Ahead of the TechStars Sydney ‘Demo the Future’ evening on December 8, Startup Daily is profiling the 12 startups and their founders in the 2025 cohort. Our next profile is Juxtabyte – a startup helping companies realise the value in their critical data and how to reuse this smartly. Juxtabyte Founder: Hugh Le One-liner: Juxtabyte… Read more »
Australia’s climate tech sector now employs more than 7,000 people across more than 730 startups and scaleups, which attracted $680 million in venture funding in 2025. The analysis of local sector and its momentum and growth feature in the 2025 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report, released today by Climate Salad founder Mick Liubinskas. “This report… Read more »
Blackbird’s come-to-Jesus moment six months ago, when it tipped $60 million from its 2022 follow-on fund into Airwallex, is now being pitched to the VC’s investors as its rising star. Details from the annual Blackbird Ventures investor day were leaked to Capital Brief’s Bronwen Clune, and included details of Canva’s performance, with the VC flagging… Read more »
Four months after entering the UK market, controversial short-term subletting startup Kiki is following a familiar pattern as it finds its footing in London. Manual processes powered by Instagram, limited revenue, parties, and growing costs (including visa sponsorship for newly hired staff) are already defining Kiki’s local operations. Meanwhile, the startup is publicly projecting confidence… Read more »
South Asian Australian founders have raised at least $1.6 billion in investment through to 2025, in fields as varied as artificial intelligence, mental healthcare, and sustainability, according to a new report celebrating the local startup sector. The figure demonstrates the growing influence of South Asian founders, says Sandeep Varma, whose SAARI Collective published a list… Read more »
Sydney startup Medow Health AI, which is using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate medical reports for specialist doctors has raised $3 million in new funding from the clinicians who backed its first raise earlier this year. Medow Health was cofounded by Joel Freiberg, who has Crohn’s disease, and his brother Josh, inspired by the time… Read more »
Melbourne AI-based education startup Teacher’s Buddy has raised $1.85 million in Seed funding to tackle teacher burnout. The round was led by Giant Leap, supported by Flying Fox Ventures, Co Ventures, Exhort Ventures, Saniel Ventures and Soul Capital. Teacher’s Buddy was founded in 2024 by Matt Abraham and Ben Sze, cofounder of school content and… Read more »
Australian and New Zealand startups are expanding globally faster than ever, and Deel’s SMB Manager, Alex Palmer, has a unique vantage point from working with startups who are doing just that. Palmer joined global payroll, compliance and HR platform Deel in 2024 after nearly six years at Uber. As an Earlywork and Inspiring Rare Birds… Read more »
Australian entrepreneur Ned Dwyer has reason to celebrate, after Great Question, the San Francisco-based startup he co-founded in 2020, raised $20 million (US$13 million) in venture capital investment. And the Series A round has also prompted Dwyer to reflect on his experiences as an expat in Silicon Valley, and what has changed since for fellow… Read more »
As ROI goes for investing in deep tech, Sydney deep tech innovator Cicada Innovations has delivered in spades over the past 25 years. The organisation celebrated its 25th anniversary this week, estimating that its role in Australia’s economic growth tops $8 billion, including $6.5 billion in capital raised, high-skill jobs creation, and broader innovation innovation… Read more »
Medical technology was a major theme in startup funding this week, with Synchron and Lumonus AI raising hundreds of millions for their forward-thinking solutions. We also counted funding deals from Australian startups that have found new ways to clean ships, improve cattle breeding, provide gifts, and support parents and carers of neurodivergent children. Keep reading… Read more »
Cytophenix, an infection management medtech using rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests to quickly identify effective antibiotics for patients, has raised $1.3 million in pre-Seed funding. Founded in 2023 by a team of expert researchers, clinicians, and engineers, including Dr Kieran Mulroney, Dr Christine Carson, Sherief Khorshid, Teagan Paton, James Telders and Tim Inglis, Cytophenix is a… Read more »
Microsoft will offer refunds after admitting that it “fell short of our standards” by failing to inform users of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite that they could have stayed with a cheaper version of the suite that did not include the tech giant’s Copilot AI features. The move relates to the October 2024 introduction of… Read more »
Government investments worth more than $31 million in Canberra quantum computing startup Quantum Brilliance have led to the world’s first commercial quantum diamond foundry opening in Melbourne today to produce computer circuits using lab-grown gems. Quantum Brilliance, founded in 2019, using research undertaken at ANU, is the world’s leading developer of miniaturised quantum computing products,… Read more »
There’s been a flurry of funding deals announced by Australian and Kiwi startups this week — from a Brisbane startup building superfast, hydrogen-powered planes to a Perth company transforming seaweed into a natural alternative to plastic. Keep reading to learn more about the eight Australian and New Zealand startups that collectively raised more than $113… Read more »
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