3185 rounds · 2019 startups · 3684 investors
Person Invested in this round Raised it Closed a fund Mentioned
Amount confirmed Amount is an estimate
Australian solar firm SunDrive has signed a JDA with Chinese equipment makers Maxwell Technologies and Vistar, adding to partnerships with Trina Solar and AGL and an earlier Arena grant.
Gilmour Space has final approval to launch its Eris rocket Thursday from Queensland, carrying Vegemite and a camera on the maiden flight of Australia's first home-grown orbital rocket.
Legal AI platform Plexus has raised more than $6 million, led by existing shareholders alongside Seattle lender Lighter Capital, its first institutional backer, to speed international growth, AI product delivery and hiring.
FaBA and UQ launch their largest research project, a $5.6m effort with oat company My PlantCo to develop new oat-based foods, with GRDC committing over $720,000 to the company's project.
Infrastructure Investor exclusively reports that global infrastructure manager GIP is quietly pre-launching a new energy transition vehicle of about $10 billion; nothing has closed and no capital is yet committed.
The medication startup StrongRoom AI looks headed for liquidation, its administrators citing likely insolvency from October 2024, while EVP litigates to claw back its $10.4 million and the CEO faces fraud claims.
Advisory firm Eaton Square reports acting for Removify's shareholders in the reputation-management company's acquisition by B2B software consolidator Software Combined, expanding the buyer's Australian and New Zealand footprint.
A monthly video briefing teasing stories on human-first leadership, AI and creativity, and an unnamed Melbourne startup winning eBay's Circular Fashion Fund prize.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong reflects on a decade of the firm's Sunrise conference and Australia's startup ecosystem, recalling Atlassian's Nasdaq listing and Aconex's float and sale to Oracle.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·thelawyermag.com·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·LaunchVic·LaunchVic
A profile of Brandon Capital partner Chris Smith, tracing his path from immunology research and a Cambridge postdoc into biotech investing, with resilience lessons drawn from equestrian sport and companies Aravax and ENA Respiratory.
Law firm Lander & Rogers has picked five startups for the eighth LawTech Hub cohort, a six-month equity-free accelerator focused on AI tools for legal drafting, research and due diligence.
Weekly roundup covering several startup acquisitions, a clutch of venture rounds across AI and other sectors, a Clay employee share sale, and Marathon Venture Capital's new fund close.
Concord Hospital researchers and Inventia Life Science developed 3D printed skin for burn patients, supported by a Medical Devices Fund grant the company previously received.
Finder is shutting its crypto wallet business Wallet Ventures four years after launch, moving users to Swyftx, which recently acquired Easy Crypto; Finder earlier won in court against ASIC over its Earn product.
NSW has granted grid access in its Central-West Orana renewable energy zone to ten wind, solar and storage projects totalling over 7 GW; winners include Squadron Energy, Tilt Renewables, Acen and Lightsource bp.
UNSW Founders partnered with Luminary Partners to invest $200,000 each in 18 early-stage deeptech startups across its 2025 accelerator cohorts, extending prior backing arrangements.
Equity raise of $2.3m by Advanced, a Sunshine Coast R&D finance startup building a $25m lending fund; backers include Wayne Gerard and Phil Cummins, who joins the board.
Australian digital business cards startup Blinq raised a US$25 million Series A led by Touring Capital, with HubSpot Ventures, Blackbird and Square Peg participating, reportedly valuing the company at $200 million.
Fastbrick's $6.3 million placement to investors including Fidelity International proceeded after a shareholder's Takeovers Panel challenge failed and shareholders voted to approve the second tranche.
Main Sequence explains how it judges which AI startups build lasting value, setting out focus areas in neglected industries, efficient computing and robotics, and citing several firms from its portfolio.
Sydney startup Levur has banked $1.2 million in a pre-seed round, with Main Sequence and GrainCorp Ventures leading, to brew palm oil alternatives; its KPMG prize win and 2024 accelerator stint are recalled.
Sydney startup Hoogly, which builds tools for workplace connection, topped the GSV Cup in San Diego and has banked $1 million toward a round it plans to close within days, double its initial target.
GrainCorp Ventures announces backing for Levur, a Sydney startup engineering yeast to brew palm-oil substitutes — its third venture investment this year, after Calice and BioScout.
AI agent platform Relevance AI has closed a Bessemer-led Series B with its earlier backers reinvesting, and is rolling out new agent-building tools while expanding its American go-to-market presence.
Melbourne-based digital business card maker Blinq has raised a $25 million Series A round, with Touring Capital leading and Blackbird, Square Peg and HubSpot Ventures joining, to grow its enterprise reach.
