3212 rounds · 2034 startups · 3752 investors
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ExoFlare, cofounded by ex-Data61 chief Adrian Turner, has banked $5.3 million in seed funding led by Salus Ventures to help food producers manage biosecurity risks.
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Subsea oil and gas equipment maker Pivotree has finished testing a full-scale prototype developed in Perth; Malaysia's Olio Group invested in its Series A earlier in 2024.
AuManufacturing analysis weighing whether Defence's drone purchase shows procurement reform is working, tracing Sypaq's Corvo from 2018 concept work to selection alongside a German rival.
Interview with Resparke's founder-CEO on music therapy for dementia care, recalling her 2023 public grant via Ariia and her new Cartier Women's Initiative fellowship.
Titomic has hired Dr Patricia Dare to head its push into the United States defence market, citing recent equipment sales there, including a roughly $1.2 million system deal with Triton Systems.
Spend management firm Weel has expanded Damon Hauenstein's role to cover both chief financial and operating duties, alongside recent executive appointments and a new partnership with Nium and Visa.
Federation announces it has bought out all shareholders of Homesafe Solutions, a provider letting older Australians tap their home equity without taking on debt or downsizing.
Oceania Biofuels withdraws its planned Gladstone refinery from federal approval; the article surveys a biofuels sector in retreat, from Fulcrum's US collapse to Carnarvon abandoning a WA plant and Jet Zero's new backers.
Akaysha Energy has $650 million from 11 banks and an EnergyAustralia offtake to build its Orana battery in NSW, which it calls the world's largest single-battery investment; BlackRock bought the company in 2022.
Perth green hydrogen developer LH2 Energy has secured an undisclosed seed sum from a European private investor joining backers from Japan, Korea and Australia for its planned Darwin floating hub.
Manufacturing sector roundup: Whyalla steelworks resumes production, Maggie Beer Holdings' chief executive to depart, ReNu Energy secures hydrogen funding, Defence names grant recipients, Orthocell gains Canadian approval, and AEA appoints its advisory board.
Queensland will put $8 million toward readying Queensland Pacific Metals' Townsville refinery project for investors, joining a recent federal commitment of the same size; the venture targets makers of EVs, batteries and steel.
Also @AuManufacturing
Australia's federal government announced plans to buy two military drone systems — Germany's Quantum-Systems Vector and Melbourne maker SYPAQ's CorvoX — for the Army and Air Force, with deliveries expected in 2025.
Folklore Ventures Q&A with Strong Compute founder Ben Sand covering its enterprise AI compute offering, community events, grant programs, hiring and his take on how AI market assumptions have shifted.
Federal grants totalling $91 million go to six industrial decarbonisation projects, including coal mine methane abatement, smelter upgrades and refinery electrification, drawing criticism from the Australian Conservation Foundation over the coal award.
Weekly market commentary from DigitalX covering Bitcoin's slide amid government and Mt. Gox selling, its spot Bitcoin ETF's approval to quote on the ASX, and Goldman Sachs' tokenisation fund plans.
Perth carbon-capture developer KC8 has secured $10 million from Woodside Energy and Cemex's venture arm to cut heavy-industry emissions; the piece also recalls Uno's 2021 acquisition, earlier seed rounds and a US grant.
Deep-tech investor Salus Ventures has recruited Archie Judd, previously at IQ Capital and Deloitte UK, for its investment team, with co-founders Dan Bennett and Marten Peck welcoming the appointment.
Breakthrough Victoria heads a $13 million investment into augmented reality company JigSpace, with Aura Ventures, Anorak Ventures and returning backers taking part; the Melbourne firm plans US offices and team growth.
KrASIA roundup: HongShan closes an RMB 18 billion fund, Partior and Miridih raise Series B rounds, Packworks gets a government grant, four Chinese startups raise, and Nika.eco, Validus and Airs Medical win funding.
HongShan Capital, formerly Sequoia Capital China, closed a $2.5 billion fund backed by Hangzhou's government and insurers; founder Neil Shen has also invested in startups Zhipu and Moonshot.
Breakthrough Victoria's yearly investment review reports sixteen new portfolio companies backed in FY23/24, itemising five with amounts — Xefco, Raygen, Jupiter Ionics, Bygen, Aravax — and cumulative investment beyond $300 million.
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Breakthrough Victoria led a $13m raise for AR platform JigSpace, investing via convertible note alongside Aura Ventures, Anorak Ventures and returning backers, with Victorian job growth expected.
Also Aura Ventures·Breakthrough Victoria·Aura Group portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Profile of Dr Kyle Turner, who is building Ochre, a LaunchVic-backed pre-accelerator for First Nations founders, and previously raised $3m-plus for dental AI startup Pearlii.
