Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1 has stitched together an undisclosed capital raising deal to acquire German summary startup Blinkist in a deal believed to be worth $100 million. Go1 has been on a merger spree since raising $140 million on a $2.8 billion valuation in June last year. GO1 previously raised $273 million in a… Read more »
Short-term rental management startup MadeComfy has raised $10 million in venture capital and debt as it looks to cover more cities across Australia. Founded in Sydney in 2015, and Airbnb strategic partner, MadeComfy previously raised $1.1 million in 2017 and then $6 million in 2018 from Investec. Commencer Capital acquired the $60 million Investec Emerging… Read more »
The founders of Sequoia Capital-backed Sample have rebranded and changed the focus of the business, raising another $2.4 million Seed round from new investors in the process. As Sample, cofounded in 2021 by former Grab staffers Jascha Zittel and Elliott Gibb, the startup raised $920,000 in pre-Seed funding, led by Sequoia Capital India, in December… Read more »
End-of-life planning platform, Safewill, has raised $5.5 million in what the startup is calling a Series A for the second time in 19 month. The tech platform previously raised $3 million in a Series A in October 2021. The latest round was led by Carthona Capital, supported by existing backer Reinventure, plus Flying Fox Ventures.… Read more »
Stakeholder engagement platform Fresh Equities has raised $4 million and is changing its name as it looks to improve public company communications with investors. The round was led by Sydney VC EVP. The business has also rebranded as InvestorHub as it looks to expand into international markets such as the UK, Singapore, Canada and the… Read more »
Concerns over mail order weight loss brands Juniper and Pilot by Australian doctors haven’t dampened investor appetite its parent telehealth company, Eucalyptus, which has raised $50 million on a $520 million valuation. The round was backed by several existing Eucalyptus investors, including Blackbird Ventures, the Woolworths VC fund W23, and US investor Mary Meeker’s BOND… Read more »
Federal government investment fund the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has doubled down on its funding for Infradebt, tipping an additional $100 million into the ACT-based renewables financing firm, taking its total backing to $150 million. Infradebt is a specialist infrastructure project finance fund manager/financier, providing capital for renewables and battery storage projects as well… Read more »
Business planning platform Empiraa has eschewed venture capital for a second time to raise $518,000 on a $7.5 million valuation. The Melbourne startup was founded in 2021, and went on to raise $637,000 in December that year, after an initial $110,000 pre-seed round. Founder Ash Brown said business had “a half-time pivot due to changing… Read more »
Mr Yum rival Me&u raised $30 million in a round led by Acorn Capital in December 2022 to give the 3.5-year-old startup enough runway for its push to be profitable next financial year. The raise was led by Acorn Capital, with the only acknowledgement of the investment appearing in the ASX-listed (ASX:ACQ) investment company’s December… Read more »
Music licensing platform Melodie has raised $1 million at a $15 million valuation, a more than four-fold increase on the $4m valuation when the software startup previously raised $600,000 in September 2021. The raise included follow-on investments from Code Barrel founder Nick Menere, and The Drop Festival co-owner Peter Strain. The funds will be used… Read more »
Venture capital funding at the start of 2023 may not have been as bad as many thought according to new analysis from Perth-based investment data company Techboard. Releasing its March quarter Funded report this week, Techboard identified $1.01 billion in capital deployed across 111 deals. That figure is 50% higher than the $661 million across… Read more »
Waave, a fintech using open banking to build a direct debit alternative to card payments, has raised $4.7 million in a Seed round. The round was backed by a range of prominent individuals, including Menulog boss Morten Belling, eCommerce pioneer Paul Greenberg and Chemist Warehouse founder Jack Gance, who joins the fintech as an advisor.… Read more »
Synthetic biology startup Cortical Labs, which is developing a new kind of artificial intelligence using human brain cells, has raised USD$10 million (A$15m). The Melbourne biotech rose to prominence in October last year when it combined 800,000 brain cells with a computer chip to learn to play the video gam Pong. The project was dubbed… Read more »
Sydney startup propeller, which uses drones for mapping and analysis of construction, quarries, mines, and other ground sites has raised US$15.35 million (A$ 22.8m) in a round led by its long-time backers Blackbird and Silicon Valley VC Costanoa Partners. Also joining the cap table are Aware Super, Canva founder Cliff Obrecht, and LaunchVic chair Leigh Jasper’s… Read more »
CommandPost, a crisis management startup designed to improve emergency response times and coordination has raised $200,000 in Seed funding from Melbourne VC Skalata $200,000. Founder Alex Rixon-Booth worked in emergency service response and decided to take things to the next level in the wake of miscommunications during the recent NSW floods and Black Summer bushfires… Read more »
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