The CEO and cofounder of StrongRoom AI allegedly conceded to EVP investor Misha Saul that the company’s revenue and debt figures were “wilful fraud”. Details of an extraordinary conversation and confession by CEO Max Mito were outlined in submissions in Federal Court legal action by the Sydney VC, after it successfully applied to freeze the… Read more »
A UK investor with close ties to one of the defendants in legal action against besieged medtech startup StrongRoom AI has come out swinging against Sydney VC EVP, which is fighting to get its $10.4 million investment back. Aaron Michelin, a director of Tyson & Blake – named after founder Chris Tornblom’s dogs – has… Read more »
The NSW Innovation Blueprint finally dropped on Monday – 18 months after innovation, science and technology minister Anoulack Chanthivong first announced it in September 2023. And if you’re wondering if it was worth the wait, the feeling is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The Minns government needs to get cracking, and quickly. It has lost ground to make up… Read more »
EVP has lodged legal action in the Federal Court of Australia in a bid to recoup the $10.44 million it invested in Melbourne startup StrongRoom AI. The Sydney venture capital firm headed to court in Brisbane on Monday afternoon to seek an urgent order freezing assets worth up to $10,440,969 million against 13 defendants, including… Read more »
The Australian startup ecosystem has all the ingredients for success: hardworking founders, world-class talent, and abundant capital. We have enormous amounts of potential, so how do we make sure we realise it? Most people think we are held back by our inherent tall-poppy syndrome. I think this has historically been true, but this is certainly… Read more »
Sydney venture capital fund EVP has reportedly contacted police and is seeking to recoup the investment it made in StrongRoom AI, less than a fortnight after it announced leading a $17 million round into the Melbourne software startup. The AFR reported that EVP had called in legal and forensic accounting experts and was warning investors… Read more »
UNSW chancellor David Gonski and Simon Sheikh’s impact investment fintech Future Super are among the investors in a new US$100 million fund to back artificial intelligence (AI) startups. King River Capital said it’s nearing the final close of its latest A$157 million fund, which continues its ongoing strategic focus on AI-driven software startups both here… Read more »
Daniel Petre once worked with Bill Gates and has achieved amazing tech success – along with the riches that come with it. Here he shares what the real meaning of having money is, and what he’s doing with his. I wasn’t wealthy growing up. My parents were Romanian immigrants who came to Australia after… Read more »
The Sydney Startup Hub opened to Antler in Australia’s 13th residency last week, bringing together over 90 ambitious founders from across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Over the next few months, these entrepreneurs – both experienced and new – will test, build, and launch ventures in these three cities hoping to create a new generation of… Read more »
The Victorian government’s $2 billion investment fund, Breakthrough Victoria has appointed Rod Bristow as its new chief executive officer. Bristow previously spent four years as CEO of early stage and climate-tech VC Investible, building out its Asian presence, and as well as raising a $32 million climate tech fund a $51.6m 2nd early-stage fund, and a new… Read more »
Brisbane-based specialist defence technology venture capital firm, Beaten Zone Venture Partners, has secured more than $10 million in commitments, to call first close on the fund. The figure takes the fund to its final condition for ESVCLP (Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships) status, with its first capital call underway this week. Founder and… Read more »
You can argue over the state of investment for women until the (100% female) cows come home – surprise, surprise, it was shit again in 2024 – but there’s other data in The State of Startup Funding Report 2024 that suggests all is not well in the state of venture capital. More than half (55%)… Read more »
Victorian startup agency LaunchVic is offering grants of up to $300,000 to venture capital funds and angel groups to set up in Victoria and back local startups. To qualify, they’re either just kicking off or “new to Victoria”, which means interstate VCs looking to put boots on the ground in the southeast can apply for… Read more »
New Zealand’s most active venture capital firm, Icehouse Ventures, has closed its second growth fund, with NZ$122 million (A$111m) in commitments to back later-stage scaleups. The record raise for Growth Fund II, closed at the end of 2024, and will be used to back up to 20 Kiwi tech scaleups, with several investments already made.… Read more »
Investors keen to climb about the success of ecommerce unicorn Rokt have shelled out US$335 million (A$510m) to acquire existing shares as the business gears up for an IPO in 2026. The sales values the privately owned New York-based Australian-founded scaleup at US$3.5 billion (A$5.6bn), up from $US2.4 billion (A$3.5bn) in late 2022 when $750… Read more »
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