January has already been piping hot for startup funding, and this week is no different. Four ANZ startups raised more than $307 million across rockets, AI and engineering platforms. Here’s who: Gilmour Space: $217 million Gilmour Space Technologies has landed $217 million in a Series E funding round that lifts the Queensland-founded rocket maker’s valuation… Read more »
Sydney AI security startup Dam Secure has raised $6.1 million (US$4m) in a Seed round led by Washington, DC-based cybersecurity and AI investor, Paladin Capital Group. Dam Secure, founded by Patrick Collins and Simon Harloff, is developing an AI-native platform for organisations to manage the security risks created by the rapid adoption of AI coding… Read more »
A California-based legal tech startup originally founded in New Zealand has raised A$81 million (US$55m) in a Series B. The round for Ivo was led by Blackbird, with support from Costanoa Ventures, Uncork Capital, Fika Ventures, and Kiwi VCs GD1, and Icehouse Ventures, and values the business at $530 million. The Series B comes 12… Read more »
Gilmour Space Technologies banked $217 million (US$145m) in a Series E to become a unicorn, with the Queensland rocket builder’s valuation topping $1 billion. The round was jointly led by the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) and existing backer, super fund Hostplus, with support from previous investors Future Fund, Blackbird, Funds SA, HESTA, NGS Super, Main… Read more »
Construction engineering platform SPEC Toolbox has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A. The investment was co-led by Black Nova and Investible. The Melbourne design software platform specifically for mass timber construction was founded in 2023 by structural engineers Adam Jones and Ringo Thomas as CLT Toolbox, rebranded after realising that design bottlenecks weren’t just… Read more »
The National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) has invested $20 million in neuroscience startup Omniscient Neurotechnology as part of an ongoing $36 million Series D. NRF is co-leading the round with OIF Ventures, taking a preferred equity stake. Omniscient, founded in 2019, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to decode the complexity of the human brain by mapping an… Read more »
We may only be a couple of weeks into January, but the Australian startup funding tap is already starting to trickle. This week saw $39.8 million raised across startups in deceased estate management and fitness spaces, as well as neuroscience. EstateXchange: $12.5 million EstateXchange co-founders Marielle Yeoh and Sarah Poole. Source: Supplied. A startup addressing… Read more »
Touch Ventures (ASX: TVL), which invested more than $36 million into Sendle over several years, wrote down the value of its stake to nil in the weeks before the logistics startup’s abrupt closure. The downgrade, revealed publicly on Wednesday, sheds light on how one of Sendle’s major financial backers responded to worrying claims about its… Read more »
A software platform used by gyms and fitness studios globally to manage memberships has raised $7.25 million. The round for Hapana, founded in 2014, was led by veteran Sydney asset manager Microequities, with follow-on investment from OIF Ventures. OIF backed 2024’s $17 million raise alongside ASX-listed Bailador Technologies. Bailador (ASX: BTI) told shareholders in its investor update… Read more »
When the Victorian government announced plans to disband LaunchVic, and distribute some of its roles to other agencies, like Breakthrough Victoria, there’s a temptation to treat it as an administrative change: a reshuffle of functions, a rebadging of programs, a matter for insiders. That temptation is comforting – and profoundly wrong. I don’t want to… Read more »
A startup addressing the challenges of deceased estate management, cofounded by childhood friends, has banked $12.5 million in its first raise. Backing estateXchange are Macquarie Capital, OIF Ventures, and billionaire Paul Little’s family office, with busines execs Carol Schwartz and Pier 12 Capital chair Christine Christian, also on board as angel investors. The online platform digitises… Read more »
Savic Motorcycles has raised $2 million in a convertible note amid a changing of the guard at the decade-old Melbourne startup. Founder Denis Savic has moved to a strategic role, with Marc Alexander, a 25-year veteran of EV systems, autonomous platforms, IoT, consumer and automotive tech taking on the CEO role. The raise, finalised in… Read more »
The Victorian government’s plan to abolish LaunchVic has shaken beneficiaries of its Alice Anderson Fund, who fear upcoming women-led startups could lose out on important funding, significant business opportunities, and a powerful support network. In response to a major cost-cutting review of the public sector, the Allan government confirmed earlier this month that startup support… Read more »
Despite the continued strained economic climate, we’ve seen some big chunks of change thrown around in 2025. While early-stage funding stayed constrained for much of the year, large cheques concentrated around a smaller group of companies certainly prevailed. In some cases, twice. These were some of the largest Australian startup raises of 2025, and the… Read more »
Canberra startup Aristotle Metadata has secured a $400,000 loan from Tractor Ventures in a capital raising exercise that shows the importance of venture debt as an option for startups. The Aristotle Metadata Registry is a data governance platform that helps organisations improve the quality, compliance and accessibility of their data; a growing challenge amid the… Read more »
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