Yaala Sparkling cofounders Tara Croker and Mel Davey pitching on Shark Tank
Funding

Indigenous Shark Tank pitch lands Yaala Sparkling $125,000 from ethical investor Dr Catriona Wallace

- September 12, 2023 2 MIN READ

Australian bush flavours drinks brand  Yaala Sparkling has landed a $125,000 investment from Shark Tank ‘shark’ Dr Catriona Wallace. The Queensland Indigenous-owned business, cofounded by Wiradjuri Yinaa woman Tara Croker and her mother Mel Davey, is developing a range of  alcohol-free drinks flavoured with native ingredients sourced from Indigenous wild harvesters and local farmers. Yaala… Read more »

Scalapay cofounder Johnny Mitrevski with Abbl cofounders Lucy Timpano and Phil O’Shea
Business

Wollongong fintech Scalapay launches $10,000 scholarship, with brewery software startup Abbl as the first recipient

- September 6, 2023 2 MIN READ

Pioneering brewery management software start-up Abbl is recipient of unicorn status Scalapay’s inaugural $10,000 Scale Up Scholarship Quiet Australian fintech Scalapay has launched a new $10,000 scholarship program to support founders as they take their startup to the next level. The Wollongong-headquartered buy now pay later (BNPL) became a $1 billion+ valuation “unicorn” in 2021 after… Read more »

Lighter Capital CEO Melissa Widner
Funding

Lighter Capital has $30 million to lend to startups, with Invest Victoria backing the revenue-based VC alternative

- September 5, 2023 < 1 MIN READ

Venture capital alternative Lighter Capital has a $30 million war chest to lend to local startups thanks to support from the Victorian government and iPartners.  The 13-year-old revenue-based Wall Street financier offers non-dilutive funding to founders in the US, Canada and Australia. Invest Victoria tipped $10 million into the $30 million fund, supported by New York… Read more »

Medigrowth cofounders Adam Guskich and Todd McCelland
Funding

Cannabis biotech Medigrowth skins up $3.44 million in crowdfunding campaign

- August 25, 2023 2 MIN READ

Victorian medical cannabis biotech Medigrowth has raised one of the largest equity crowdfunding campaigns in the sector’s six-year history, banking nearly $3.45 million from more than 2000 investors. The CSF campaign on Birchal is the third largest in the platform’s history, with Medigrowth hitting its minimum target of $500,000 in just 45 minutes before gaining… Read more »

Satellite Orbiting Earth
Funding

Satellite inspection startup raises $12 million Series A

- August 22, 2023 2 MIN READ

Sydney satellite monitoring startup HEO Robotics has raised $12 million in a Series A two years after its last round. The raise was led by Sydney VC AirTree Ventures with support from the new $40 million sovereign capabilities early-stage fund Salus Ventures. Salus invest up to $1.5 million into initial rounds for cutting-edge tech for… Read more »

Federal climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen with Hysata CEO Hysata at the launch of the company's new manufacturing plant in Wollongong
Funding

Green hydrogen startup Hysata bags $24 million for electrolyser manufacturing plans

- August 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

NSW hydrogen technology startup Hysata has a $23.9 million war chest for its plans to transform the production of renewable energy thanks to the support of the Queensland and federal governments. Hysata opened a new electrolyser manufacturing facility at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, this week with the federal government-backed Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)… Read more »

Marqo cofounders Jesse Clark and Tom Hamer
Funding

Former Amazon duo bank $8.1 million Seed round for Marqo, the AI-powered search engine that finds better stuff

- August 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

A Melbourne startup founded by two former Amazon employees to improve online search for related objects has raised US$5.2 million (A$8.1m) in a Seed round led by Blackbird. Marqo is an AI-powered vector search engine. Vector search is a way to find related objects with similar characteristics using machine learning to find semantic relationships. The raise was… Read more »

Artist John Olsen's work projected onto the Sydney Opera House in a work by Curiious for Vivid Sydney
Funding

Curiious, the virtual reality company behind the Opera House Vivid show, raises $1 million in pivot to corporate metaverse

- August 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

Sydney virtual reality startup Curiious has found a new niche for its technology, helping companies embrace 3D worlds for customer engagement, job training and marketing.  The veteran visual content business Curiious, best known for its Vivid Opera House projections, this year featured the late artist John Olsen, has raised $1 million led by seed VC… Read more »

POSConnex CEO Shanti Kumar Photo: snapix
Funding

Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investment Group leads $11 million raise for ecommerce site

- August 10, 2023 2 MIN READ

Collingwood supporter and investor Alex Waislitz has led an $11 million raise via his Thorney Investment Group into an ecommerce startup that’s pivoted from being a surfboard rental business to underpinning retailers such as Patagonia. Five-year-old Awayco is a unified ecommerce solution that includes retail Point of Sale (POS), rental and appointments for retailers to… Read more »

LifeBid founder Brett Wright
Funding

Insurtech startup LifeBid launches crowdfunding campaign with co-investor Stride Equity after raising $700,000

- August 9, 2023 2 MIN READ

Insurtech startup LifeBid has launched a crowdfunding (CSF) campaign with venture-backed platform Stride Equity, having already raised $700,000 in a strategic co-investment from industry partners and the Stride  Group.  LifeBid is the first startup Stride Equity has backed with investment since its launch earlier this year and is the first CSF campaign on the platform.… Read more »

Al Reid, microFleet
Funding

e-micromobility startup microFleet charges up with $500,000 grant to take on New York

- August 7, 2023 2 MIN READ

An ebike charging startup that’s already helping power Australia Post’s electrified delivery fleet has landed a $500,000 grant from the federal government-backed iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre as it sets its sites on a major deal with New York City. microFleet is in talks with NYC officials about installing around 70,000 of its OneDock universal charging… Read more »