AI data centre startup Firmus just raised another $2.85 billion at a whopping $15B valuation

Firmus has secured a further US$2bn at a $15bn valuation from Coatue, Nvidia, Blackstone and Jane Street, taking its 12-month capital intake past US$3bn to fund Australian AI data centre projects.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·AFR Technology·Business News Australia·This Week in Australian Startups·AFR Technology·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Our Investment in Vexev - Building Autonomous Robotic Ultrasound

Ten13's post explains why it joined the robotics company's latest raise alongside Blackbird, Neotribe, Startmate and Horizons, covering its autonomous scanning device, dialysis focus, founders, and US rollout plans.

Also Dealroom·vexev.com·datapile.co·evtoday.com

Data centres topic roundup

A topic listing page aggregating multiple unrelated data centre news items; no single funding event with verifiable financial details extractable.

BiiGGA appoints Lee Slattery as Chief Commercial Officer to drive its next phase of growth

Australian SME lender BiiGGA hires Lee Slattery as chief commercial officer to own commercial strategy, distribution and growth after its strongest quarter on record.

Diageo Acquires Tipplesworth: A Strategic Pivot Toward Premium Ready-to-Drink Innovation

Spirits giant Diageo bought British premixed cocktail maker Tipplesworth for £112 million in March 2024; the article examines the deal's rationale, the brand's retail growth, and planned expansion into Canada, Australia and the US.

Sia's Australian Gambit: Snags Seven Consulting in Push for AI Dominance

French consulting group Sia has bought Australian business transformation firm Seven Consulting, adding roughly 130 consultants and East Coast offices. The deal follows Sia's earlier acquisitions and Blackstone's minority investment earmarked for expansion.

Also consultancy.com.au

Enrola raises $2.1M Seed after pivot from education to AI sales tech

Australian startup Enrola has banked seed funding to scale its AI sales agent after pivoting from an education marketplace, with a new growth head joining.

Also Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups·ontargetish.com·bushletter.com·SmartCompany

Vexev raises $8.6M (Australia, August 2026)

Datapile logs an $8.6 million raise by Sydney vascular-ultrasound startup Vexev, led by TreeArc Investment Group with TEN13 among four backers, earmarked for regulatory approval and clinical rollout.

Also datapile.co·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Dealroom·Forbes Australia·fundedstartupsdaily.com

Vexev Raises A$8.6 Million to Advance Australian-Built Robotic Ultrasound Platform in the United States

Australian medical robotics firm Vexev has raised A$8.6 million to pursue FDA clearance and US commercialisation of its VxWave robotic ultrasound platform, with backing from existing and new investors.

Also Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups·SmartCompany

ARENA-backed accelerator selects 'hardware' climate tech startups

EnergyLab unveils ten hardware-focused climate tech startups joining its 2026 Climate Solutions Accelerator, supported by $1.64 million from ARENA; alumni Infravision, Renewable Metals, Orkestra and Amber later received ARENA funding.

Drone maker Innovaero opens books for $158m ASX debut

A Western Australian maker of military drones has opened its bookbuild for a $40 million float, aiming for a securities exchange debut within about a month.

'Rubbish' tariffs drive Australian company out of the US

Silicon producer Simcoa will quit the United States from August 14 after Washington imposed steep new tariffs; Canberra says the trade dispute won't derail a critical minerals pact with Washington.

Introducing Australian FinTech’s newest Member – Canvas

Australian FinTech introduces Canvas as a new member. Canvas builds infrastructure for tokenised securities, stablecoins and CBDCs, and took part in the Reserve Bank of Australia's eAUD pilot.

InDebted appoints Gillian Findlay, one of Australia’s most accomplished tech operators, to its board

Collections platform InDebted adds Gillian Findlay, ex-COO of SafetyCulture and Immutable, as a non-executive director, joining founder Josh Foreman, Reinventure's Danny Gilligan and Carthona Capital's Dean Dorrell on the board.

John Robson, BioOra CEO: 'I am a super macro leader'

Profile of BioOra CEO John Robson covering the cell-therapy company's $15m raise last year, a live round with about $20m committed, a Cincinnati hospital partnership, and Christchurch manufacturing plans.

