A Sydney data startup developing using machine learning software to map the brain and treat disorders such as depression, dementia and PTSD has raised $40 million in a series B. The investors reportedly include Western Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart and Sydney’s Gretel Packer, as well as Platinum Asset Management co-founder Kerr Neilson, and Caledonia… Read more »
Australian founded, US-based workplace productivity software venture Skedulo has raised $100 million in a series C from Japanese VC powerhouse SoftBank. The US$75 million round for the San Francisco-headquartered venture was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The US$30 billion fund’s other portfolio investments include chipmaker Sambanova, Didi Chuxing’s autonomous driving unit and ElevateBio. Skedulo will use… Read more »
A Brisbane startup following in the footsteps of electric vehicles (EV) charging unicorn Tritium has raised a $1.7 million seed round. EVOS was founded by three former Tritium employees. That fellow Brisbane venture is set to list on the US NASDAQ via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The new startup is focused on fleet energy… Read more »
Sydney startup FL0 has raised $5.1 million in a seed round led by Blackbird Ventures. The venture (pronounced Flow), co-founded by serial entrepreneur Dale Brett, is looking to speed up coding with a low-code format, pioneering what it calls “dev acceleration” in a Canva-style democratisation of software engineering While still in beta mode, early customer… Read more »
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) program Wimp 2 Warrior has raised $7.5 million to go digital. The raise was backed by the News Corp Scaleup Media Fund, Mark Bouris, the Smorgon family’s Sandbar Investments, Altor Capital, Shaw & Partners, and Lucerne Investment Partners. The venture last raised $2 million two years ago from ex-MLC CEO Geoff… Read more »
A Melbourne startup aiming to be the Canva of 3D presentations has raised $6 million in a series A round. Existing investors Rampersand, Boost VC and Investible backed JigSpace once again along with new investors including Vulpes, and Roger Allen’s Patagorang Investment Group. The four-year-old venture, which only launched its product 12 months ago and… Read more »
New Zealand startup Toku Eyes, which has built an artificial intelligence platform to improve early detection of eye diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and other diseases observable via the eye, has raised NZ$3.6 million (A$3.35m) in a seed round to commercialise its invention. The company’s first external raise came from US, Asian and New… Read more »
A Melbourne medtech building hypnosis-based therapeutic apps to help people self-manage a range of illnesses has raised a US$5 million (A$6.5m) seed round. San Francisco angel investor and startup founder James Beshara led the round for Y Combinator-backed Mindset Health joined by Giant Leap, Banana Capital, Fifty Years, and several angel investors. Mindset Health partners with health… Read more »
Music publishing dynasty Alberts, which helped launch the careers of seminal Australian rock bands such as AC/DC, and the Easybeats, has launched a $16 million fund impact investment fund. Alberts Impact Ventures is looking to support the next generation of musicians alongside tackling pressing social issues such as mental health and sustainability. The fund has… Read more »
Parcel delivery service Sendle has raised $45 million in a series C. The round was led by Afterpay-backed AP Ventures alongside existing investors including Federation, Full Circle and NRMA Insurance. Afterpay has a majority stake in AP Ventures – not to be confused with the British VC of the same name – and counts billionaire… Read more »
Melbourne fintech Zeller turbo-charged its balance sheet a week before it launched in early May, with US firm Spark Capital leading a $50 million extension on its series A round, making it the country’s most valuable pre-launch startup. Existing backers Square Peg, Apex Capital Partners and Addition joined the latest raise. Founded by former Square… Read more »
An educational app that helps screen-addicted kids study has raised nearly $2 million in a crowdfunding campaign through OnMarket. 1Question launched in April via the App Store and Google Play and already has over 13,000 downloads. Ann Elnekave developed 1Question with her husband, Issac. The phone app is designed for children up to age 12… Read more »
US-based music licensing marketplace Songtradr has raised US$50M (A$66m) in a series D led by several Australian investors. The round included Australian-based institutional investors Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo and Greencape as well as a follow-on investment from Wisetech Global (ASX: WTC) founder and CEO Richard White. The raise values the business at US$300 million… Read more »
The rapid rise in Australian early stage investment platforms has continued with the launch of Melbourne-based Flying Fox. Early stage investment was considered “the valley of death” for startups in recent years due to a lack of capital. And while Australian early stage investment lags well behind the UK and US – $3.60 per capita… Read more »
US-based angel VC The Fund is launching in Australia + NZ Local founders are joining forces to invest in next gen ANZ startups Investors come from Canva, CultureAmp, Adore Beauty, Linktree, Safety Culture + more The Fund aims to back 50% female founders Founders and others from Australia’s most successful startups, including Canva, Culture… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
