3180 rounds · 2015 startups · 3676 investors
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Two small electricity retailers, Mojo Power and QEnergy, have been wound up by a Queensland court and suspended from the national market, with regulators transferring thousands of their customers to other providers.
Also RenewEconomy
OneVentures links out to Vaxxas's announcement that the biotech has opened a manufacturing site for its needle-free vaccine patch.
Vaxxas, with Queensland Government backing, has opened its Brisbane global headquarters and vaccine patch manufacturing facility, supported by state and federal government funding.
Perth EV charging startup Wevolt has completed a $2 million pre-seed raise to grow its charger software and widen access to charging points across Australia.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Wollongong silicon anode developer Sicona has closed a Series A backed by Himadri, Artesian and other investors, its second raise after a 2021 pre-Series A, with US expansion plans.
Also @AuManufacturing·SmartCompany·Techboard·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Weekly roundup of six Australian startup raises: Lyka's Series B extension, plus new funding for HydGene, JDoodle, One Future Football, Aquila and Number 8 Bio, with investors and founder comment.
Also RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
DroneShield and Epirus have combined DroneShield's DroneSentry detection system with Epirus's Leonidas microwave weapon. The piece also recalls Epirus's earlier investment in DroneShield and recent DroneShield order wins.
Northern Territory's Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund has co-funded six manufacturing projects, reportedly creating jobs and economic returns, with $5.2 million still available for new applications.
Weekly agrifoodtech digest: several venture raises including Uncommon's Series A, Bunge's agreed Viterra purchase, FreshRealm taking over Blue Apron, Nextbite sold, Meatless Farm ceasing trade, and American label approvals for cultivated chicken.
Also TechCrunch Australia
Sydney coding-platform JDoodle raised 3.2 million Australian dollars in a round led by Main Sequence after bootstrapping to 800,000 users, aiming for eight million within two years.
Also SmartCompany
Melbourne virtual soccer league One Future Football launched and announced a $3 million pre-seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, with several athlete investors participating.
A biotech startup making a methane-cutting cattle feed additive has raised pre-seed capital from four backers, with the piece also recalling recent emissions-focused raises by two other Perth ventures.
Also AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews
Meat subscription startup Our Cow rolled out Sydney same-day delivery, recalled a Birchal crowdfunding raise above $2 million, and disclosed acquisitions of VOLY's assets and Brisbane Valley Farm Direct's online business.
A South Australian weather-station network operator has added machine learning to predict hazardous spraying conditions, backed by government funding to expand across the state's southeast.
Also @AuManufacturing
Sydney workforce-management firm Humanforce has bought Brisbane HR software company intelliHR for $77 million, its third acquisition since private equity firm Accel-KKR invested in 2022.
Perth skincare maker Antibeauty has received one of four $90,000 grants from Amazon's Launchpad program, chosen alongside three fellow finalists after pitching in Sydney.
Q&A with Kirstin Hunter and Lauren Fong, who lead Techstars' new Sydney accelerator backed by the NSW Government, on their backgrounds and the first 12-company class starting in July.
Brain scanner developer EMVision has received a $1.75 million milestone payment from its federal government grant, with remaining instalments tied to manufacturing milestones expected before May 2024.
Also @AuManufacturing
HEO Robotics' Holmes Imager, described as the first commercial camera for non-Earth imaging built entirely in Australia, launched on a SpaceX rocket, with several local manufacturing and research partners credited.
Telehealth firm InstantScripts, a 2021 Smart50 winner, faces a proposed roughly $135 million takeover by Wesfarmers through API; backer Bailador will exit its whole stake, realising $52 million.
British software firm Endava has bought Melbourne engineering company DEK Technologies, its third Australian purchase in eight months, after earlier deals for Lexicon and Mudbath; the deal aims to expand Endava's APAC reach.
Joe Hockey's advisory firm Bondi Partners hires AGL corporate affairs executive Michelle Wood to head its Sydney operation; the column also names clients Bubs, Digicel and Blackstone and a recent London opening.
An Investible investor explains the firm's approach to vetting deep tech startups, recalling its Climate Tech Fund's recent backing of BSpkl, Xefco, Earthodic and Kite Magnetics.
OneVentures' blog links to an Australian Financial Review report saying biotech ImmVirX has secured a raise at a $75 million valuation; the post itself gives no amount, investors, or dates.
Also SmartCompany·Techboard
Techboard's May 2023 roundup of Australian startup funding: 42 private raises topped by Fleet Space's $50m round, two $40m acquisitions, multiple grants, accelerator intakes, and fund news including GiantLeap's $50m fund raise.
