Funding Archives

Antler backs 8 new AI-first startups, from robotics to health, cybersecurity and fintech, in its 12th cohort

Startup Daily - May 1, 2025 8 MIN READ

Antler has unveiled its latest investments from the 12th Australian residency: eight new startups selected from thousands of applicants, spanning robotics, cybersecurity, and health – all with a strong emphasis on AI. The cohort reflects a growing trend for Antler: more founders building at the intersection of AI and deep industry expertise, moving faster than… Read more »

Finder cofounders Jeremy Cabral, Fred Schebesta and Frank Restuccia.

ASX

Finder and ASX-listed NobleOak contra with marketing VC Scaleup Mediafund

Simon Thomsen - April 30, 2025 2 MIN READ

Scaleup Mediafund has backed financial services comparison scaleup Finder and ASX-listed life insurance specialist NobleOak in its latest media-for-equity investment swap. The fund provides companies with advertising and paid media from its $15 million third fund – the value of discounted advertising inventory provided by the fund members – spanning publishers, outdoor advertising firms and… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Automated process documentation startup Fluency banks $1.5 million in pre-Seed

Simon Thomsen - April 29, 2025 2 MIN READ

A Melbourne startup cofounded by two 24-year-old former university students has banked $1.5 million in pre-Seed funding. The raise for Fluency was backed by HammerTech cofounder Bradley Tabone, Archangel Ventures, and Singaporean VCs 1MX.ai and Orvel Ventures. Best mates and self-taught developers Finnlay Morcombe and Oliver Farnill, a former Swinburne engineering student, launched Fluency in 2023,… Read more »

Funding

iSelect cofounder’s retail deals comparison site rings up $7.5 million

Startup Daily - April 28, 2025 2 MIN READ

A six-year-old retail products price comparison tool developed by one of iSelect’s cofounders has raised $7.5 million in a deal that give it a $37.5m post-money valuation. The round for Zyft was led by PSC Insurance founder Paul Dwyer, with support from angel investors. Dwyer’s formerly ASX-listed insurance broker was acquired by UK rival Ardonagh… Read more »

Cintia De La Torres, Paul Sernia and Julia Chun

Accelerator

Australian startups Endua and Calyx.eco make PepsiCo’s greenhouse accelerator

Simon Thomsen - April 24, 2025 2 MIN READ

Two Australian startups are among 10 companies to make the cut for global food and beverage giant PepsiCo’s annual Asia-Pacific greenhouse accelerator. The program, now in its third year, is designed to bolster companies in sustainable agriculture, the circular economy, and climate, tackling issues around food, energy and waste. They’ve scored a A$31,542 grant as… Read more »

Funding

Expat Australian scores $47 million Series A for US health ‘super-app’ targeting longevity

Simon Thomsen - April 23, 2025 3 MIN READ

A Californian healthtech startup cofounded by a 20-something expat Australian has raised US$30 million (A$47m) in a Series A to build a “health super-app”. The raise for San Francisco-based Superpower, founded in 2023 by former Sydneysider Max Marchione, the COO, Jacob Peters, CEO and Kevin Unkrich, CTO, values the startup at US$200m as a long… Read more »

Funding

The Queensland government has startup grants worth up to $200,000 up for grabs

Startup Daily - April 23, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

The Queensland government has opened applications for the latest round of grant funding for two programs that help to bring startup ideas from prototype to market-ready stage. The Ignite Ideas Fund is for Queensland Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with high-growth potential to bring their product or service to domestic and international markets, with grants of… Read more »

Business

Square Peg-backed cleaning products startup Zero Co is shutting down

Simon Thomsen - April 22, 2025 3 MIN READ

Zero Co, the cleaning products startup will close at the end of the month with founder and CEO Mike Smith pulling down the shutters because they can’t find a pathway to profitability. The six-year-old startup set records in 2021 when it raised a record $5 million in just six hours on the Birchal crowd-sourced funding… Read more »

Alt.Leather founder Tina Funder and chief scientific officer Dr Tuan Nguyen

Events

The new face of innovation is here – and Australia needs to catch up

Sally-Ann Williams - April 22, 2025 3 MIN READ

An advertising executive. An aerospace engineer. A doctor. Not a punchline – but the profile of Australia’s new generation of innovators. They’re not spinning out of Silicon Valley with SaaS platforms or apps. They’re solving real-world problems: clean flight, robotic surgery, sustainable materials. They’re building deep tech. And they’re doing it in labs, in surgeries,… Read more »

Fintech

Financial wellness fintech raises $12 million Series A

Startup Daily - April 22, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

Fintech WeMoney has exceeded plans announced less than 12 months ago to raise $10 million, banking $12m in its latest Series A round. Ironically for a startup that bills itself as a “financial wellness platform” to help people reduce their debts, the round was led by Perth online casino entrepreneur Laurence Escalante via his family… Read more »

Business

StrongRoomAI cofounder denies investor EVP’s claim that he admitted to fraud

Simon Thomsen - April 22, 2025 3 MIN READ

Max Mito, the cofounder and CEO of StrongRoomAI, has denied he admitted to fraud in a meeting with investors last month that led VC EVP to call in police and launch legal action to freeze the assets of Mito and several others. Mito’s counsel, Alexander Langshaw, told a Federal Court hearing in Sydney last Thursday… Read more »

Business

Breakthrough Victoria-backed epilepsy monitoring startup Seer Medical revived with $40 million heart starter

Simon Thomsen - April 17, 2025 2 MIN READ

Seer Medical will get a second life after the metech startup’s administrators found three investors willing to back the business with $40 million. Creditors signed a Deed of Company Arrangement with neurodiagnostic equipment manufacturer Cadwell Industries, existing investor Breakthrough Victoria, and Singapore’s TrialCap in a deal worth $40m. All three will take an equity position… Read more »

Business

What the StrongRoom AI saga reveals about venture investing, fraud, justice and due diligence

Nich Burch - April 16, 2025 4 MIN READ

In the high-stakes world of startup funding, where millions can be raised in a matter of weeks and valuations shift with a pitch deck, due diligence (DD) has long been the safety net that prevents bad bets. It’s a well-worn and trusted process, particularly in venture capital. So when an investor alleges fraud after a… Read more »

Funding

The Coalition and Peter Dutton flag ending Labor’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund

Denham Sadler, Information Age - April 16, 2025 3 MIN READ

Australia’s peak science and tech body has warned the Coalition’s plans to shut down Labor’s $15 billion manufacturing fund would put a handbrake on the nation’s innovation efforts. Citing Coalition sources, the AFR reported last week that if the Coalition wins the upcoming May election it plans to redirect all remaining capital allocated to the National… Read more »

Funding

Spending power to rewards points: 4 ways business owners can get more out of charge and credit cards

Adam Bub - April 16, 2025 7 MIN READ

Spending power, business efficiency and rewards points – do those sound like things your startup could use? You might want to look deeper into what your business card (which could be a charge or credit card) can do. No business owner wants to miss out on a good opportunity, especially if the outcome might help… Read more »