The NextGen Ventures Melbourne team: Donald La, Ikya Thearam, Mitchell Hughes, Varad Chaudhari. Photo: Valent Media.
Venture Capital

Investors have poured more than $1.2 billion into Australian student-founded startups

- March 25, 2024 3 MIN READ

University students are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship, with student-founded startups raising more than $1.2 billion since 2012. And now that investment is set to escalate dramatically with the launch of Australia’s first student-run venture capital fund. NextGen Ventures, which launches this week, has taken a deep dive into the data around VC and student founders,… Read more »

knights, joust, horse
Venture Capital

‘More than just a venture capital firm’: $2 billion sovereign fund Breakthrough Victoria hits back at critics who want it abolished

- March 23, 2024 5 MIN READ

Government-backed investment fund Breakthrough Victoria has defended itself against critics wanting it abolished saying it wants to “fundamentally reshape the innovation landscape”. The $2 billion VC fund, launched in 2021, and chaired by former Labor premier John Brumby, has been subject to a sustained media campaign for it to be dismantled, led by Adir Shiffman,… Read more »

Kids on bike with rockets
Business strategy

Why Australian startup founders should bootstrap if they really want to succeed

- March 21, 2024 3 MIN READ

Australia’s startup world glorifies venture capital as the holy grail—the insider’s ticket to fast scaling and billion-dollar valuations. FOMO sets in when headlines splash record-breaking funding rounds, fuelling a culture that views VC backing as the singular metric for success. As an ecosystem, we fixate on spinning the VC roulette wheel. Even founders who don’t… Read more »

Breek Kirkham
People

VC investor Bree Kirkham joins F5 Collective as chief commercial officer

- March 19, 2024 2 MIN READ

Bree Kirkham has joined Tracey Warren’s F5 Collective, a fund established to close the gender funding gap and support female founders, as chief commercial officer. Kirkham joins F5 Collective having most recently been a general partner at Flying Fox Ventures. She has more than eight years of experience in investments, operational leadership, and international expansion.… Read more »

Investec
People

ASX-listed VC Touch Ventures and its CEO part ways

- March 12, 2024 2 MIN READ

Touch Ventures, the ASX-listed VC fund initially backed by BNPL fintech Afterpay, is breaking up with its CEO, Hein Vogel, after 4.5 years. In a statement to the market on Monday, the company said the board and CEO “have reached a consensus on his departure” with Vogel handing back his swipe card on March 29… Read more »

Diversity

Startup investment still has far to travel on diversity – here’s what we need to think about

- March 8, 2024 6 MIN READ

I’ve written about how, in general, I think the Aussie startup investment industry is doing pretty well following the release of the Cut Through Ventures 2023 State of Startup Funding report, despite all the volatility of recent years. I’ve also written about some of the more interesting revelations of the report which really highlighted how investors and… Read more »

Adam Jacobs and Chaz Heitner
Funding

Gen Z jobs marketplace Hatch banks $7 million Seed round

- February 19, 2024 2 MIN READ

A jobs marketplace targeting Generation Z with AI-based matching has raised $7 million in its Seed round.  Sydney-based Hatch was cofounded by The Iconic cofounder Adam Jacobs and Zip cofounder Chaz Heitner in 2018. The raise was led by Rampersand, with support from Alberts Impact Ventures, Aura Ventures, Jelix Ventures, and Investible, as well as existing… Read more »

Bede Moore and Mike Abbott, Antler
Venture Capital

Queensland government backs 5 VCs, including Antler and Main Sequence, with $130 million

- February 14, 2024 3 MIN READ

The Queensland government’s new venture capital development fund has backed five VCs: Antler, Five V Capital, Main Sequence, Mandalay Venture Partners and Salus Ventures, with a combined $130 million investment. Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the deals will give Queensland startups access to up to $200 million in new matched… Read more »

Tan Kueh & Jeremy Kwong-Law
People

Mike Cannon-Brookes names former Macquarie banker Tan Kueh as Grok’s CEO

- February 12, 2024 2 MIN READ

Grok Ventures, the private investment fund of Atlassian cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes, has named global asset management executive Tan Kueh as CEO, joining chief investment officer Jeremy Kwong-Law. Cannon-Brookes said that Grok is entering a new phase of growth, having refined its investment strategy to make a bigger impact on addressing the global climate challenge. “Having… Read more »

Dan Gavel
Investing

Black Sheep Capital founder Dan Gavel talks about building a diversified investment strategy in VC

- January 23, 2024 2 MIN READ

Brisbane based investor Daniel Gavel is known for his down-to-earth and innovative approach to investing through angel investing, Black Sheep Capital Fund, and the Flock Syndicate. The Black Sheep portfolio includes Airtasker, Sendle, Amber Electric and Llama Life. Gavel recently sat down with Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels and Maxine Minter to talk about his… Read more »

Prota Therapeutics CEO Prof Mimi Tang.
Funding

Allergies biotech startup Prota Therapeutics innoculated with $32 million in Series A1 raise

- January 17, 2024 2 MIN READ

Melbourne biotech startup Prota Therapeutics has raised US$21 million (A$32m) ahead of a Phase 3 clinical trial for its oral therapy treatment for peanut allergy. The round, a combination of equity and debt financing, was led by Singapore-based SPRIM Global Investments (SGI). Australian VC OneVentures was an early backer of the biotech and one of… Read more »