Shadbolt.… Read more »
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