Company
US home-sharing platform
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Airbnb raised.
Companies Airbnb acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Toby Thomas-Smith | Accomodation Manager (former) | Startup Daily |
| Sam McDonagh | Country Manager (former) | SmartCompany (20 Oct 2023), SmartCompany (18 Oct 2023) |
| Lenny Rachitsky | Executive (former) | SmartCompany |
| Nathan Baxter | Founding Member of Site Reliability Engineering Team (former) | Startup Daily, thewest.com.au |
Stories naming Airbnb. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
ASIC filings show Buildkite raised $21m via convertible debt in January 2026 after heavy losses and a CEO change; its earlier backers include OneVentures, AirTree, General Catalyst and Dom Pym.
Also Capital Brief
Roundup of seven raises across the Tasman spanning fintech, marine tech, agtech, defence and AI, plus a first close for an ACT venture fund.
Short-term rental manager Hometime has hired Alison Walsh, previously CMO at Chatime Australia and a 17-year Guzman y Gomez veteran, as its chief marketing officer, reporting to co-founder and CEO Billy Crock.
FaBA profiles Pollinate, a Brisbane startup founded by Adeep Mitra and Corey Berther that uses AI to automate food supply chain workflows, tracing its path from a university food challenge to Y Combinator backing.
Heartful may close after an AI bot attack destroyed founder Jen Clark's design business, which bankrolled the platform; she is seeking a buyer, having earlier raised via equity crowdfunding.
Boman Group has launched a $60 million construction technology fund with JPCX, JPC's investment arm, already making its first investment in a local modular builder.
Weekly roundup covering 19 Australian and New Zealand raises, headlined by Andromeda Robotics' $23m Series A, plus Freckle, Marloo, X-Hemp, Harvest B, Wable, Starboard and Techstars Sydney's 12-startup cohort.
Also SmartCompany
Techstars Sydney's 2025 accelerator class holds 12 startups, with US$120,000 invested in each; seven are first-time funded. Supported by Investment NSW, the three-month Sydney program ends with a December Demo Day.
Travel giant Oyo's purchase of local rental manager MadeComfy tops $50 million; founders remain as co-CEOs, and the piece recalls earlier raises and rival sector deals.
Also Startup Daily·bwdisrupt.com·vrinsider.com·community.verified.realestate
Antler Australia explains its investment in ChatCut, an AI video-editing assistant built by filmmakers Kaiwen and Alima, describing the manual editing problem the product solves and inviting readers to try the beta.
Lendi Group has appointed four senior leaders across content, marketing, creative and PR, rounding out its growth leadership as the Aussie Home Loans owner also flags further roles.
Atlassian has rolled out Team Anywhere, a remote-friendly policy pitched at staff resisting Amazon's office mandate; an Atlassian executive blames 'fake work' for poor productivity, and Australian home-working data is cited.
LaunchVic case study profiling Mindset Health, a maker of hypnotherapy apps, and founders Alex and Chris Naoumidis through Startmate, Y Combinator and the 30X30 program.
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.
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.
An explainer from Radium Capital covering four innovation categories — incremental, breakthrough, foundational research and disruptive — with examples such as Avicena Systems and Airbnb, and advocating varied capital sources including R&D financing.
Weekly roundup of seven trans-Tasman raises totalling $27.4 million, headlined by Xefco's $10.5 million round, plus Hometime board appointments and Matrak's China expansion.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
F5 Collective, a fund backing women founders, has hired Bree Kirkham, until recently a general partner at Flying Fox Ventures, as its chief commercial officer to build corporate partnerships.
Roundup of four trans-Tasman companies that secured capital: a Series A for a brand-tracking platform, a deeptech pre-seed, a drinks brand's seed round, and a crowdfunded driver-safety app.
Commentary questioning Kiki's pivot from a sublet marketplace to a New York women's club, revisiting its 2023 seed raise and scrutinising Blackbird's investment judgment, governance and record on female founders.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
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
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
Sydney HR-and-payroll firm Employment Hero announced a TCV-led Series F reaching unicorn valuation; the profile covers its products, remote workforce and global ambitions, citing rival raises.
Luxury pod-hotel venture Wander has landed angel backing from Airbnb's former Australian chief inside an ongoing Birchal crowdfunding campaign that has drawn nearly $600,000 in pledges for regional expansion.
Also SmartCompany
HR platform Employment Hero announced a Series F of $263 million with TCV leading, valuing the company at $2 billion, pending foreign investment approval, to speed global expansion.
Also Forbes Australia·TechCrunch Australia·SmartCompany·proactiveinvestors.com·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·employmenthero.com·employmenthero.com·Forbes Australia·Crunchbase News
Blackbird partners explain why the fund led a seed round in Kiki, a subletting marketplace born in New Zealand, profitable during its Sydney phase, now launching in New York.
Fashion rental marketplace The Volte has secured $4 million in a Series A round headed by eBay's venture arm, coinciding with a commercial tie-up with eBay and royalty payments for designers.
Also SmartCompany·Techboard
UNSW Founders profiles its alumnus HEO Robotics, a Sydney company that inspects satellites from orbit, recounting its founding, accelerator history, and founders' backgrounds.
Startup Daily profiles the twelve ventures entering Startmate's Summer23 accelerator intake, spanning carbon capture, renewables, health, education, robotics and proptech, with founders named for each.
Lingerie startup The OneTwo has launched an online bra-fitting platform, founded by Margot Balch and Maria Golushko, backed by Antler and angel investors, aiming to solve badly fitting bras for Australian women.
Profile of lingerie startup The OneTwo, which has launched an online bra-sizing platform. Co-founders Margot Balch and Maria Golushko describe the venture, a Kickstarter sales campaign, and backing from Antler Venture Capital and angel investors.
A launch profile of custom-bra fitting startup The OneTwo, covering its fitting algorithm, sustainability angle, and social mission, and noting earlier backing from Antler and industry angels.
Supply chain traceability startup Orijin Plus appoints ex-FlyBuys chief John Merakovsky as chair, alongside a new board member and CTO, as it prepares to launch in Singapore.
Perth tech platform Orijin Plus has appointed ex-Flybuys chief executive John Merakovsky as chairman, plus a board member and CTO, with the article arguing remote work lets WA startups recruit globally.
Casual staffing platform Sidekicker has raised $20 million from long-time backer Seek Investments to expand across Australia and New Zealand and upgrade its platform, amid strong post-COVID demand for casual workers.
Weekly tech wrap: cloud-market trends, Tiger Global's cheques into Stake, Shippit and Carma, new VC funds, several acquisitions, grocery delivery startups Send and Quicko collapsing, and Elaine Stead joining M8 Ventures.
Also Startup Daily