Early-stage impact investment firm Giant Leap is looking to raise $50 million for its second fund. The Giant Leap II fund has already landed $35 million towards its target, with NRMA Insurance among the backers of the Victorian VC. Giant Leap Managing Partner Will Richardson said they were seeing interest from institutional investors for the… Read more »
Fast-growing non-alcoholic spirits brand Lyre’s, has raised $37 million in a round that values the business at A$500 million less than three years after it launched. The funding round was led by new investor, D Squared Capital, alongside existing investor, Morgan Creek Capital Management, which has also backedAlibaba, SpaceX, Lyft, and Allbirds). Other previous investors joining the fresh… Read more »
Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar have backed electric delivery bike startup Zoomo in an A$80 million series B. The round was led by Grok Ventures, Cannon-Brookes’ family VC, supported by Farquhar’s private VC, Skip Capital and ArcTern Ventures. Existing investors, AirTree Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Contrarian Ventures and Maniv Mobility also participated in the round.… Read more »
Hospitality food wholesale marketplace, FoodByUs, has raised $10 million in a Series A raise. The round led by cornerstone investor Macquarie Capital, with support from Base Capital and New York marketplace investor F J Labs. Despite the pummeling the sector has endured from ongoing lockdowns over the last 18 months, FoodByUs has seen annual sales… Read more »
Financial advice startup Asendium has raised more than $1.1 million. The round was backed by a mix of institutional investors, including Holon Global Investments, plus several aligned and independent financial advisers, and private investors. The funds are earmarked for developing the fintech’s technical capability, product development, and integrations. Asendium is looking to transform the way… Read more »
Micro-training platform Hindsite has landed an $3.25 million seed round as it looks to ramp up its global potential. 360 Trading founder Matt Kuppe, Greg Ruddock from Ironbridge Capital, Terry Hartan and Duncan Alexander led round, which values the business at $18 million. Previous backers include angel investor ACAC Innovation, along with friends and family,… Read more »
Cloud-based construction operations platform Assignar has raised US$16.5 million (A$22.3m) secondary financing round. US VC giant Tiger Global led the round with local secondaries fund SecondQuarter Ventures joining in along with existing backers Fifth Wall, and Boston-based HighSage Ventures. Previous investors include Tola Capital and Our Innovation Fund. Assignar has now raised more than US$30 million since… Read more »
Gaming user-generated content (UGC) platform mod.io has raised US$25 million (A$35M) in a series A. The round was led by the VC arm of the world’s largest video game vendor Tencent. The Chinese company joins in LEGO Ventures, OIF Ventures and existing investors Makers Fund, Play Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and GameTech Ventures in the… Read more »
The Victorian government has looked across the border to manage its $30 million Venture Growth Fund, with Sydney venture capital firm OneVentures awarded the tender for the role. The plan for the venture debt fund was announced in the Victorian budget last year to inject late-stage capital into revenue positive startups. The fund was part… Read more »
Splash, a Brisbane music technology startup that created a music-making game in Roblox, has raised $27 million in a Series A funding. The round was co-led by Amazon’s Alexa Fund and BITKRAFT Ventures with participation from Australian venture investor King River Capital and Khosla Ventures. In Splash, players earn fame by performing to live audiences… Read more »
Sydney technology and venture capital firm Lakeba is setting up shop in the US as part of its ongoing global expansion plans. The eight-year-old tech investor is opening an office in Austin, Texas. The push into the States is being led by two tech startups Lakeba has already backed: document verification platform Ezidox and in-app… Read more »
Early-stage venture capital firm ReGen Ventures is raising US$50 million (A$67m) for its first fund as it looks to back startups with a focus on regenerative technologies. The VC firm, formed in early 2020 by former investment banker and hedge fund manager, Dan Fitzgerald, has a global focus, with its Australian base in the holiday… Read more »
Anti-money laundering regtech startup First AML has raised A$28.7 million (NZ$30m) in a series B. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures, with support from new investors Headline Ventures, and existing backers Pushpay founder Eliot Crowther, US firm Bedrock Capital and Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures. Blackbird partner Samantha Wong will join the board. The funds… Read more »
Canberra-based quantum cybersecurity venture QuintessenceLabs has raised $25 million in a series B. The round was led by the CSIRO’s VC fund Main Sequence Ventures and Canadian VC TELUS Ventures, with additional participation from Mizuho Financial Group-backed InterValley Ventures, which helps early stage Australian tech companies crack the Japanese market, and Capital Property Group. The… Read more »
Sydney startup Renewtrak, which automates the renewals of subscription and services contracts, has raised $3 million in a seed round. The raise was led by Sydney VC firm Tidal Ventures and supported by several existing investors, including Bridgeclimb founder Paul Cave. The cash is for global expansion plans. Renewtrak’s customer base includes leading tech companies… Read more »
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