End-of-life planning platform, Safewill, has raised $5.5 million in what the startup is calling a Series A for the second time in 19 month. The tech platform previously raised $3 million in a Series A in October 2021. The latest round was led by Carthona Capital, supported by existing backer Reinventure, plus Flying Fox Ventures.… Read more »
Stakeholder engagement platform Fresh Equities has raised $4 million and is changing its name as it looks to improve public company communications with investors. The round was led by Sydney VC EVP. The business has also rebranded as InvestorHub as it looks to expand into international markets such as the UK, Singapore, Canada and the… Read more »
ASX-listed biotech Emyria(ASX: EMD), which is developing psychotherapy treatments using MDMA (aka ecstacy) and psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms), has raised $2.5 million in share placement backed by existing investor Andrew Forrest through the healthtech fund Tenmile, part of his private investment group, Tattarang. The $2.5 million placement was jointly led by Perth’s Sixty Two Capital… Read more »
Concerns over mail order weight loss brands Juniper and Pilot by Australian doctors haven’t dampened investor appetite its parent telehealth company, Eucalyptus, which has raised $50 million on a $520 million valuation. The round was backed by several existing Eucalyptus investors, including Blackbird Ventures, the Woolworths VC fund W23, and US investor Mary Meeker’s BOND… Read more »
Business planning platform Empiraa has eschewed venture capital for a second time to raise $518,000 on a $7.5 million valuation. The Melbourne startup was founded in 2021, and went on to raise $637,000 in December that year, after an initial $110,000 pre-seed round. Founder Ash Brown said business had “a half-time pivot due to changing… Read more »
Mr Yum rival Me&u raised $30 million in a round led by Acorn Capital in December 2022 to give the 3.5-year-old startup enough runway for its push to be profitable next financial year. The raise was led by Acorn Capital, with the only acknowledgement of the investment appearing in the ASX-listed (ASX:ACQ) investment company’s December… Read more »
Music licensing platform Melodie has raised $1 million at a $15 million valuation, a more than four-fold increase on the $4m valuation when the software startup previously raised $600,000 in September 2021. The raise included follow-on investments from Code Barrel founder Nick Menere, and The Drop Festival co-owner Peter Strain. The funds will be used… Read more »
With no end in sight to the freeze in venture capital funding markets and darkening economic clouds, startups have been doing everything they can to prioritise their people, hone their business models and lengthen their runways. I’ve been heartened by the determination of our community. For those considering an equity crowdfunding raise, there are five… Read more »
Waave, a fintech using open banking to build a direct debit alternative to card payments, has raised $4.7 million in a Seed round. The round was backed by a range of prominent individuals, including Menulog boss Morten Belling, eCommerce pioneer Paul Greenberg and Chemist Warehouse founder Jack Gance, who joins the fintech as an advisor.… Read more »
Synthetic biology startup Cortical Labs, which is developing a new kind of artificial intelligence using human brain cells, has raised USD$10 million (A$15m). The Melbourne biotech rose to prominence in October last year when it combined 800,000 brain cells with a computer chip to learn to play the video gam Pong. The project was dubbed… Read more »
Sydney startup propeller, which uses drones for mapping and analysis of construction, quarries, mines, and other ground sites has raised US$15.35 million (A$ 22.8m) in a round led by its long-time backers Blackbird and Silicon Valley VC Costanoa Partners. Also joining the cap table are Aware Super, Canva founder Cliff Obrecht, and LaunchVic chair Leigh Jasper’s… Read more »
ASX-listed venture capital fund Bailador Technology Investments Limited (ASX:BTI) has tipped $9.8m investment into people management software platform Rosterfy. The investment marks a return to backing startups for Bailador, which last year declined to invest in any new startups. Last month the VC tipped an additional $10 million into existing portfolio company InstantScript, a digital… Read more »
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) software startup Fivecast, has raised US$20 million (AU$30m) in a Series A. The Adelaide-based intelligence gathering platform scans publicly available data, including social media sites and the dark web, to identify threats ranging from extremists to terrorists, drug trafficking and organised crime. The round was led by US cybersecurity VC Ten Eleven,… Read more »
A Melbourne startup that’s hoping to build a mental health app to help people clear their minds has raised $800,000 despite being at least 9 months away from releasing a product. Called Modo, the startup has been backed by Archangel Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, Co Ventures, Giant Leap Fund, the female founder-focused Alice Anderson Fund,… Read more »
A Melbourne startup hoping to be the Canva of 3D presentations has raised another $5.2 million from exisiting investors. It’s the third time Rampersand and Investible have backed JigSpace, co-leading the round with Vulpes Investment Management, which previously backed the 3D and augmented reality (AR) product tool in its 2021 $6 million Series A. The… Read more »
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