MatrixOrigin Raises $10M Series A to Scale Enterprise AI Infrastructure

MatrixOrigin announced completing a Series A above $10 million with HAND, AsiaCom and Australian-headquartered Artesian among the backers; the piece also recalls a 2025 Pre-A+ round and six earlier institutional investors.

MIST raises A$3.5M to keep international students' funds verified

A fintech serving international students in Australia has secured A$3.5 million, with DoxAI leading, to grow its verified-funds platform already used by La Trobe University in student visa checks.

Jungheinrich buys Australia's All Lift to grow in APAC rental market

Jungheinrich, a German equipment maker, is buying Sydney's All Lift to grow its Asia-Pacific rental business; 2026 also saw it take stakes in EP Equipment and Navflex.

Fuse Technology boosts WA footprint with Infinitum acquisition

IT services firm Fuse Technology has bought WA provider Infinitum Technologies, gaining a foothold in Perth and the Mid West; staff move across and the brands will merge over the next two years.

Also Dealroom

Australian quantum communications technology set for stratospheric trial

Space CoLAB will test its HaloCore quantum communications hardware on Orbit2Orbit's high-altitude balloon flight from Queensland in November 2026, checking how components handle near-space conditions ahead of later orbital missions.

BioScout raises $4.8m for early warning system for fungal pathogens

BioScout, an Australian maker of AI spore-detection sensors for crops, has raised a seed round from Demea Sustainable Investment, Astanor and others to expand its sensor network and European presence.

Also Dealroom·agritechdigest.com·app.fundz.net·This Week in Australian Startups·winssolutions.org·agroempresario.com·finsmes.com·agrospectrumasia.com

Topic | Cybersecurity | Australian Financial Review

AFR cybersecurity topic page rounding up recent stories: Origin Energy's data breach investigation, Point Wild's planned ASX float, AI models hacking companies, and a CyberCX–Monash University cybersecurity degree partnership.

Herdr is joining Y Combinator. The runtime stays open

Solo developer Can announces his agent-management runtime Herdr has joined Y Combinator's F26 batch, intends to grow a small team, and will keep the open-source runtime free under an Apache licence.

Victoria backs Catalysr program for Indian-Australian founders to build in startup cities Mumbai and Bangalore

Catalysr, with Vaurora Social Impact and Victorian government backing, is taking applications for a program that will send up to ten Indian-Australian founders to build market links in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Neara joins the billion-dollar club with $90 million Series D

Australian grid digital-twin startup Neara raised a $90 million Series D led by TCV, reaching unicorn status amid rising data centre power demand.

STRONG Pilates strikes Central and Eastern Europe expansion with Polish fitness giant Xtreme Brands

Melbourne fitness chain STRONG Pilates partners with Poland's Xtreme Brands to enter Central and Eastern Europe; the piece also recalls bValue Fund's roughly $17.5m investment in the Polish operator.

WA mining software startup CorePlan strikes $5 million

Perth-based drilling and exploration software company CorePlan raised a follow-on round led by existing investor EVP to fund global expansion.

AI data centre startup Firmus Technologies banks another $100 million

Firmus Technologies received a $100 million strategic investment from Maas Group Holdings, taking total funds raised past $900 million in under five months.

Energy grid digital twin platform Neara turns unicorn with $90 million Series D

Australian grid-modelling startup Neara raised a $90 million Series D led by TCV, valuing the company above $1 billion, funding ML and expansion.

Green fertiliser startup PlasmaLeap lands $28 million Series A

Sydney cleantech PlasmaLeap raised a US$20m Series A to build fertiliser hubs and expand green ammonia reactor technology for farmers.

Defence tech scaleup Advanced Navigation charts $158 million Series C to bypass GPS

Sydney navigation startup Advanced Navigation raised a large Series C led by Airtree Ventures, with Quadrant Private Equity and NRFC, to expand PNT technology globally.

Sam Kroonenburg's Cuttable raises $5.7 million, opens in New York

Melbourne AI advertising startup Cuttable raised $5.7 million at a doubled $100 million valuation, expanding to New York amid growing US demand.

ANU spinout Syenta raises $36 million Series A to make AI chips

Sydney-based chip packaging startup Syenta raised a Series A led by Playground Global and the National Reconstruction Fund to commercialise its interconnect manufacturing technology and expand into the US.

