Munro Partners launches new fund

Melbourne investment manager Munro Partners has introduced a new fund focused on global small and mid-sized growth companies, managed by Qiao Ma, aiming to beat a global index over five to seven years.

Munro Partners introduces small and mid cap fund

Funds manager Munro Partners, based in Melbourne, has rolled out a fund targeting fast-growing smaller companies worldwide, managed by Qiao Ma.

Scaling up SunDrive’s advanced solar PV manufacturing

ARENA grants SunDrive $11 million to take its copper-based cell metallisation from prototype to commercial production, its second award after $3 million for earlier demonstration work.

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Agentio Seed Funding Announcement

Agentio launches its creator-ad platform on a $4.25 million seed round from Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp, with co-founders Arthur Leopold and Jonathan Meyers; the page touts a $40 million Series B with Forerunner leading.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Manufacturing briefs: Orthocell swaps royalty entitlement for UWA equity, Quickstep hands an unmanned aircraft frame to Carbonix, Sparc and QUT win a research grant, EOS disputes a lender fee, Neurizer plans a rights issue.

Payapps bags £10.5M from CIBC Innovation Banking to fund first UK acquisition

Australian construction software firm Payapps secured a £10.5m package from CIBC Innovation Banking to bankroll its purchase of UK-based WebContractor, adding subcontractor payment tools as it expands across Britain and Ireland.

Red Cross impact investor Humanitech Lab backs Kara Technologies and AirSeed with $500,000 grants

Red Cross's Humanitech Lab has granted half a million dollars each to deaf-communications startup Kara Technologies and drone revegetation firm AirSeed, both of which had earlier raises; Kara came through Startmate.

Here are the five amazing startups to emerge from UNSW's Climate 10x accelerator program

Five climate startups from UNSW Founders' Climate 10x accelerator shared $580,000 backed by Virescent Ventures and UNSW, presented at the 10x Demo Day featuring 25 ventures across several founder programs.

Antler Investor Memo Series: Geniepay solving a global sales problem

Antler Australia investor memo profiling pre-seed sales-financing startup Geniepay, founded by Sajid Bokhari and Eric Ding, covering its backing, beta customers and pitch competition wins.

Moon-bound manufacturer says prestige projects help remedy skills shortages

Podcast interview in which Advanced Navigation co-founder Xavier Orr discusses the company's new Botany factory, lunar landing sensors, a reported billion-dollar Series B valuation, and hiring in a tight skills market.

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing items: DroneShield's Ukraine orders, CEO appointments at Bridgewest Perth Pharma and Sentinel Boats, SPC's community capital raise, LBT's underwritten raising, a university defence consortium, wine grants and new facilities.

Queensland researchers launch quantum startup AQC with $3 million boost

Tom Stace and Arkady Federov launch AQC, a Queensland venture making miniature superconducting components for quantum computers, with Uniseed investing $3 million; the piece also recaps Australia's quantum funding momentum.

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Rosebank begins regional support for F-35 Program at Bayswater depot

Rosebank Engineering has started operating its Melbourne F-35 component repair depot, backed by a $2.26m federal grant, serving Indo-Pacific fleets; the business sits in ASDAM Group, which CPE Capital mostly owns.

Vanadium flow batteries stake a claim for round the clock storage for renewables

Feature on flow batteries using vanadium for around-the-clock renewable storage: Invinity's Port Pirie unit is commissioning, ARENA's 2020 backing is recalled, Australian Vanadium expects to supply electrolyte, and Horizon plans a WA trial.

Episode 5 of our Podcast is Out! Tune Into Sports Innovation!

Announcement of the fifth episode of the publisher's podcast, featuring a conversation between its CEO and a referee-management platform co-founder about startup growth, sport partnerships and overseas expansion.

Ten Aussie startups that raised $39 million this week

Roundup of ten Australian startup raises totalling $38.8 million, topped by Heidi Health's Series A, also recording an Outstaffer executive appointment and the earlier sale of CarAdvice to Nine.

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Legaltech platform Immediation calls in administrators after raising millions

Legaltech dispute-resolution platform Immediation has appointed FTI Consulting administrators after earlier raising $3.75m, $5m and $2.8m; its roughly eight employees and four contractors face an uncertain future.

