A recycling startup dealing with problem products, such as soft plastics, coffee pods, blister packs and vapes, has raised $1.15 million from 1014 investors in a crowdfunding campaign. Five-year-old Sydney-based RecycleSmart plans to accelerate it national expansion with the funds. In the last 12 months, RecycleSmart has doubled its customer numbers, revenue and also seen… Read more »
Australian music licensing startup Melodie has banked $1 million in a bridging round ahead of plans for a major raise next year. The convertible note investment will form part of the 2025 round. Melodie previously raised $1 million at a $15 million valuation just over 12 months ago, and $600,000 in September 2021. Code Barrel founder Nick… Read more »
Little Birdie, the online retail marketplace developed by Catch founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, and backed with $30 million in pre-Seed funding from the Commonwealth Bank, has shut down. In an email sent to customers just after 5pm on Friday, May 17, the company said the retail product price comparison site has “paused operations”. “For… Read more »
New Zealand fermented proteins startup Jooules has raised NZ$1 million (A$920k) from local accelerator and investor Sprout Agritech. Jooules is among eight NZ$1m investments Sprout has made, with additional funding from partners US-based Finistere Ventures, dairy firm Fonterra and venture builder OurCrowd, as well as the Callaghan Innovation’s Deep Tech Incubator program. Other recent NZ$1m… Read more »
Founder Institute ANZ, the local chapter of the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, has revealed the eight startups in its latest cohort as they prepare for Demo Day next week. The startups involved have just completed an intensive 3.5 months program of business-building, evaluation, and feedback from leading experts and investors ahead of a Demo Day… Read more »
Social impact startup Maslow has raised $409,676 in a crowd-sourced funding (CSF) campaign from 288 investors, including many other founders in the impact space. Investors included Brendan Doggert, country manager of Sharesies, Youpay founder Matt Holme, former ZeroCo CMO Glen Cassidy, Future Super cofounders Kirstin Hunter and Adam Verwey, Doone Roisin of Female Startup Club,… Read more »
The tech and talent migration programs will be scrapped and replaced with a new National Innovation Visa under major federal budget reforms that will ensure 70% of permanent migration places are set aside for skilled workers. Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2024-25 federal budget in Canberra on Tuesday night, outlining a significant overhaul to… Read more »
Former Sydney insurtech unicorn Cover Genius has raised its third 9-figure round, this time banking US$80 million (A$120m) in a Series E. The fresh capital follows a $112 million (US$70m) Series D in late 2022 and $100 million in a series C in October 2021. The round was led by California VC Spark Capital, which… Read more »
New Zealand agritech startup Metrovate has raised NZ$1 million (A$920k) to develop its precision plant growth “biostimulant”. The investment was made by early-stage accelerator and commercialisation firm Sprout Agritech with support from its investment partners, US-based Finistere Ventures, Kiwi dairy giant Fonterra and venture builder OurCrowd, as well as the Te Pokapū Auaha Callaghan Innovation’s… Read more »
Budget cuts and ongoing criticism of the state government-backed Breakthrough Victoria have not slowed its capital deployment, with $5 million invested in medtech manufacturing startup Neo-Bionica. Founded in 2021 as a joint initiative of the Bionics Institute and the University of Melbourne and based at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Neo-Bionica was developed to fill a… Read more »
Artificial intelligence, investing and getting shit done are among the new categories in the 2nd annual Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards, with nominations opening today. The 2024 Best in Tech awards have seen the number of awards grow by 50% to 15, with each category’s finalists increasing from 3 to 4, doubling the total… Read more »
We now know how much the federal government is spending to bring PsiQuantum, the California-based quantum computing company with Australian founders, to Brisbane. Well, almost. The budget says $466.4 million in equity and loans from Export Finance Australia on the National Interest Account. And it seems that a fair slab is a loan “estimated to exceed… Read more »
Sydney fintech Data Zoo has raised $35 million (US$22.7m) taking on external capital for the first time. The funding came from Ashok Jacob’s Sydney investment firm, Ellerston Capital, via its JAADE fund, which has also backed startups Mable, Camms, and Phocas. The deal values the business at more than $100 million. Data Zoo’s software provides… Read more »
Startup Daily’s had a look at the 2024 federal budget and has a slightly different view to the minister for industry, science and technology, Ed Husic, on what it has to offer. Like many in the sector, we’ve been waiting patiently for the moment where startups are recognised as an extraordinary opportunity by the government,… Read more »
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