Blackbird leads $14 million Seed round for the 'Canva of financial advice'

AI startup Marloo, built for financial advisers, raised a Seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, bringing total funding to over $18m in under a year.

ProcurePro raises US$11M as French construction giant Bouygues moves from customer to backer

Brisbane procurement software startup ProcurePro closes a US$11 million round led by QIC Ventures, with customer Bouygues joining as an investor via ISAI vehicle.

Financeable, Your Insurance and Cloudfloat deliver market leading straight-through processing for commercial finance, insurance and premium funding

Financeable has launched a combined finance, insurance and premium funding workflow with Your Insurance and Cloudfloat, letting commercial brokers complete the whole journey in one digital process.

Ordermentum lands $55m from Five V Capital

Sydney food-and-beverage ordering platform Ordermentum raised $55 million led by Five V Capital, valuing it above $150 million, with some early investors partially exiting.

La Trobe cancer diagnostics spin out AlleSense raises $5 million

Melbourne biotech AlleSense, developing cancer pathology imaging tech, raised $5 million led by Welcome Ventures with Breakthrough Victoria and an AEA grant contributing.

Cricketer Pat Cummins backs longevity startup Everlab's $65 million Series A

Melbourne preventative healthcare startup Everlab raised a $65 million Series A led by Airtree Ventures to expand into the UK, with backing from cricketer Pat Cummins.

Women’s health data startup Ovum lands $4 million Seed round

Melbourne women's health app Ovum raised $4m Seed funding led by Admiralty Capital Group to expand AI-driven health data tools, valuing it at $18 million.

Mine drone mapping scaleup Emesent raises $15 million

Brisbane drone mapping firm Emesent secures $15 million SAFE Note plus $10 million venture debt from federal government's National Reconstruction Fund.

What are you willing to do? Founder scrappiness

Hyper's blog examines founder scrappiness through portfolio stories, recalling early raises by Nelli, GymGoer and Ambl, plus Mindbody's sale and milestones at Splend and Happly.

Sia accelerates its expansion in Australia with the acquisition of Seven Consulting

Consulting group Sia has bought Seven Consulting, an Australian transformation consultancy, adding Sydney and Melbourne offices, a Perth presence and major clients across banking, government and retail.

Also Dealroom·Dealroom·sevenconsulting.com·briefglance.com·melbourne-insider.au·cfotech.com.au·consultancy.com.au

Embark Early Education raises $4M in placement, its second quick raise

Childcare operator Embark Early Education has locked in a $4 million placement with one US institutional investor, arranged by Canaccord Genuity, to bankroll acquisitions it has yet to identify.

Activeport raises A$3.6M placement; Antipodes takes 5.1% stake

Activeport, an Australian network automation firm, has locked in a A$3.634m equity placement. Fund manager Antipodes Partners and Scobie Ward joined as backers; MWP Partners followed on. Antipodes now holds about 5.1% voting power.

Spacetalk lines up A$10M placement at a discount to fund expansion

Spacetalk, an ASX-listed maker of family safety wearables, has locked in A$10 million via a discounted share placement split into two tranches, the larger awaiting shareholder approval, to bankroll product and operational growth.

Also This Week in Australian Startups

Australian start-up unveils sovereign counter-drone system to tackle emerging battlefield threats

MILLIBEAM, an Australian deep-tech firm, has revealed Rakurai, a portable counter-drone device built on bespoke chip-level radiofrequency design; the piece notes prior Commonwealth grants behind its semiconductor technology.

Brookfield Raises Record $77B in Q2 2026 Fundraising

RealtyWire's earnings report on Brookfield Asset Management's record second-quarter capital raising, higher fees and dividend, noting its pending LXP Industrial Trust purchase, completed Oaktree buyout, and energy partnerships.

Meet the eight startups pitching at Startup Battlefield Australia

TechCrunch selects eight Australian startups to pitch at Startup Battlefield Australia during Stripe Tour Sydney on August 19, competing for Stripe fee credits and a Disrupt spot.

Salter Brothers goes against the grain with SaaS bet

Melbourne investment firm Salter Brothers has anchored a new funding round for EngageRM, a SaaS platform serving sports leagues and venues such as the NBA, AFL and NRL.

Also This Week in Australian Startups