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'S*&t the bed' goes mild at Woolies

Profile of the WA hot-sauce maker behind the Bunsters brand, whose milder-named sauce landed in Woolworths, with a US Walmart listing and a TV appearance ahead.

Medtech Heidi Health raises $10 million Series A

Heidi Health, whose AI tool trims paperwork for family doctors, has banked a $10 million Series A round led by returning backer Blackbird, with co-investors including Hostplus and Hesta.

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The Week in AgriFoodTech: URB-E pivots to last-mile delivery, GoodBytz bags $12m, a new fund for regen ag

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup: raises for Overstory, FarmInsect, GoodBytz and others; Ever.Ag buys Austin Data Labs; grants for Wadhwani AI and Notpla; SLM and Impact Ag roll out a carbon fund; URB-E rebrands.

Also AgFunderNews

LETA announces $6 million in support for Australian-developed clinker carbon capture tech

Coal-industry body LETA has committed $6 million to back KC8 Capture Technologies' PACER project, which will trial capturing cement-production emissions at Cement Australia's Gladstone facility.

Norwood completes $710K raising

Norwood Systems, a telecoms platform provider, has closed a $710,000 share placement, with Alto Capital giving commitments; funds are earmarked for growth, product work, AI and partnerships.

FCX & Startupbootcamp: Fintech Acceleration Partnership 🚀🤝

Startupbootcamp Australia announces FCX as a partner for its Sustainable Fintech Accelerator Program, giving participant startups free cap table access and discounted fundraising tools alongside other named partners.

HR and outsourcing startup Outstaffer lands $1.5 million in first raise

Outstaffer, a Victorian HR tech platform, has secured $1.5 million from outside investors in a round co-led by its chief operating officer, funding product development and a planned US expansion.

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Eaton Square Advised Finch Australia on its Sale to Caravan And Camping Australia

M&A firm Eaton Square announces it acted for RV components maker Finch Australia in its purchase by fellow Melbourne supplier Caravan And Camping Aus, with Finch's co-founders staying on to support integration.

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Manufacturing briefs roundup: WA government commits $5m to space facility Fugro SpAARC; Starpharma and Micro-X receive R&D tax refunds; Bulla licenses Violet Crumble for ice cream; SCEE wins $50m in contracts.

XY Sense is using AI to plan the offices of the future

LaunchVic case study profiling XY Sense, a Melbourne workplace-occupancy analytics startup, covering its founding, global growth, selection for the 30X30 leadership program, and a Global Victoria grant supporting expansion into new markets.

Fighting Food Fraud Across the Food Chain, with Natural Trace

Startupbootcamp Australia profiles Natural Trace, a FoodTech Tasmania 2023 startup using bio-barcode traceability to fight food fraud, noting its expansion from Singapore to Tasmania and the hire of business developer Kristy Hall.

Blackbird backs Heidi Health’s AI platform for overworked doctors

Melbourne healthtech firm Heidi Health has pulled in A$10 million Series A capital, headed by Blackbird Ventures, to grow its AI scribe that lightens clinicians' documentation workload.

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Burgers and acquisitions: All G Foods spins out plant-based meats in merger with Fenn Foods

All G Foods spins its Love Buds plant-based range into a merger with Fenn Foods' vEEF, forming a new entity; All G pivots to fermented dairy, with both companies' earlier raises recapped.

From Buildings To Ocean Water, Startups Are Finding More Places To Stow Carbon

Crunchbase News surveys recently funded carbon removal startups storing CO2 in oceans, soil, underground and concrete, and notes large carbon-capture acquisitions by oil and gas buyers.

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Insurtech LifeBid raises $1.45million in its first equity crowdfunding campaign with Stride Equity

Australian insurtech LifeBid has closed a $1.45 million equity crowdfunding round hosted by Stride Equity's platform, beating its target, with $820,000 from crowd investors plus a $700,000 co-investment from Stride Equity and partners.

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Key hires ready Superhero for growth

Wealth platform Superhero announces senior appointments in strategic projects, superannuation operations and customer operations, hiring executives from Vanguard Australia and HUB24; one appointee previously led the EISS merger with CBUS.

Investment Notes: Orkestra

Tidal Ventures explains why it backed Orkestra for a second time, covering the clean-energy market opportunity, the feasibility software product, the founding team, business model and growth plans.

