Venture Capital Archives

Investible teams up with UNSW to back climate tech uni spin-offs

Simon Thomsen - December 4, 2024 2 MIN READ

Sydney early-stage VC Investible will partner with UNSW’s Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE) program in a co-investment partnership to back climate tech startups emerging from the university. The Technology Commercialisation Venture Scheme will target Seed and Series A investments into UNSW climate-tech spin-offs and companies supported through TRaCE. The first-of-its-kind for an Australian… Read more »

People

Former science and innovation minister Arthur Sinodinos joins deep tech VC Salus Ventures

Startup Daily - December 4, 2024 2 MIN READ

Former spy boss Paul Symon, Australian Missile Corp CEO Rear Admiral Lee Goddard and former Senator Arthur Sinodinos have signed on with VC fund Salus Ventures as strategic advisors as the firm sharpens its focus on defence and national security. The Sydney-based $40 million fund, launched in 2023 and led by former Salesforce Ventures Australia… Read more »

Venture Capital

VC Airtree brings in new US investors for fifth fund with $650 million target

Startup Daily - November 26, 2024 2 MIN READ

Sydney venture capital firm Airtree Ventures is hoping to fill a fifth fund with $650 million to kick off 2025, gathering commitments from three US investors as it hits its first closure. The Sydney VC will split the capital in two, with Core Fund V investing in early-stage startups at Seed stage while Opportunity Fund… Read more »

Venture Capital

Hort Innovation and VC Artesian will plough $60 million into startups with a new agtech fund

Simon Thomsen - November 25, 2024 2 MIN READ

Not-for-profit research and development company Hort Innovation is teaming up with venture capital firm Artesian for a new $60 million VC fund to back early-stage startups tackling challenges for fruit, vegetable and nut farmers. Hort will chip in around $24 million to the Hort Innovation Venture Fund, leveraged by co-investments sourced by Artesian, for a… Read more »

Climate Tech

Queensland Investment Corporation tips $10 million into climate tech VC Virescent Ventures

Simon Thomsen - November 19, 2024 2 MIN READ

A recent change of government in the Sunshine State has not slowed the Queensland Investment Corporation’s (QIC) enthusiasm for backing venture capital firms eager to invest in local startups. QIC joined Westpac and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) as a cornerstone investor in Virescent’s new $200 million climate tech fund (Fund II), reportedly tipping… Read more »

Business strategy

‘Every dollar we raise, we treat like our last’: Zeller’s Ben Pfisterer on building a unicorn fintech with venture capital

Startup Daily - November 8, 2024 7 MIN READ

When Zeller CEO and cofounder Ben Pfisterer raised $100 million in a Series B that valued the then two-year fintech at $1 billion, he was talking to his US investor from behind a $19 IKEA desk. Pfisterer has spent his career in payments, including six years building Square in Australia for Jack Dorsey, and has… Read more »

Mighty Partners, left to right: Ethan Singer, Co-Founder and Nathan Ryba, Partner. Image: Supplied.

Funding

Keeping control: How to raise capital without giving away your startup

Simon Jones - November 6, 2024 3 MIN READ

Every startup founder faces strategic decisions that could make or break their vision – and one question looms large: how do you secure capital to fuel growth without handing away too much ownership? It’s a balancing act that has become increasingly relevant in the face of shifting market dynamics and founder insecurities about the most… Read more »

Business

Raising in 2024: Why Australian startups are turning to Singapore for VC

Duco van Breemen - October 28, 2024 4 MIN READ

More and more Australian startups are chasing capital from VCs in Singapore—and for good reason. Unlike Australian VCs, who risk losing tax concessions if they invest too heavily outside Australia, Singapore-based investors face no such restrictions and are actively deploying capital across global markets. That’s why we decided to ask some of APAC’s most influential… Read more »

Business

Why backing women founders is the smartest bet for investors

Frances Goh - October 24, 2024 3 MIN READ

LinkedIn News Australia recently interviewed me about the underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem. At first glance, the statistics paint a bleak picture; according to the Q3 Cut Through Venture report, only 4% of total capital raised in Australia went to female-only founded teams, and just 13% to female co-founded ventures. These dismal numbers… Read more »

Climate Tech

Westpac & CEFC underpin new $200 million climate tech VC fund

Simon Thomsen - October 8, 2024 2 MIN READ

Specialist climate tech investor Virescent Ventures is halfway towards its goal of creating a new $200 million fund thanks to backing from Westpac and the government-backed Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). Virescent Ventures hit the $100 million first close of its second climate technology investment fund (Fund II), following on from the first portfolio, managed… Read more »

Diversity

Why backing female founders is more than just a numbers game

Kylie Frazer - September 19, 2024 3 MIN READ

In the world of venture capital, numbers tell a story, but rarely the full story. When I recently shared thoughts on LinkedIn about gender equity in Australian VC, the flood of DMs revealed a stark truth: we’re grappling with a more complex issue than simple statistics can convey. It’s time to look beyond the numbers… Read more »

woman and two men in old black and white photo

Advice

The questions founders should ask startup investors in the first meeting

Warwick Donaldson - September 18, 2024 4 MIN READ

I coach founders every week on how to hold more effective investor meetings, and there’s one recurring problem: founders wasting time chasing investors who don’t fit. Sound familiar? Success isn’t pitching your startup. The path to fundraising success starts with making sure the investor is right for you. You have the right – and responsibility… Read more »

Venture Capital

A new $66 million VC fund is looking to seed medtech startups

Startup Daily - August 28, 2024 2 MIN READ

Victoria’s Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) for medical research as built a $66 million venture capital war chest to back medtech startups over the next decade, turning the institute’s work into commercial biotech companies. The strategic investment fund, 66ten, managed by WEHI Ventures, will back pre-Seed and Seed rounds in the hope of bridging… Read more »

Venture Capital

How to angel: a new education platform is teaching early-stage investors about backing startups

Startup Daily - August 15, 2024 2 MIN READ

Startup investment marketplace Inhouse Ventures has developed a new platform to teach aspiring early-stage investors the art of angel investing. Inhouse Ventures cofounder Elliot Spiegel said AngelClass is also designed reduce the friction out of startup funding, automating the process and matching with investors and venture capitalists to make funding faster. It also includes a… Read more »

Rachael Neumann, Kylie Frazer, Flying Fox

Funding

LaunchVic tips another $2.4 million into eight new early-stage VC funds

Simon Thomsen - August 9, 2024 2 MIN READ

Victorian startups will have eight new early-stage venture capital (VC) funds to hit up for cash, seeded with $300,000 each from LaunchVic. All up, $2.4 million in grants will go to the VCs, including some from Sydney, to open shop in Victoria. They are: Australian Medical Angels, Ecotone Partners, Era VC, Flying Fox Ventures, Mandalay… Read more »