The University of Sydney has launched a $25 million pre-seed fund to back ventures spun out of its research, naming five initial investments across carbon capture, diabetes treatment, inhaled medicines and cardiovascular devices.
1Breadcrumb has acquired Canberra rival SignOnSite and raised a $4.5 million SAFE note from Five V Capital, Tribe Global Ventures and a US family office, creating a merged construction-safety technology provider.
Also SmartCompany
Industry body commentary on rising investor appetite for defence assets, including notes on ESG policy revisions, prompted by the completed merger of Canberra's Penten with UK firm Amiosec.
Tim Doyle, cofounder of health startup Eucalyptus, tells a Blackbird Sunrise audience that solving his warehouse of returned sex toys is the route to a job, and offers blunt views on local venture capital.
Antler announced investments in eight startups from its 12th Australian residency, across robotics, cybersecurity, health and fintech; applications for the 14th residency are open, offering founders as much as AU$260,000 for a 12% stake.
Edify Energy has referred its Brewongle solar farm and battery project for federal environmental assessment, its third such entry in two months, while reportedly preparing a possible sale with Lazard Australia seeking buyers.
Clutch Glue met a doubled UK retail order by using Thorndale Industries, a Sydney-based disability employer, to relabel and repack stock; the piece also recalls the brand's $2 million Blackbird-backed raise.
TowerBrook Capital Partners has locked in roughly $2.7 billion of commitments toward a $4 billion target for its newest flagship vehicle, with returning investors supplying most of the capital.
Show notes for a Tenacious Ventures podcast episode in which Farmhand Ventures founder Connie Bowen discusses alternative agtech funding models such as redeemable equity; the firm also advertises open staff roles.
Scaleup Mediafund swapped ad space for equity in Finder and ASX-listed insurer NobleOak, the latter worth $1.5m, among six investments from its third fund backed by major media companies.
Antler's post sets out why it backed Interhuman AI, which is building technology to help AI systems read human social cues, and profiles its three founders.
Federal government funds Care Economy Cooperative Research Centre; ANDHealth appointed commercialisation partner to help translate care research into market-ready products.
Two young Melbourne founders have secured pre-seed backing for Fluency, their AI platform that automates business process documentation, drawing support from a local venture firm and Singaporean funds.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Preview of the sixteen startups in Startmate's Summer '25 Accelerator cohort pitching at Demo Day at Carriageworks, closing out Blackbird's Sunrise gathering in Sydney.
MGA Thermal has its 5 MWh Tomago pilot plant working again after an 18-month fix, and is seeking significant new capital to scale up production.
Zyft, a shopping price-comparison tool, has closed a $7.5 million round led by Paul Dwyer at a $37.5 million valuation, and appointed Richard Stevens, ex-LocalAgent Finder, as chief executive.
Also SmartCompany
Roundup of the publication's five most-read stories of the week: a $65 million grant for the SMART regenerative-therapies CRC, QUT's flexible semiconductor research, a Lima Declaration fact-check, and Greensteel Australia's $1.6 billion mill order.
Two Australian startups, Calyx.eco and Endua, are among ten finalists in PepsiCo's Asia-Pacific sustainability accelerator, each receiving a grant plus mentorship, with an extra prize for the eventual winner.
Funding roundup covering six Australian-linked startups: Superpower's US$30m Series A, WeMoney's $12m Series A plus debt facility, InsightWise's $1m pre-seed, and Bupa's first venture investments in three health startups.
Galileo Ventures argues Australia risks missing the AI revolution, proposes a five-pillar national investment strategy, and announces Fund II to back AI founders, citing its Fund I portfolio and Airtrunk's sale as evidence.
Selfwealth shareholders have overwhelmingly backed Syfe's A$65 million cash takeover, with court approval and a 7 May completion still ahead; the Singapore-based buyer plans to delist and rebrand the Australian brokerage.
Mike Smith's Australian refillable cleaning-products startup Zero Co will shut at April's end after packaging troubles; the piece recalls its Kickstarter, Birchal and Square Peg raises and its Smart50 Rising Star award.
Also Dealroom
Cleaning products maker Zero Co, backed by Square Peg and crowdfunded via Birchal, is closing down solvent and will hand leftover funds to shareholders after failing to find a workable path forward.
Also SmartCompany·Dealroom·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Cardiac device maker EBR Systems has won US regulator clearance for its leadless heart-failure therapy, clearing the way for staged commercial release later in 2025 and broader distribution in 2026.
WeMoney banked $12 million in a Series A led via Laurence Escalante's family office, with Mastercard among backers, plus $1 million debt, at a reported $100 million valuation.
Also SmartCompany