#StartupToScaleUpStories: Maintaining Machine Health and Increasing Workplace Safety with Groundup.ai

Startupbootcamp Australia profiles predictive-maintenance firm Groundup.ai, an EnergyTech Hub 2023 scale-up using AI sound analysis, recalling its funding round this year and clients such as the Republic of Singapore Navy.

Investible backs manufacturing software startup Factory.app's $1 million Seed round

Sydney software firm Factory.app has banked a $1.05 million seed round, Investible leading alongside angel and venture backers, to digitalise manufacturing workflows for small fabricators before expanding overseas.

Also SmartCompany

Brisbane SaaS investor VentureOn Partners moves into proptech, acquiring Story Bridge Ventures

Software investor VentureOn Partners has bought Brisbane proptech backer Story Bridge Ventures; SBV's two partners join it, and its $15m fund was set up by four ex-Simpro identities.

Asian VC Sequoia India selects two Australian startups for its accelerator after rebrand and split from US

Peak XV, the former Sequoia India, has picked Relevance AI and Mercu for the ninth Surge cohort, while recalling earlier Australian investments including HealthEngine, Checkbox, Nugit and the collapsed delivery firm Voly.

Victoria is offering medtech startups $500k grants for their research projects

Victoria's medical research grant fund has opened another round; past recipient Avipep says its 2021 grant sped development of an antibody therapy now shown to kill tumour cells in preclinical testing.

Australian startups Onvol and Economical Energy chosen for Shell's climate tech accelerator Studio X

Seven startups, including Australians Economical Energy and Onvol, join the third cohort of Studio X, a Shell-backed California accelerator offering investment and mentorship in energy and climate tech.

Re-Seeded: Tidal backs renewables startup Orkestra again in new $2 million raise

Melbourne renewables software firm Orkestra has secured $2 million in a follow-up seed round led again by Tidal Ventures, alongside Rampersand, Impact Ventures, Luxem and four climate tech investors, with a Series A next.

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Eight Aussie startups that raised $433 million this week

Roundup of eight Australian startup raises totalling $433m, topped by Employment Hero's $263m Series F and Skykraft's $120m round; Darwinium, Konvoy Kegs, The Martec and three Birchal crowdfunds complete the week.

Also AgFunderNews

Sabri's Shark Tank roundup: Sundust sparkles and Suitor snags two sharks

Columnist Sabri Suby wraps Shark Tank Australia's season five: Suitor took $250,000 from two sharks including Suby, Robert's higher bid landed BrandScent, while Sundust and Sock Drawer Heroes left without deals.

Sparc receives grant as green hydrogen tests show promise

Sparc Hydrogen, through a University of Adelaide partnership, has won a $470,511 seed grant under Australia's Economic Accelerator to advance reactor testing, including prototype work at CSIRO's Newcastle energy centre.

Aussie-born fintech Airwallex signs definitive agreement to acquire Mexico payments company MexPago

Payments platform Airwallex has agreed to buy Mexican payment provider MexPago, pending regulatory approval, and named six new leaders at its San Francisco hub amid rapid Americas growth.

Also Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech

Employment Hero hits $2 billion valuation after whopping $263 million Series F

Employment Hero raised a $263 million Series F led by TCV, reaching a $2 billion valuation, with existing backers reinvesting; Skykraft announced a $120 million raise.

Also employmenthero.com

Wide Open Agriculture goes west

ASX-listed Wide Open Agriculture has announced a A$4.2 million (€2.5 million) cash deal to buy German lupin protein maker Prolupin, gaining European manufacturing, patents and trademarks, subject to creditor approval.

Lockheed Martin backs Aussie space start up

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has taken an undisclosed strategic stake in Earth-observation data platform Arlula, which earlier in 2023 raised $2.2 million in a round led by Main Sequence Ventures.

Funding.com.au forges alliance with resolve finance

Lender Funding.com.au has teamed up with broker group Resolve Finance so its brokers can offer Funding's short-term property-secured loan range, with equity backing from EVP and debt finance from MA Financial.

Lee Hackett | Top 50 Ambitious Business Leaders | Bluprintx

Bluprintx announces its founder and Group CEO Lee Hackett has been named among LDC's Top 50 Most Ambitious UK Business Leaders for 2023, a recognition programme supported by The Times.