Weekly roundup covering six startup raises: ImmVirX, Nutromics, Nuheara, Autism 360, Cogo and Gather, plus Nutromics' 30X30 selection, a board appointment and Viralytics' earlier sale to Merck.
ARENA grants Solar Analytics $929,000 to build Solar Maximiser, a free tool assessing household consumer energy resources, alongside hot water demand research by UTS.
Airtasker's UK subsidiary gains Channel 4's investment arm 4 Ventures as a media-for-equity backer with a $6.5 million stake, while the ASX-listed parent appointed Cass O'Connor chair, replacing James Spenceley.
Also Startup Daily
Eucalyptus buys Jenny Craig's online assets out of administration while stores shut; the health startup's recent raise and earlier rounds are recapped, alongside other distressed-brand acquisitions.
RenewEconomy reports flow battery maker Redflow is tapping shareholders for fresh capital to fund big storage projects, touting a landmark California microgrid contract win and demand across several markets.
Weekly roundup reporting several agrifoodtech funding rounds, a fund investment, acquisitions including National Milk Records and SlantRange, and the shutdown of Zume Pizza.
Antler launches its Elevate fund for growth-stage startups, already deploying capital globally, while its Australian arm progresses a second early-stage fund; the article recalls alumni raises and QuickaPay's acquisition.
Also Startup Daily
Wearable diagnostics developer Nutromics has raised $11 million from two unnamed family offices, after a prior $20 million round backed by Dexcom's venture arm, and appointed Dr Chris Roberts as non-executive chairperson.
Also SmartCompany·Techboard
Stone & Chalk and KPMG Australia selected five space startups for their Future Technology Program, offering residency and mentorship to support growth in the sector.
Waave's co-founder criticises the NSW Government's abrupt pause of the MVP Ventures grant program, arguing it will cripple startups, and mentions his company's recent seed raise and allocated grant.
Profile of four agtech founders tackling food security: Invertigro's modular vertical farms, Regrow Ag's satellite soil-carbon measurement, Lleaf's light-altering greenhouse film, and Sea Forest's methane-reducing seaweed cattle supplement.
A profile of Brisbane fintech Paypa Plane's new 12-week gender-neutral parental leave policy, noting its recent $10 million Series A raise, Mastercard backing, and plans to grow its team.
Also paypaplane.com·Business News Australia·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·Startup Daily·Women's Agenda
Vaxxas reports encouraging interim Phase I results for its needle-free microarray-patch COVID-19 vaccine, with strong antibody responses and no serious adverse events, ahead of planned regulatory applications in Australia and the US.
Vaxxas hires former Pfizer medical executive Dr Rochelle Chaiken as its chief medical officer; the announcement also recounts the biotech's founding financing and later rounds.
Linktree is cutting 27% of its Australia and New Zealand staff to focus on US growth, and is buying Swiss competitor Bento, whose two cofounders will join; the piece also recaps Linktree's earlier raises.
Also TechCrunch Australia·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·TechCrunch Australia·TechCrunch Australia
Vaxxas has appointed 23-year Pfizer veteran Dr Rochelle Chaiken as chief medical officer; the announcement also recaps the vaccine-patch company's early backing by OneVentures, Brandon Capital and others.
Holon has opened a renewable-powered Filecoin data storage facility in Hamilton, New Zealand, its first green Web 3.0 storage for the ANZ region, with all 27 petabytes of capacity pre-sold before launch.
Geelong carbon fibre wheel maker Carbon Revolution issues revised forecasts, reports new OEM wheel programmes and a doubled backlog, and recalls its merger with a US SPAC that recapitalised and listed it in America.
Also @AuManufacturing
Vaxxas appointed Dr Rochelle Chaiken, a former Pfizer executive, as Chief Medical Officer, and reported positive interim Phase 1 trial results for its needle-free COVID-19 vaccine patch at the Boston biotech convention.
Tasmania's government has approved Abel Energy's plan for a green hydrogen and methanol plant at Bell Bay, with an in-principle deal to sell the retired power station site and Iberdrola providing support.
Perth fintech PictureWealth has bought out licence holders Futuro Financial Services and Insight Investment Services from majority owner Highfield Group, with existing leaders staying on as chairman Dennis Bashford plans succession.
Australian brokerage Stake names former Perpetual and MLC chief Geoff Lloyd as board chairman, citing his three decades of financial services leadership as the firm reports growth in assets and customers.
LENSELL, maker of the Diversiview portfolio analysis tool, joins The Big LEAP incubator's acceleration phase to prepare launching its product into the Indian market.