A New Zealand agtech scaleup Halter has hit unicorn status with a A$1.55 billion (US$1bn) valuation following a $155 million in a Series D. The round was led by US investor Mary Meeker’s Bond, with support from NewView Capital, and existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC, Blackbird, NZ’s Icehouse Ventures, and Promus Ventures. Bond’s investment… Read more »
A US startup used extensively by Australian authorities to detect bushfires has raised a US$44 million (A$68m) Series B. The round for Pano AI included an undisclosed level of secondary share sales, with the surveillance platform claiming to have raised A$138m (US$89m) in its five-year-old lifetime. New investor Giant Ventures led the raise, supported by… Read more »
Serial cybersecurity entrepreneur Michael Watts is back with new startup, kicking off a proactive cloud security platform, Circumvent, with US$6 million (A$9.2m) Seed round from Paladin Capital Group. Watts was previously founder and CEO of Cloud Conformity, which Paladin backed in 2018 with a US$3.1 million Series A. The following year the startup was acquired… Read more »
Trans-Tasman VC Blackbird has tripled down on New Zealand-born brand tracking platform Tracksuit in a $38 million in a Series B. The round was led California consumer brands investor VMG Partners, supported by existing backers Blackbird, NZ’s Icehouse Ventures, and San Francisco’s Altos Ventures, and Footwork. Tracksuit previously raised a $20.5 million Series A in… Read more »
Disability tech accelerator Remarkable has backed one of its alumni in a $3.5 million Seed raise for Sociability, which helps people with disability discover accessible spaces. Remarkable’s investment came through its Scaler co-investment initiative, which backs disability tech startups in Australia, the UK, US, and elsewhere. The raise for Sociability was led by Britain’s Growth… Read more »
When Chris Friend rocked up to a Bondi Boardriders comp in 2016, he didn’t expect to stumble across a business idea that would soon power surf and skate comps around the world. But standing in the sand, watching organisers scramble with pens, paper, and spreadsheets, he and mate Fernando Freire, a surfer and software programmer,… Read more »
Melbourne renewables battery startup Voltavate has raised $850,000 in a pre-Seed round to make lithium-ion batteries and energy storage devices safer, more efficient and sustainable. The round was led by Artesian, with support from Investible, Electrifi Ventures, and angel investors John Wood, Christiaan Jordaan, and Steven Vassiloudis, as well as the startup’s chair, Reza Behnam.… Read more »
A blockchain financial infrastructure startup has raised $14 million in a Series A, including $11m worth in Bitcoin and the stablecoin USDT. The raise for CloudTech will fund the rollout of an institutional-grade custody solution for digital assets, as well as expansion of a broader crypto-native financial ecosystem. The funding came from several undisclosed investors.… Read more »
A tech platform that helps doctors transcribe medical notes faster from conversations with patients has raised $12 million, valuing the two-year-old startup at $50 million. The round for Melbourne-based Lyrebird Health was led by Five V Capital and UK fund Octopus Ventures, with support from Startmate. The AI-powered medical scribe generates clinical documentation from patient-doctor… Read more »
Renewable energy retailer Amber has raised another $45 million in venture capital as it ramps up global ambitions for its battery and EV automation technology. The round was led by UK/Europe-based impact investor ETF (Environmental Technologies Fund) Partners and supported by existing backers including Square Peg, Gentrack, Rubio Impact Ventures, and Breakthrough Victoria. Amber previously raised $29… Read more »
So you closed your Series A. Congrats. But if the champagne’s gone flat and growth’s not following the graph you pitched, welcome to the plateau. The Series A lull is where promising startups go to stall. And if you don’t rewire your mindset, ops, and culture, it’s where momentum quietly dies. Zing Coach’s been there:… Read more »
Termina, a software startup that helps small business get cheaper energy prices through collective buying, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A. The round was led by Sydney VC EVP, via its Fund IV, with support from existing investors Archangel Ventures and Skalata. The five-year-old Melbourne startup plans to expand globally, with eyes on… Read more »
Superannuation and share trading platform Superhero has pocketed $11 million in fresh capital, which increasing its valuation by $22.5 million in just three months. The new cash comes after a $3 million raise in February at a $125.5 million valuation. All up, the business has now taken on around $70 million in external capital and… Read more »
The federal Labor government’s flagship National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is back investing post-election, hitting the send button on another $27 million to lead a $40 million Series C for PolyActiva. The 15-year-old Melbourne biotechnology scaleup is developing potentially revolutionary eye implant technology to treat glaucoma and improve treatment outcomes for patients with ocular (eye)… Read more »
A nine-month wait to finalise their pre-Seed round has paid off for product market testing startup Heatseeker, nearly doubling its size to US$1.5 (A$2.3m). The raise was led by San Francisco-based Capital F, with support from Dom Pym’s family office, Euphemia, Even Capital and East End Ventures. In September last year, the Sydney via Gold… Read more »
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