Also Startup Daily·LaunchVic
Kilara Capital has injected $5 million into Sircel, a Sydney-based electronic-waste processor that recently bought collapsed Victorian rival Scipher Technologies, with a Kilara portfolio manager joining the board.
Australian e-waste recycler Sircel has taken $5 million from investor Kilara Capital to advance its solar panel recycling plans, with Kilara portfolio manager Irina McCreadie set to join the Sircel board.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Interview with Xylo Systems founder Camille Goldstone-Henry on her biodiversity tracking platform, lessons from Startmate, gender bias in venture capital, and a capital raise in progress.
SmartCompany's Q&A series, run with Optus Business, features Sapia.ai's chief executive advising small firms on adopting AI, useful tools and strategy; her firm's recent capital raise is noted.
Roundup: Orthocell reports higher revenue, Recce Pharmaceuticals raises $8 million via a placement, executive appointments at Blacktree and Memphasys, Crosbe launches low-carbon grouts, NSW forms a Net Zero Commission, QUT unveils mapping research.
Breakthrough Victoria's agrifood director reflects on Victoria's food-system challenges and how portfolio companies Smart Paddock, Jupiter Ionics and Eden Brew could help build a more sustainable food future.
DigitalX has won ASX approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF, BTXX, to begin trading on 12 July, with K2 Assessment Management as responsible entity and 3iQ partnering on distribution in Australia and abroad.
Shareholders of Australia's MMA Offshore have approved a $1.1 billion takeover by Singapore vessel operator Cyan Renewables, which views the deal as its entry into the country's growing offshore wind market.
Also RenewEconomy
HMC Capital's Energy Transition platform, chaired by Julia Gillard, is investing about $50 million for a controlling stake in Sydney battery storage developer Stor-Energy, its first platform investment.
Melbourne carbon capture firm KC8 has secured $10 million from Woodside and Cemex's venture arm to grow its team and roll out its solvent technology across cement, steel, energy and chemical sectors.
The EV charger maker has banked $4 million from earlier backers and now hopes to attract further investment to expand sales and manufacturing.
Casafico's Caboolture plant, backed by Queensland and federal government funding, turns glass and polystyrene into building products, with waste-aggregate masonry blocks planned for mid-2025.
Breakthrough Victoria reports its $4.5 million investment in Amber Electric, a Melbourne energy software startup whose SmartShift technology optimises household electricity use, covering the company's Victorian impact, customers and hiring growth.
EVOS, a Brisbane EV charging startup, has secured $4 million from existing backers as the opening slice of a planned $10 million Series B; its three founders previously worked at failed charger maker Tritium.
Also SmartCompany
Online drinks retailer Just Wines has bought craft beer seller Beer Cartel and its Brewquets gifting brand, after earlier picking up administrators' sales Sans Drinks and Liquor Loot.
Brisbane biotech Gelomics has raised a pre-seed round to advance its animal-free tissue testing technology, with Jelix Ventures leading and QIC's Enterprise Acceleration Fund and Angelloop participating.
DigitalX's weekly letter: Bitcoin slides under US$60,000 amid Mt. Gox distribution fears, Australian miner Iris Energy's roughly US$413 million capital raise, and tokenisation partnership highlights.
Jelix's investment note explains why its fund led Gelomics's seed round, with QIC and Angelloop participating; the startup grows 3D cell cultures for biomedical research and drug development.
Breakthrough Victoria invests $3 million in Millibeam, a Sydney maker of 5G chipsets expanding in Melbourne, alongside existing backers Main Sequence and Archangel; the piece recalls a 2022 seed round and a federal grant.
Also Defence Connect
Roar Global has bought Creator Flow, a marketplace for user-generated content built in BetterLabs' Venture Studio about a year after its May 2023 founding, with no purchase price disclosed.
ASX-listed retailer Booktopia has entered voluntary administration with McGrathNicol partners appointed; the story recalls its 2020 float and the board conflict, executive departures and losses that preceded it.
Antler's Australian arm announced $225,000 pre-seed investments in seven startups at its Portfolio Spotlight event, alongside a new Google Cloud partnership, with residency applications open.
Also SmartCompany
Origin Energy has taken a fifth of Climatech Zero, a NSW-based firm helping heavy industry cut energy use and emissions, and will supply growth capital plus joint go-to-market work.
Enterprise AI platform Redactive AI has raised a seed round co-led by Blackbird Ventures and Felicis Ventures, with Atlassian Ventures and Zapier joining, to grow its team and US presence.
Also Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Breakthrough Victoria announces a $3 million venture investment in Millibeam, a Melbourne fabless semiconductor startup developing mmWave 5G radio chipsets, with plans to grow its Victorian engineering team and packaging facility.
Also Breakthrough Victoria·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing