London calling: Sekuro expands into UK

Anti-PowerPoint financial training startup Nuggets Academy raises $700,000

Financial CPD training startup Nuggets Academy secured $700,000 with Antler Australia leading, LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund and customer angels also backing; cofounder Ross Lin previously founded ASX-listed Jayride.

Why we need to fight for the “community” in community batteries

A Geni.Energy author reflects on its federally funded Narrabri community battery trial, covering delivery costs, retail ambitions, tariff negotiations with the local network owner, and why community groups must stay involved.

Australian FinTech company profile #174 – JAVLN

Q&A profile of insurance platform JAVLN: leadership team, a past $6.7 million raise backed by Bombora, award recognition in New Zealand, and ambitions to list on the ASX.

“It feels like I’m selling my third baby”: Edwina Sharrock reflects on her business, Birth Beat being acquired

Birth Beat founder Edwina Sharrock reflects on the maternity-education company's acquisition by Device Technologies, recalling its awards, accelerator stint and seed round, and outlining plans to back female founders.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Australian B2B BNPL provider BizPay collapses into administration

Business-to-business buy-now-pay-later fintech BizPay has entered voluntary administration, appointing BRI Ferrier's Jonathon Keenan and Peter Krejci; about 15 staff affected, with a sale or restructure now being explored.

Also Startup Daily

Paydock and Commonwealth Bank partner to launch PowerBoard

Paydock and Commonwealth Bank have launched PowerBoard, giving Australian merchants flexible payment options. The article also recalls Paydock's £25 million Series A completed with UK firm Silverstripe Investment Management.

Airtasker cofounder Jonathan Lui's proptech app, Soho, banks $750,000 to hit $20 million valuation

Soho, the property search app cofounded by Airtasker's Jonathan Lui, has secured $750,000 from Singapore VC Feedback Ventures in a pre-Series B round valuing it above $20 million.

Also SmartCompany

Sweat re-equity: Bikini Body founders Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce buy back their fitness app

Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce have taken back ownership of Sweat, the workout app they sold to iFIT in 2021, reportedly paying well below the $190 million rumoured at the time.

Sparc chooses site for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Sparc Hydrogen has selected a site near Adelaide for a pilot plant proving its solar-driven hydrogen process, after on-sun trials at CSIRO's Newcastle facility, with the project backed by two grant programs.

Carbon Revolution to manufacture in Mexico – media report

AuManufacturing columnist Peter Roberts laments the cut-price sale of wheel maker Carbon Revolution to US backers and reports plans for Mexican production, citing Tritium's offshore shift as another local manufacturing loss.

Revolutionising Real Estate: QuantPS' Data-Driven Approach to Banking and Property

Profile of Ballarat fintech QuantPS, founded by Jim Nicol, whose analytics platform helps banks earn more when selling distressed homes, plus its place in Startupbootcamp's 2023 sustainable fintech accelerator.

Vaxxas Announces and Publishes Successful Phase I Clinical Trial for Measles and Rubella Vaccine Delivered Using its Proprietary High-Density Microarray Skin Patch; Plan for Phase I/II Trial in The Gambia, Africa

Vaxxas reports positive Phase I results for its needle-free skin-patch delivery of a measles-rubella vaccine, with Gates Foundation grant funding and a planned PATH-sponsored Phase I/II trial in The Gambia.

AirTree and Antler-backed addiction app Lived shuts down as founder battles health concerns

Sally Metelerkamp's addiction app Lived has closed as she manages health problems; the story recalls its Antler incubator origins, a 2021 launch backed with $2.5 million, and $4 million more raised.

Origin delays vote to consider revised Brookfield bid – and Bowen's auction plans

Origin Energy put off its shareholder vote on the Brookfield takeover bid after a late revised offer, with directors also flagging the federal government's expanded Capacity Investment Scheme for investors to weigh.

Shutting down my startup: Lived founder Sally Metelerkamp shares the unforgettable lessons

The founder of health startup Lived reflects on closing the company, repaying backers, and lessons for other founders, crediting Folklore Ventures and Antler for early backing.

Also Startup Daily

Vic ISV Op Central acquired by UK multinational Ideagen for AI boost

Ideagen has acquired Victorian software firm Op Central for an undisclosed sum, its third Australian purchase this year and sixth of 2023; Op Central will be rebranded with staff retained.

Reflecting as Nowadays, a Tenacious Portfolio Company, Winds Up Operations

Tenacious Ventures discusses the shutdown of its portfolio company Nowadays, a plant-based whole-cut meat manufacturer, in a podcast conversation with founder Max Elder and general partners Matthew Pryor and Sarah Nolet.

Investment Notes: Earlywork

Jelix Ventures sets out why its Fund 1 backed Earlywork's $1.5 million round, praising the edtech startup's team and vocational model while flagging scaling questions.

Also Startup Daily

Brisbane impact incubator White Box Enterprises raises $12 million to launch social enterprises

Brisbane incubator White Box Enterprises closed a $12 million impact raise to back social enterprises, beginning with a non-profit laundry at Bangalow that will employ around 40 disadvantaged jobseekers.

Akaysha says four-hour batteries will be “new normal” after first gigawatt scale facility

Battery firm Akaysha expects four-hour storage to become standard in Australia now that its Orana project has won a national underwriting auction; the piece also recalls BlackRock's 2022 acquisition of the company.

Startup West podcast 109: Dan Dawson, Paperly

Podcast chat with Paperly founder Dan Dawson, whose education technology company joined a Perth accelerator and won backing from venture fund Purpose Ventures.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Manufacturing briefs: Victoria backs a skills program, Titomic supplies an Air France subsidiary, a pool-technology firm hires a sales chief, Bod Science banks a tax rebate, and Amaero completes a placement.

Uniseed expands horizons, seeks new investment managers

University-backed investor Uniseed has brought in Monash and four NSW universities as partners and is recruiting technology and biotechnology investment managers in Melbourne and Sydney.

Spotlight on Misha Cajic and Anuj Paudel, founders of decarbonisation platform Avarni

AfterWork Ventures announces it joined Avarni's pre-seed round and interviews founders Misha Cajic and Anuj Paudel on their path from school projects to emissions tracking software.

Also Afterwork Ventures portfolio·TechCrunch Australia·avarni.co·Australian FinTech

Gauri Chawla joins VentureOn Partners as General Partner (USA)

Brisbane-based venture firm VentureOn hires Gauri Chawla as a general partner to build its North American presence; her background includes a senior inriver role before its private equity sale.

Touch2Pay secures $3.2m in pre-Series A2 Funding as total capital reaches $6.3m

Brisbane payments firm Touch2Pay has closed a $3.2m pre-Series A2 round from existing and new investors, taking its total raised to $6.3m.

Aerologix raise takes Aussie drone company to new heights

Sydney drone startup Aerologix has secured A$2m from Nightingale Partners to expand internationally, buying Brazilian geospatial firm Mappa and rolling the software out worldwide as AerologixMaps.

Also @AuManufacturing

#StartupToScaleUpStories: Putting an End to Energy Greenwashing with Hydroverse

Why We Invested in Sahha AI

Aura Ventures explains why it led Sahha's seed round, citing the health-data gap, Sahha's behavioural-health API, its neuroscience-led team and its University of Otago research partnership.

Antler Investor Memo Series: Jason Calacanis-backed Stori is democratising game development

Profiles Stori, an AI game-worldbuilding startup by founder Nilushanan Kulasingham: pre-seed investment by Antler and investor Jason Calacanis, plus a place in AWS's GenAI Accelerator.

University of Melbourne mental health startup using psychedelics kicks off with $4.5 million

Melbourne university funds backed a psychedelic medicines startup; six campus startups were showcased, and Tanarra Capital reported $100 million committed toward its alumni founders fund target.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Briefs roundup: Main Sequence adds Alison Deans as venture partner; Starpharma hands the CEO role to Cheryl Maley; DroneShield lands a $2.2 million repeat order; Q-CTRL will deliver quantum training with QUIN.

