The cofounder of ASX-listed business lending bank Judo, Joseph Healy, is stepping down as CEO after seven years at the helm. He’ll hand the reins over to the bank’s long-term deputy CEO and chief relationship officer, Chris Bayliss, next month. The news came as Judo (ASX:JDO) announced its half-yearly results (1H24) to the end of… Read more »
Welcome to The Ask, Our new column on Startup Daily designed for founders looking for capital. It may be venture capital, crowdfunding or another path, and is designed to flag your startup to potential investors. If you’re on the hunt for cash, we’re happy to share the news with Australia’s startup community. This is your… Read more »
Touch Ventures, the ASX-listed VC fund initially backed by BNPL fintech Afterpay, lost $15.4 million in 2023, writing off more than $27 million worth of investments in PlanPay and Till Payments. The upside for the VC (ASX:TVL) is that last year’s red ink is a quarter of 2022’s net loss of $65.2m. But as one… Read more »
Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies has raised $55 million in a Series D ahead of a maiden launch in Queensland later this year. The raise was led by the state government-backed Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), an existing investor, alongside VCs Blackbird and Main Sequence, plus superannuation funds HostPlus and HESTA. The cash will fund the… Read more »
A jobs marketplace targeting Generation Z with AI-based matching has raised $7 million in its Seed round. Sydney-based Hatch was cofounded by The Iconic cofounder Adam Jacobs and Zip cofounder Chaz Heitner in 2018. The raise was led by Rampersand, with support from Alberts Impact Ventures, Aura Ventures, Jelix Ventures, and Investible, as well as existing… Read more »
The annual _SOUTHSTART gathering in Adelaide next month has revealed its 2024 program lineup. The three-day event spans more than 50+ voices across 10 venues, including South Australia’s famed wine regions, spanning 6+ streams. _SOUTHSTART co-directors Danielle Seymour and Craig Swann said they wanted this year’s event to dive deeper into the fundamental issues affecting our… Read more »
Schools-focused digital skills e-learning platform in Grok Academy has appointed Martha McKeen to a new role as chief strategy officer. Grok Academy is a not-for-profit edtech charity focused on digital technologies education. CEO Dr James Curran said McKeen’s breadth of experience across education, technology, and cyber security portfolios at the Commonwealth Bank, including working with… Read more »
Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, is reportedly trying to find up to US$7 trillion of investment to manufacture the enormous volumes of computer chips he believes the world needs to run artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Altman also recently said the world will need more energy in the AI-saturated future he envisions – so… Read more »
Advocates believe a perfect storm of competition concerns, new fuel efficiency standards and the axing of archaic parallel-import restrictions could provide “achievable change” that boosts the supply of electric vehicles (EVs) and slashes their prices by around $9,000. That’s the amount Australians are overpaying for EVs, former ACCC chair Allan Fels concluded in a recent analysis of price… Read more »
More than 160 early-stage Queensland startups will be supported to become venture capital investment-ready under accelerator programs delivered through the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF). The fund, managed by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), will support an initial five accelerators to run thematically relevant programs focused on the state’s priority industries. The accelerators are: Farmers2Founders, EnergyLab,… Read more »
Canva’s long-term chief financial officer, Damien Singh, has left the company after nearly 8 years, with the graphic design giant yet to name a replacement. His departure appeared to catch many by surprise last week when he broke the news to members of the Canva team on Monday, February 5. “As we move towards the… Read more »
The Queensland government’s new venture capital development fund has backed five VCs: Antler, Five V Capital, Main Sequence, Mandalay Venture Partners and Salus Ventures, with a combined $130 million investment. Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the deals will give Queensland startups access to up to $200 million in new matched… Read more »
Sydney quantum startup Diraq has raised US$15 million (A$23m) in Series A-2. The round was led by Paris-based Quantonation, the world’s first VC fund dedicated to quantum technologies. Also investing were John Higgins Family Investments and the University of New South Wales. The A-2 raise tops up US$20 million, led by Allectus Capital, when it… Read more »
A vector search startup for ecommerce, founded by a former Amazon robotics scientist and engineer, has raised US$12.5 million (A$19.4m) in a Series A, just six months after banking A$8.1m in a Seed round. The fresh raise for Marqo, was led by Lightspeed, with support from Blackbird, January Capital, and Chronosphere founder and CTO Rob… Read more »
Significant changes that Apple was forced to make to its App Store in Europe will likely pave the way for similar reforms in Australia. In the biggest changes to the App Store since it was launched, Apple relinquished some control over its platform earlier this month in response to the Digital Markets Act in the European Union.… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
