Breakthrough Victoria has backed Navi Medical Technologies as part of a $2.4 million raise to develop a medical device for newborn babies and children. The state government investment fund was lead investor chipping in $700,000, with the federal government also backing the medtech startup with grants. Also backing the round was Medtech Actuator and Artesian VC.… Read more »
Canberra food waste startup Goterra has raised $10 million in a bridging round has it looks ramp up its food waste treatment plants in western Sydney to deal with leftover produce from Woolworths that would otherwise go to landfill. The company, which uses black soldier fly maggots to eat through the waste, is building a… Read more »
Sydney cloud-based cybersecurity startup Plerion has raised US$10 million (A$15m) in a Seed round led by Prosus Ventures, a South African-owned, Netherlands-listed global consumer internet investor. The round was supported by US investment firm Cercano and Atlassian Ventures. The funds will be used on accelerated product development, talent acquisition, and go-to-market strategies. Plerion was founded… Read more »
CSIRO’s venture capital arm Main Sequence Ventures has backed a Brisbane mining technology startup in a US$28 million (A$43m) Series B raise led by international investors. Plotlogic, founded in 2018 by former mining exec and engineer Andrew Job, scans mine deposits using LiDAR (laser-based light detection and ranging) and hyperspectral imaging technology to analyse their… Read more »
The Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) has backed digital advertising startup Cartelux in a $3 million raise the Sunshine Coast-based software firm has dubbed “post-Seed”. Steve Baxter’s syndicated investment platform TEN13 also invested, with managing partner Stew Glynn joining the board. Cartelux automates digital advertising for global brands via their retail networks and franchisees on a… Read more »
Sydney quantum startup Q-CTRL has landed an additional US$2.6 million (A$3.83m) in VC funding for its long-running Series B round to take the total raised to US$54 million (A$80m). Joining a cap table that includes Salesforce Ventures, the VC arm of the US software giant, Airbus Ventures, Main Sequence and former Wallabies captain John Eales. is… Read more »
A night out drinking with his girlfriend Sumin’s family changed Tim O’Sullivan’s life and career, turning him into an evangelist for “bae” – the Korean word for the fruit Australians know as the Nashi pear. O’Sullivan was already a little worse for wear from the previous evening in South Korea when he was handed a… Read more »
Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) has trimmed its sails in an increasingly austere venture funding environment after setting out to raise $130 million, instead banking $50.4 million in a raise backed by existing investors the Australian government, Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank and University of NSW. Despite a dearth of capital, investors nonetheless saw opportunity in the… Read more »
Event rental e-commerce platform Gecko has raised $350,000 in a pre-Seed round led by the NSW government-backed Techstars program in Sydney. Gecko is one of 12 startups selected for the inaugural Techstars Tech Central accelerator program, which got underway earlier this month. US investors Goodwater Capital and Launch House also backed the startups pre-Seed raise. … Read more »
Small business alternative lender, Lumi, has raised $15 million with Harel Insurance and Finance Group signing on as the fintech’s newest investor. Harel is Israel’s largest insurance group and listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Existing backers, including the private investment arm of Perennial as well as Melbourne’s Josh Liberman Investment Group, Arbel, and… Read more »
Her Black Book, the fashion deals and discovery app founded by twin sisters Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanja has rebranded as ‘Wrapd’ 18 months after launching, also raising $1.8 million. The siblings, who previously founded Stylerunner, have also launched a web version of their deals app. Stevanja said the name change will also see Wrapd… Read more »
Women focused superannuation fintech Verve has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A as it looks to expand its financial services offerings. Verve cofounder and CEO Christina Hobbs said the round, led by impact-focused family office Alberts, closed early. “Two years ago, we were asking investors to believe that there is a problem in financial… Read more »
An Internet of Things (IoT) startup focused on home safety has raised $2.65 million in a Seed round backed by several prominent property sector investors. Sensor Global was backed by Shane Oswin, David Lynas and David Welsh, supported by Causeway Equities, and Second Century Ventures, the VC arm of the National Association of Realtors in… Read more »
Auckland-based insurance premium payments platform Simfuni has raised NZ$2.8 million in a Series A to save brokers time and money. The round was led by Kiwi VC funds Icehouse Ventures and GD1, with support from K1W1 and NZVC. The insurtech platform integrates with any insurer, broker group or premium funder’s quoting and invoicing software in… Read more »
Industry superannuation fund Hostplus has poured another $100 million, on top of its existing $210 million investment, into listed early-stage science investor IP Group Australia. The $310 million IP Group Hostplus Innovation Fund has invested in several university spin-outs, including electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft startup AMSL Aero, UNSW telecommunications traffic analysis venture Canopus… Read more »
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