Simply Good Foods finalizes the buyout of OWYN

Simply Good Foods has completed its $280 million buyout of plant-based protein shake maker OWYN, purchasing the brand from shareholder GroundForce Capital.

The Week in AgriFoodTech: THIS bags $25m & Tender scoops up $11m for meat alternatives, Farmbot scores $4.6m

Weekly agri-foodtech roundup: raises at THIS, Tender, Ever After Foods, Farmbot and Beta Bugs; two acquisitions; Proterra's rural fund raise; grants; and AgriFORCE appointing Jolie Kahn CEO.

Guzman y Gomez surges to $3 billion valuation on ASX debut

Fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez has completed its Australian sharemarket debut, with shares trading well above the offer price and valuing the Sydney-founded business at roughly three billion dollars.

Dovetail to use Siemens software to develop e-aviation retrofits

Dovetail Electric Aviation will use Siemens' NX X design software to develop electric propulsion retrofits for small aircraft. The Melbourne-based company counts Rex, Invest Victoria, Aciturri and Air Nostrum among its backers.

Semiconductor Startup Funding Looks To Bounce Back After Lackluster 2023

Crunchbase's analysis finds venture funding for chip startups rebounding in 2024 on AI demand, recapping large recent deals at Black Semiconductor, Tenstorrent, PsiQuantum, Celestial AI, Recogni and Eliyan, plus Astera Labs' IPO.

Also Crunchbase News·Startup Daily

SPEE3D opens US 3D print applications centre

Metal 3D printer maker SPEE3D has launched its first US manufacturing and applications facility at the University of New Hampshire, keeping its Melbourne headquarters as it serves American defence clients.

'Airbnb for boats' startup Floatspace acquired by billionaire Ian Malouf's luxury yacht charter business

Sydney boat-rental platform Floatspace has been bought by yacht charter operator Ahoy Club, with founder Hugh Treseder staying on as CEO; the story recalls its $600,000 raise and later failed funding attempts.

Canberra-born startup Liquid Instruments scores $15 million from Breakthrough Victoria

Victorian government-backed investor Breakthrough Victoria has put $15 million into Liquid Instruments, a maker of reconfigurable instruments expanding to Melbourne; earlier raises by Acorn Capital and Anzu Partners are also recalled.

Also SmartCompany

Digital wayfinding app BindiMaps to help Guide Dogs Victoria build world's first fully accessible sensory campus

SmartCompany profiles BindiMaps' work with Guide Dogs Victoria on an accessible Kew campus rebuild, plus the Sydney navigation firm's growth ambitions.

Liquid Instruments

Breakthrough Victoria announces a $15 million investment in Liquid Instruments, a maker of software-defined test instruments, which plans a Melbourne office, local manufacturing growth and dozens of high-tech hires.

Also Breakthrough Victoria·Breakthrough Victoria·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·liquidinstruments.com·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Welcome to the team Sabrina

Aura Ventures announces Sabrina Zeng has joined as corporate development manager, citing her background across banking, Fishburners and UNSW, and the firm's funds and regional presence.

Development planning proptech tops up runway with $5 million

Archistar, whose platform applies AI to 3D building design and planning checks, has added $5 million from NAB Ventures, Skip Capital and Prabhat Sethi, with AirTree having led earlier rounds.

Also SmartCompany

Andromeda Robotics raises $3 million seed round to scale humanoid robot Abi

Andromeda Robotics secured $3 million in seed funding from Purpose Ventures, which led the deal, to grow its aged-care companion robot Abi; Galileo Ventures provided an earlier pre-seed in 2023.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

Laybuy's Australian, NZ arms fall into receivership in “devastating time” for BNPL fintech

Buy now, pay later firm Laybuy has put its Australian and New Zealand operations into receivership, appointing Deloitte receivers, after a sale attempt collapsed, with co-founder Gary Rohloff blaming the downturn and financing costs.

TrueState secures $1.5 million to deliver AI app development in days

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Singapore's Temasek to invest up to A$300 million into Australian fintech BetaShares

Singapore's Temasek has agreed to take a minority stake of as much as A$300 million in ETF manager Betashares, which says the money will fund growth, acquisitions and a superannuation push.

Meet Abi, a robot designed by Grace Brown – and your new best friend

Purpose Ventures led a $3m seed round in Andromeda, Grace Brown's Melbourne robotics startup, to scale production of Abi, a companion robot trialled in aged care and children's hospitals.

Also SmartCompany·Women's Agenda·Startup Daily

Additional ARENA Funding Boost

MGA Thermal's own newsroom post announces another $2.48 million from ARENA, tripling the federal agency's support for its thermal storage demonstration project, with quotes from both organisations' chief executives.

Also @AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Investment Notes: Atticus

Blackbird announces its investment in Atticus's $10.8 million raise and profiles the startup's founding team, product craft, and enterprise customers.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany

This Ex-Young Rich Lister built a top media company, now he's trying tech

AFR profile of Linkby co-founder Chris Wirasinha covers the adtech firm's new $4 million raise, with Perennial Private Investments leading and OIF following on, and recalls his earlier sale of Pedestrian TV to Nine.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Beaten Zone Team Expands

Defence-focused VC firm Beaten Zone Venture Partners adds two people: ex-Army general Mick Ryan as advisor, and Peta Ellis rejoining Steve Baxter's team alongside existing staff.

Eight Aussie startups that raised $36 million this week

Weekly roundup detailing new funding for eight local startups: home lending, document verification, farm water monitoring, alcoholic drinks, freight software, leaf protein, artist content sales and organic bedding, totalling over $36 million.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

ASIC halts crowdfunding campaign for Hirehood amid share type concerns

Australia's securities regulator has halted Hirehood's equity crowdfunding campaign on VentureCrowd — its first stop order of this kind — citing nominee share concerns, and recalls CSF backers' heavy losses when GoPro acquired Forcite.

‘Record demonstration’: Dark horse in quantum race passes new milestone

Quantum computing startup Diraq announced record qubit control fidelity and chip-making partnerships with GlobalFoundries and IMEC; the piece also recounts its Quantonation-led Series A, early Allectus backing, and PsiQuantum's government funding.

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Vast deepens relationship with partner in solar methanol plant

Vast Renewables and Mabanaft have signed a joint development agreement advancing Vast's South Australian solar methanol plant, with Mabanaft holding offtake rights and ARENA plus German government funding behind the project.

Myriota secures Moon to Mars funding

Myriota has received a $1.5 million grant from the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars Initiative, announced at the opening of its Adelaide experience centre, to fund a communications payload for use off Earth.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

The Week in AgriFoodTech: EvodiaBio scores $7.5m, Microcaps raises $10m, Aleph Farm lays off 30% of staff

Roundup of agrifoodtech news: raises across Europe, Singapore and Australia, Collaborative Fund wraps a $125m vehicle, Neutral Foods merges with Zeal Creamery, SCiFi Foods shuts down, and Aleph Farms cuts staff.

Also LaunchVic·Forbes Australia

Our Investment in iion

Ten13's post explains why it led iion's seed round with Archangel and PixCapital, describing the gaming adtech platform, its three adtech-veteran founders, and the under-penetrated in-game advertising market.

Also Ten13

Gina Rinehart backs AI brain mapping startup Omniscient in $89 million Series C

Sydney neurotech firm Omniscient has banked a Series C from Gina Rinehart and Will Vicars, funding a push into the United States for its connectomics platform.

Antler boss says: ‘you can count the Australian VCs writing first cheques at MVP who keep investing to Series A on one hand’

Antler partner James McClure argues few Australian VCs back MVP-stage startups through to Series A, and launches a Fast Track Funding pathway for young businesses, citing Xailient, Sapyen and Tactiq as past investments.

Melbourne's The Leaf Protein Company raises $850,000 to turn abundant foliage into edible ingredients

Melbourne startup extracting protein from leaves has raised $850,000 in a round led by the University of Melbourne's Genesis fund, with Breakthrough Victoria, LaunchVic, Loyal VC and Big Idea Ventures also investing.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Clarity Aquatic’s wetlands treating Tassie sewage

Adelaide water-treatment firm Clarity Aquatic has installed a second floating wetland at a Tasmanian sewage plant, part of a pilot with utility TasWater covering three northeast sites.

The Long Game: Deep Tech’s Transformative Impact

Main Sequence's essay argues science-born technology needs patient, long-horizon capital rather than quick software-style exits, citing portfolio company Samsara Eco's partnership with Lululemon as an example of deep tech's transformative payoff.

Agtech startup Farmbot plants $4.6 million raise as US ambitions grow

Farm water monitoring firm Farmbot raised A$4.6 million, topping its initial $3 million goal, with Telstra and Macdoch Ventures among returning backers as it pushes US growth through subsidiary Ranchbot.

Queensland brings sportstech accelerator ASTN north to back 40 startups

Queensland's investment arm is backing Melbourne's sports technology network to run accelerator programs for as many as 40 local sportstech startups, after its venture development fund recently committed to several venture funds.

Fashion startup The Daily Edited gets another life after voluntary administration

Marquee Retail Group, owned by ex-Myer chief Bernie Brookes, has emerged from voluntary administration under a restructuring deed, keeping 400 jobs and The Daily Edited's online business, while its Sydney flagship store shut.

Farmbot raises $4.6 million to sow seeds in US market

Farmbot has closed a bridge round to bankroll its push into the United States, with prior backers and fresh investors taking part, following raises in 2021 and 2022.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews

Sydney start-up Bridgit has raised $14.6m as it takes on the wealth transfer market

Bridging lender Bridgit has banked a $14.6m equity round through OIF Ventures plus a $125m debt facility, positioning the Surry Hills startup for Australia's looming intergenerational wealth handover.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Australian FinTech·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech

Disability tech accelerator Remarkable is now backing startups with VC to Series A

Remarkable, the venture arm of Cerebral Palsy Alliance, unveiled Scaler, which will take minimum stakes of A$200,000 in disability, ageing and health startups at seed-to-Series-A stage; accelerator alumnus Cephable is showcased.

Sapia.ai opens its machine learning models with strategic API program

Sapia.ai is making its AI interview models available to other businesses through a new API initiative on AWS Marketplace, letting firms build workplace AI tools from its interview data, per CEO Barb Hyman.

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Manufacturing roundup: IDT Australia and Genetic Signatures announce capital raisings; Memphasys and Genetic Signatures appoint new chief executives; NIOA opens a US office; DefendTex holds acquisition talks with Brazil's Avibras; a cobotics PhD ends.

Inspiring Investment In Victorian AgTech Startups

Victoria added $1 million to the Hugh Victor McKay Fund, lifting it to $2 million for early-stage AgTech investments delivered with LaunchVic; first investees include AgriNous and The Leaf Protein Co, alongside further grants.

We've Secured QVCDF Investment & Will Continue To Build A Better Future

Sprint Ventures announces a binding term sheet making QVCDF a cornerstone backer of its upcoming third fund, and flags plans to invest across healthcare, climate tech and AI, plus a July event.

The Week in AgriFoodTech: eFishery snaps up $30m, impact VC Pollination launches $150m fund

Roundup of the week's agrifoodtech news: an Indonesian aquaculture startup's US$30m debt raise, a Queensland-backed climate fund close, several smaller raises, a micro-fulfillment firm's bankruptcy filing and an ag-analytics platform shutting down.

Guided nuclear missile for cancer: Telix prepares for Nasdaq IPO

Telix, an ASX-listed radiopharmaceutical maker headquartered in Melbourne, is preparing a dual US listing; the piece also covers revenue growth, cancer trial results and recalls its 2017 float.

Australian FinTech company profile #179 – Breezepay

Q&A profile of Breezepay, a Sydney stablecoin payment gateway, covering its founders, its XRPL Grants accelerator acceptance with funding in the UK, and its early-stage status.

Funding provider Tractor Ventures unveils all-women C-suite to help “open door” for women leaders

Tractor Ventures has appointed an all-female executive team, with Jodie Imam as sole CEO and Aprill Enright and Francine Hackett as COO and CFO, while co-founder Matt Allen shifts to a new capital role.

New $150m fund targets net zero “disruption” start-ups across energy, transport, recycling

Investment firm Pollination has launched a $150m vehicle backing climate and nature start-ups, anchored by a cornerstone commitment from Queensland Investment Corporation, with first investments expected from late 2024.

New $150 million venture capital fund to pollinate climate, nature startups

Pollination has rolled out a $150 million fund for environmentally focused startups, anchored by Queensland Investment Corporation, and will begin picking companies late in 2024 across five sectors.

Also AgFunderNews·Startup Daily

New round of grants open for SA industry and researchers

The Defence Innovation Partnership opens applications for a $2.4 million Activator Fund grant round, and recalls Acacia Systems leading a $1.6 million government-funded undersea surveillance project for the Navy, announced in January.