Six Aussie startups that raised $21.3 million this week

Roundup of the week's Australian raises: Sitemate, Kashcade, Psychae Therapeutics, MediCann Health, Refilled and Upworth together banked $21.3 million across software, lending, psychedelic medicine, cannabis and drink dispensing.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

Process digitisation proptech Sitemate nabs another $7.5 million in pre-Series A

Construction software startup Sitemate has secured $7.5 million in pre-Series A funding, led by Marbruck Investments with Blackbird and Artesian participating, and intends to double headcount during 2024.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Bentley's medical manufacturing leap: Bridgewest's $2M investment sparks local job creation

A $2 million Western Australian government matching grant will help Bridgewest upgrade its Bentley drug-making site, NovaCina, adding production lines and roughly 70 jobs while cutting import dependence.

Former Sun Cable CEO David Griffin takes up reins at solar innovator 5B

5B, a New South Wales solar technology firm, has hired Sun Cable's co-founder and ex-CEO David Griffin as its new chief executive, succeeding co-founder Chris McGrath.

Eaton Square Advises Australian Soil And Concrete Testing (ASCT) On Its Partnership With Phenna Group

Eaton Square acted as adviser to ASCT, a geotechnical testing business, on its completed transaction with Phenna Group, which ASCT's director called a home for the company.

Building regs analysis startup PropCode nails $400,000 pre-Seed round to simplify development planning

PropCode, a Sydney startup whose AI interprets planning rules for construction, has secured $400,000 in a pre-seed raise backed by Skalata Ventures and Brisbane Angels, with Antler already on the register.

Certa Therapeutics presents positive data from a Phase 2 clinical study highlighting the potential benefit of FT011 as a novel treatment for scleroderma

Melbourne biotech Certa Therapeutics reported encouraging Phase 2 results for its scleroderma drug FT011 at a US rheumatology meeting, with safety confirmed and a pivotal trial planned.

Certa Therapeutics presents positive data from a Phase 2 clinical study highlighting the potential benefit of FT011 as a novel treatment for scleroderma

Australian biotech Certa Therapeutics reports Phase 2 scleroderma trial results for FT011 at a US rheumatology meeting, showing efficacy and safety, with a pivotal study planned.

DASH strengthens leadership team with new board member and executive hire

DASH has added Kate Eriksson to its board and Deepti Manocha as finance chief amid its expansion. Eriksson is a Co:Act Capital venture partner, and the firm invested in DASH earlier in 2023.

Key takeaways

Tenacious Ventures' analysis says farm autonomy is entering a more practical second phase, citing Guardian Ag's drone deployment for Wilbur-Ellis and its portfolio company SwarmFarm's self-refilling sprayer feature.

Fintech Upworth banks $1 million in first raise

Sydney fintech Upworth has raised $1m from angels in its debut external round, launching a free dashboard that tracks savings, crypto, mortgages, super and flyer points, with refinancing tools built on open banking.

Also SmartCompany·Australian FinTech

Pioneering VC fund Uniseed doubles its backers as five universities, including Monash, UTS and Macquarie, chip in

Uniseed adds Monash and a four-university NSW collaboration, lifting its third fund by $6.75 million to $56.75 million; the article recalls past portfolio sales to Novartis, Shire and Schneider Electric.

NDIS startup Splose lands $1.5 million to kick off $3m Series A

Adelaide allied-health software firm Splose has $1.5 million committed toward a $3 million Series A, after a $1 million raise in 2022; several sports and media identities back the company.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Refilled wants to save 100 million plastic bottles from the landfill

Sydney startup Refilled has raised a A$1.3 million seed round, with Melt Ventures leading and Envato's Ta'eed brothers among backers, to scale refill stations that cut single-use plastic; Google is already a customer.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

How Helena Turpin and GoFIGR are filling the career development gap in employee turnover

Profile interview with GoFIGR founder Helena Turpin, recalling her pre-seed raise via an Antler application and this year's $2.8 million seed round for her internal talent marketplace platform.

Matt Green joins VentureOn Partners as General Partner (USA)

Brisbane-based VC firm VentureOn Partners has hired Chicago operator Matt Green as a General Partner to drive its North American expansion and support SaaS, proptech and contech investments.

Tic:Toc doubles down on platform technology, announces rebrand to Tiimely

Home-loan technology firm Tic:Toc has rebranded as Tiimely to foreground its enterprise platform business, and reports a valuation near $254m after completing a Series-D2 round in February 2023.