There’s still time to get your pitch applications in for the ‘startup Olympics’: the Startup World Cup 2025. Startup World Cup Australia is looking for local startups and scaleups to pitch at their Sydney and Melbourne events, which will give winners a chance to compete for a hefty US$1 million investment prize at the Startup… Read more »
The NSW budget, announced tomorrow, includes nearly $80 million of new funding in response to the recently released Innovation Blueprint. The third Labor budget from treasurer Daniel Mookhey is the first time the Minns government has made a notable, yet modest, investment in the startup and tech sector. For comparison, the recent South Australian budget… 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 »
A new venture capital fund with heavy-hitting corporate partners and focused on backing climate tech startups at Series A has secured $50 million in commitments to reach its first close. Climate Tech Partners (CTP), founded in 2023 by Patrick Sieb and Tom Kline (who established Investible’s climate tech fund), more than doubled its size thanks… 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 »
Climate, health and people-related startups are getting an increasing slice of early-stage Australian investment according to new analysis of where venture capital is being deployed. The report, Impact Startups Benchmark Report 2025. draws on data from Melbourne impact investor Giant Leap, and more than 2,800 startup deals over the past three years. While total startup… Read more »
“Is my idea VC-backable?” You probably heard this and rolled your eyes thinking “What does that mean?” So let me break down exactly what it takes to be VC-backable and explain what VCs are looking for, portfolio construction and the steps to check if it’s a fit for your company. DISCLAIMER: Not every business is… 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 »
A Cloud Guru’s Sam Kroonenburg has teamed up with Go1’s Andrew Barnes and more than a dozen other founders of tech companies that achieved a $1 billion valuation to back a new $50 million venture capital fund to invest in the next wave of potential unicorns. Glitch Capital also involves two OGs of local tech,… Read more »
EVP has added 20 more defendants, including earlier VC investors – taking the total to 32 – in its legal action to recover $10.4 million invested in StrongRoom AI. EVP has a freezing order over the company’s assets and during a case management hearing on Wednesday added the company’s other early investors, including Artesian Ventures,… Read more »
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