Uniseed CEO Peter Devine and University of Newcastle's Warwick Dawson
Funding

Uniseed adds another $25m from UniSuper to commercialise academic research

- May 20, 2025 2 MIN READ

Veteran venture fund Uniseed has raised another $25 million from its exclusive institutional investment partner UniSuper to try and draw more startups from Aussie universities. Uniseed has been around 2000 and provides seed funding for early-stage research and technology startups to help commercialise technologies developed in Australia’s world-class research institutions. “We’re proud to have UniSuper’s… Read more »

Mahesh Muralidhar
Funding

GD1-backed Kiwi VC Phase One Ventures closes early-stage fund with NZ$2.1 million backing 14 startups

- May 8, 2025 2 MIN READ

Four years after it launched, New Zealand VC fund Phase One has fully deployed its NZ$2.1 million (A$1.94m) early stage fund into 14 tech startups, including five (36%) with female founders. The fund, launched in April 2021, following the establishment of its early stage incubator community in 2020, the attracted GD1 as its anchor investor… Read more »

Funding

Trumponomics and startup raising: how to navigate turbulent waters

- May 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

As a founder who has successfully navigated the choppy waters of fundraising through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the Covid-19 pandemic, I find myself facing yet another storm, this time, stirred by Trump’s recent trade policies. The current funding environment bears an uncanny resemblance to those past crises, and the implications for early-stage startups… Read more »

Funding

Queensland R&D finance fintech raises $2.3 million

- May 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

An R&D finance fintech based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has raised $2.3 million towards a $25 million fund to lend as non-dilutive capital to Australian startups. Founder Alex Knight moved home to Coolum three years ago to raise a family, having previously worked at crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd and debt financier Tractor Ventures, having also invested… Read more »

Daniel Vassilev, Daniel Palmer and Jacky Koh
Funding

AI agents builder trousers $37 million Series B

- May 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

A Sydney AI-based workflow automation scaleup has raised US$24 million (A$37m) in a Series B. The round for Relevance AI was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, supported by existing backers King River Capital, Insight Partners, and Peak XV. The five-year-old AI agents business previously raised $15 million Series A in late 2023 to expand into… Read more »

Funding

AI-based compliance platform bags $6 million Seed round

- May 7, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

A two-year-old regulatory compliance startup has raised $6 million in a Seed round to develop AI for risk management. The round for Haast was led by Airtree, with support from US-based defy.vc, and existing backers Aura Ventures and Black Sheep Capital. The Sydney-based startup previously a $1.2 million pre-Seed in 2023 to monitor greenwashing and… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Workplace culture platform Hoogly takes the world by storm, winning UK and US awards as it closes $1 million raise

- May 6, 2025 2 MIN READ

Mohit Midha, cofounder and CEO of Hoogly was at Blackbird’s Sunrise last week, tired but unable to stop smiling after global recognition for his employee engagement startup in California and London. The fact that he set out to also raise $500,000 and now has $1 million with 10 days left before he closes his latest… Read more »

Funding

University of Sydney launches $25 million pre-Seed fund for its home-grown startups

- May 5, 2025 2 MIN READ

Startups developing new treatments for cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, and technology to capture carbon dioxide in the air have been backed by the University of Sydney’s new Pre-Seed Launch Fund. The $25 million fund invests in ideas and people, turning academic research developed at the uni into high-growth startups, bridging the gap between proof-of-concept… Read more »