Lift Women, the country’s first female-focused crowdfunding platform, has scored investment from LaunchVic’s sidecar VC for female entrepreneurs, the Alice Anderson Fund. The Alice Anderson Fund co-invests with other venture funds, with Lift Woman attracting the backing of two global executives from major insurance companies, including Gordon Watson, CEO of AXA Asia, as part of… Read more »
Embedded finance platform Shaype has raised $33 million in a Series C round that has delivered a significant increase in the fintech’s valuation. Regal Funds Management led the round, which also included family offices. The cash will be used to accelerate growth, with particular focus on expanding the team to support Australian clients, as well… Read more »
Lug+Carrie, a Melbourne eBike subscription startup, has raised $5 million in bridge funding as it looks to expand globally. The company is looking to a Series A, but was keen to take advantage of local demand ahead of tackling new markets such as the United States. The funding will be used to secure more stock… Read more »
South Australian agtech startup Optomni, has raised $200,000 in a Seed round led by Skalata Ventures to optimise the fresh food supply chain. Founder and CEO Murad Mekhtiev said around 45% of total fruit and vegetable production in Australia is wasted and nearly half of that happens in the supply chain. Optomni aims to reduce… Read more »
Sydney startup ybot, a voice-activated autonomous work assistant, has raised $4.6 million in a Seed round led by US VC Florida Funders, The capital injection is earmarked for product development, as well as sales, marketing and hiring efforts, with plans to double employee headcount in the next year. Around 80% of workers are “deskless” –… Read more »
US-based Australian startup Checkmate has raised US$5 million (A$7.75m) in a Seed round. The raise was led by US VC Fuel Capital. The other investors include Kevin Johnson, the former CEO of Ebates at Rakuten, NFL star Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, Ancestry CEO Deborah Liu, Firstbase CEO Chris Herd, XMTP cofounder Shane Mac, f7… Read more »
Investment tech platform Jacobi Inc. has raised US$10 million (A$15.4m) in a Series A led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). QIC joined existing Silicon Valley investors Illuminate Venture Partners, 8VC and Western Technology Investment (WTI) in the round. Crystal Russell from QIC and Bill Miller from Makena Capital are joining the Jacobi board. The Brisbane-born,… Read more »
Melbourne regtech 6clicks has raised $10 million in a Series A. The round was led by Centerstone Capital, a specialist VC focused on tech-enabled startups for the professional services industry, founded by former Deloitte global chief strategy officer John Meacock, and Deloitte global strategy and innovation MD Luc Maasdorp. The firm’s portfolio also includes RainMakr,… Read more »
Small business financial management platform, Thriday has raised $6 million in a pre-Series A. The round was led by the NAB Ventures, the VC arm of the business bank, alongside “significant participation” from existing investor Lempriere Capital. Thriday recently shifted from Beta mode to launch its platform for sole traders, amid more than 11,000 small businesses… Read more »
Sydney startup Livewire, which brings gaming marketing to company promotions, has raised $4.7 million in a Series A. The round was led by RealVC – the first investment for Matt Berriman’s new fund – with participation from Perennial Private Ventures, Alua, Hills Cider Company cofounder Toby Kline, EA Asia Pacific founding regional president Nigel Sandiford… Read more »
Climate focused proptech startup CIM (Continuous Intelligent Monitoring) has raised $10 million in a Series A. The round was led by Five V Capital, alongside Carthona Capital and several property executives, including Mark Steinert, former CEO of Stockland. The round values the business at more than $100 million. The new funds will be used to… Read more »
Workplace wellbeing startup Sonder has raised $35 million in a Series B funding. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures with SEEK Investments and SecondQuarter Ventures also tipping in as new investors. Blackbird’s Niki Scevak will join the company’s board. The new capital is earmarked for product improvements on the safety, medical and mental health… Read more »
Sydney agtech startup Lleaf has raised $3.5 million in a bridging round for its light-emitting plastics for indoor agriculture. The round was led by Danish investment firms ALFA Ventures and 2 Degrees, with additional support from The University of New South Wales and deep tech hub Cicada Innovations, where Lleaf is based. 2 Degrees is the climate-focused… Read more »
Japanese auto giant Suzuki has taken a strategic stake in Australian tech startup Applied EV as part of $21 million round that values the business at $170 million. The raise is the first tranche of a two-part funding round, with St Baker Energy and Innovation Fund making significant investments. Applied EV develops vehicle control systems… Read more »
Clinical trials access startup HealthMatch has raised $10 million in Series C. The round was led by the company’s original backer, Folklore Ventures. Paul Bassat’s Square Peg Capital led an $18 million Series B in the Sydney-based startup in December 2020, also invested in the Series C. Square Peg also led a $6 million series A… Read more »
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