Sydney spacesuit startup Metakosmos, which is developing the “Kosmosuit” for life in space, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round. The round was led Saudi Arabian technology group Alzadhar Al-Sanai and will be used by Metakosmos to accelerate its innovation pipeline, advance spacesuit technology and launch spin-off applications in multiple industries for new markets.… Read more »
Early childhood edtech LoveHeart AI has raised $2.3 million in a Seed round for its “super-intelligent aide for educators”. The raise was backed OIF Ventures and Skalata. Loveheart was founded in 2022 by Himal Randeniya, who used the proceeds from his first venture, Project Academy, to buy and run several early childhood education centres. He… Read more »
A New Zealand startup revolutionising the way the bicycle parts are bought and sold globally has raised NZ$2 Million in a Seed round. Rotorua-based Bike Matrix offers a B2B compatibility solution that allows users to “select a bike and see what fits.” The startup declined to name its investors saying they came from inside the… Read more »
A cleantech startup hoping to replacing the amount of diesel fuel in heavy-duty vehicles and machinery by up to 90% has been backed early-stage VC firm Investible. The level of pre-Seed funding for DeCarice from Investible’s Climate Tech Fund was not disclosed. DeCarice was founded in 2023 by engine industry veteran Goran Bozic, and Professor… Read more »
New Zealand meal planning and grocery shopping app MenuAid has rebranded to Appetise after raising NZ$4 million (A$3.6m) in a pre-Series A. The raise was backed by Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures and OIF in Australia. As part of the rebrand, Appetise’s consumer app is moving to a free model, cutting its $4 weekly subscription, while… Read more »
Biomedical technology incubator Proto Axiom has raised $20 million in the first close of a planned $30m Series B. The company did not name its latest backers, who join the likes of Catalio, Parkview International, Churchill Asset Management and HOF Capital, who invested in a $15m Series A in September 2022.’ Proto Axiom set out… Read more »
A Sydney biotechnology startup tackling behavioural and psychological symptoms in illnesses such as dementia and substance abuse has raised $14.5m in a Series B. The raise for Kinoxis Therapeutics, cofounded by researchers from the chemistry and psychology faculties at Sydney University, was backed by pioneering venture fund Uniseed, UniSuper, the university, Stoic VC, and US-based Avicella… Read more »
A startup turning looking good into a membership has raised A$1.25 million in a push to rethink how we use beauty treatment services. The round for aglow was led by Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures via Brand Fund, a joint venture with NZ brand development firm Previously Unavailable, with support from Ryan Baker, founder of beauty-tech… Read more »
Funding from the federal government’s new $392 million Industry Growth Program (IGP) has begun to flow, with $7.4 million in grants awarded to give startups spanning biotech, robotics, renewable energy, cybersecurity and medtech. IGP was announced in the 2023 federal budget, replacing the former Entrepreneurs Program, which had the same level of funding, but was… Read more »
A Sydney software platform managing memberships for the world’s leader fitness brands has raised $17.3 million in a Series A from OIF Ventures and Bailador. Hapana’s platform, a white label CRM solution for membership payments, retention and loyalty, is used by fitness brands such as BFT, KX Pilates, UFC Gym and F45 across 17 countries.… Read more »
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 »
Crowdfunding platform Birchal has launched an angel network platform, with backing from LaunchVic. Birchal First is designed to connect angel investors with early-stage Victorian startups in the hardware technology space, investing from pre-seed to Series A. The roll out has been underpinned by a $300,000 grant from LaunchVic and is the 10th angel network the… Read more »
Artificial intelligence-based loans assessment platform Rich Data Co has topped up its Series B, nine months on, with another $9 million, this time from Acorn Capital, for a total raise of $37 million. The fintech banked $28 million last November in part 1 of its Series B, led by Westpac and Nasdaq-listed cloud banking firm… Read more »
A legal generative AI startup founded by a trio of lawyers and computer scientists has raised $1.5 million in funding for international expansion. The round for Graceview was led by Singapore-based entrepreneur Patrick Linton, with support from a range of tech founders and investors. The compliance platform combines AI, machine learning, legal expertise and and… Read more »
Australian government-backed Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has doubled down on rideshare car rental firm Splend, investing another $20 million in the scaleup to increase its electric vehicles (EVs) fleet. The fresh cash comes just 13 months after the initial CEFC investment of $20 million in June 2023, which then saw Splend add 500 EVs… Read more »
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