3152 rounds · 1994 startups · 3648 investors
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Currents, a Gold Coast founder community group, has bought Michael Batko's running community Startup Striders for an undisclosed cash sum; Batko advises through December while remaining Startmate CEO.
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Melbourne's Culture Amp has cut roughly 60 roles amid a push into AI products like AI Coach; the piece also recalls its 2019 Series E, 2021 Series F and $2 billion valuation.
SC Ventures is leading a US$5m round for EdenX Group, an Australia-Singapore fintech serving franchises and small businesses, to grow its investment and trading infrastructure; it recently bought two firms and entered Singapore.
Subletting firm Kiki settled with New York's enforcement office for US$152,319 over unregistered listings before leaving for London; the piece also recalls its US$6 million seed raise and Blackbird's early backing.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Women's Agenda
Global X ETFs has hired marketing veteran Scott Spencer as its Head of Marketing to drive its brand as the Australian ETF issuer expands its product range.
KKR has begun marketing its fifth Asia-focused buyout fund, targeting US$15 billion; the piece also recalls the 2021 close of its fourth regional fund and recent stake sales in LOGISTEED, Seiyu and JB Chemicals.
WA's Innovation Seed Fund has awarded almost $5 million in grants to 12 researchers and startups for health projects, from liver cancer tests to endometriosis diagnosis, ranging from $90,000 to $500,000.
Profile of OncoRevive, a startup whose blood test spots multiple cancer biomarkers in hours rather than weeks, written ahead of its Demo Day appearance with Techstars Sydney's 2025 cohort.
Melbourne education AI startup Teacher's Buddy has secured seed backing, with Giant Leap leading, to grow its teacher productivity platform across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
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Folklore Ventures says its investee Sphere has secured US$20 million in a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Y Combinator, Felicis and 20VC also in; Folklore backed Sphere at pre-seed.
Sexual wellness company Normal is seeking outside capital for the first time via equity crowdfunding platform Birchal, having funded itself since 2021; its chief executive cites investor stigma as a barrier to venture capital.
Rio Tinto has signed a $35m-plus agreement backing Calix's green-iron demo plant in Western Australia, a project that earlier won an ARENA grant of as much as $44.9 million.
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Airtasker closed a $10 million equity placement led by iHeartMedia alongside an expanded US media partnership, the latest of several advertising-for-equity deals with broadcasters in the US, UK and Australia.
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The CEFC has put $50 million into student housing operator Scape Australia to electrify up to 20 buildings, strip out gas, and trial behind-the-meter energy technology across its national portfolio.
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Startup Daily profiles Onsite, a Techstars Sydney 2025 cohort startup founded by Nathan Croxton that modernises strata and building management; managing director Christie Jenkins explains the accelerator's investment.
Melbourne solar startup MetroElectro has landed $1 million from Wavemaker Impact plus $4 million in debt from Ecotone Partners, adding to its 2024 pre-seed, to put panels on commercial rooftops.
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Podcast interview with SolidHydrogen chief executive Philippe Odouard on hydride-based hydrogen storage, why the sector must compete without subsidies, and a $2.5 million grant for pilot projects.
A Queensland cattle genetics business has opened a laboratory to process bull semen at Glen Aplin with government grant support, and a partner will sort sexed semen there from early 2026.
Australian fintech youX has hired Matt Perry, who joins from Pepper Asset Finance, as chief commercial officer, tasking him with commercial strategy and growing lender, dealer and broker programs.
Australian card payments firm Vault Payment Solutions has been granted Mastercard Principal Issuer status, giving it direct network access to build and launch payment products faster with stronger security for clients.
Brief market note recording that eBay has finished a billion-dollar debt issuance, aimed at shoring up liquidity and bankrolling platform work while managing margin strain; no investors, dates or terms are disclosed.
Green data centre builder Firmus has banked $327m to expand AI facilities across Australia, lifting its value to roughly $600m; unnamed existing backers reinvested while Nvidia's earlier backing continues.
Weekly roundup of eight raises totalling $572.12 million, led by Firmus's $500 million round; RAGE Biotech, SunDrive, Number 8 Bio, Fabra, Keeyu, MyGig and Drone-Hand also funded, plus two RAGE Biotech executive appointments.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Business News Australia
Origin Energy is buying Energy Locals, the membership-based power retailer founded to disrupt Australia's major gentailers. Its current owners, a consortium led by Palisade Impact, purchased it from Quinbrook about a year ago.
KPMG administrators have taken control of Australian solar thermal developer Vast Renewables and will run a sale or recapitalisation process, following its recent Nasdaq delisting; the Port Augusta project's future is unclear.
Linktree has bought Melbourne rival Fingertip and will shut it down in 2026, with its cofounders joining; the piece also recaps Linktree's earlier acquisitions and the Leibovich brothers' failed ventures.
Also Dealroom·Forbes Australia
Drone-Hand, a Victorian startup whose drones and cameras monitor farm animals, has secured $720,000 in pre-seed backing led by US venture firm Radius Capital to fund hiring and commercial rollout across Australia.
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Weekly agtech and foodtech roundup: multiple venture raises, Carbon Direct's purchase of Pachama, two food-focused funds closing, board and C-suite appointments, and an Australian delivery firm shutting down.
Smart50 profile ranks leadership coaching firm Peeplcoach 45th, noting its Melbourne head office, founders Christine Khor and James Chisholm, and more than $3 million raised over five years from individual backers.
Brisbane startup TernX, founded by Tack Lee and Hoe Ping Lo, makes a stroller-suitcase hybrid; the Smart50 Rising Star profile recalls a $350,000 Shark Tank Australia deal.
Melbourne biotech RAGE Biotech has raised a $29 million Series A, with IP Group Australia and Hostplus leading, to fund human trials of its lung disease therapy; new executives were appointed.
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SmartCompany's 2025 Smart50 ranking places legal platform Lawpath 49th, profiling its founders, revenue and turnaround after missed targets forced mass redundancies, with fresh investment raised during its recovery.
Menulog, the Sydney-founded food delivery pioneer, shuts down this month under owner Just Eat Takeaway, recently acquired by Prosus; the article recalls its 2015 merger and sale and a string of failed delivery rivals.
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Sydney synthetic-biology venture Number 8 Bio has banked an $11m Series A with Icehouse Ventures leading, to advance cattle trials of its methane-cutting supplement; its 2024 seed and accelerator stint are recalled.
SmartCompany reports MyGig's $1 million pre-seed round, led by Artesian with Hostplus funds, to grow an employer-of-record service handling payroll and workplace compliance for casual workforces.
The renewable energy agency will grant SunDrive up to $25.3 million to scale its copper solar cell technology with partners Maxwell and Vistar, adding to $14 million in earlier support.
Also RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Goterra's founder argues first-of-a-kind companies need a layered capital stack spanning institutional, crowdfunding, government and corporate money rather than one lead investor, and points readers to her live CSF campaign on OnMarket.
Transcelestial announced a further US$9.7m close of its latest round, lifting total funding to US$34.7m, with MPower Partners joining SEEDS and Kickstart Ventures to back its Japanese defence and space communications push.
BindiMaps has exited administration with fresh owners set to broaden its commercial focus; the piece recalls earlier Artesian backing and a $1 million NSW government grant.
Canadian TaaS firm Turnium has proposed buying Sydney channel partner Insentra in a deal worth as much as C$15 million, expected to complete by the end of 2025 if conditions are met.
Morse Micro, a Wi-Fi HaLow vendor, appoints former Swann Communications chief executive Alex Talevski as its first senior product and AI executive, and tasks him with opening a Melbourne office.
Australian startup Fabra has debuted a browser-based 3D design tool alongside pre-seed backing of $2.8 million from four funds, and intends to seek seed capital ahead of 2026 general availability.
Rampersand's newsletter announces it led Keeyu's $2.3 million pre-seed round, alongside portfolio updates from Quantum Brilliance, Cuttable, Hatch and Goterra, plus job listings and reflections on domain founders and Australian venture capital.
Also Rampersand·quantumwire.com·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·semiconductorindustrymonthly.com
Ellerston Capital announces a $67 million investment in SEE Group, a Queensland and NSW civil and mining contractor, to fund fleet expansion, with investment partner Mark Paton joining the board.
Startup Daily profiles Slice, a proptech automating property transaction paperwork, and its founder Amy Stevens, among the 12 startups in Techstars Sydney's 2025 cohort ahead of its December demo event.
The renewable energy agency has committed as much as $45m to Fortescue's Pilbara solar testing hub, where demonstration projects with Built Robotics and 5B will trial construction robotics and rapid-deployment solar technology.
The ACT Government has launched the ACTivate Capital venture fund, with an initial $23 million close and capacity for $50 million, to back Canberra startups and commercialise local research, led by fund manager Ken Kroeger.
Sydney-founded quantum computing company Diraq has progressed to Stage B of a US defense agency program targeting utility-scale quantum computing by 2033, expanding its consortium with new industry and academic partners.
EVP's Federal Court bid to claw back $10.4 million from collapsed healthtech StrongRoom AI continues, with liquidator examinations of former directors ahead; the rebooted business has since raised fresh funds under owner Joe Zhou.
Also AFR Technology·This Week in Australian Startups·Dealroom