Airwallex

Airwallex-backed start-up raises nearly $50m in seed round

Metal, co-founded by Loong Wang and Catherine Porter, completed a roughly $50 million seed round with Airwallex and its venture arm Capital 49 as joint leads, per new filings.

Also Fintech News Australia

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #180, 4th October 2026

Weekly roundup reporting Australian startup funding rounds and government grants, a venture fund close, agreed acquisitions, an IPO pricing, a collapse, plus executive hires and AI policy developments.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #179, 26th September 2026

Weekly roundup recording a dozen raises and acquisitions, Firmus's scheduled float, a new $50m venture fund, a founder share sale, grant winners, an accelerator intake, and an AI agent's government breach.

Also Dynamic Business·DealStreetAsia·This Week in Australian Startups·iTnews·Dealroom·ABC News Technology

Airtree is offering $350,000 to ANZ founders to kick off in Silicon Valley

Startup Daily reports Airtree has extended its Frontier founder residency to San Francisco, dangling uncapped US$250,000 SAFE notes at expat Aussie and Kiwi founders; its Sydney edition hosts alumni of major local tech firms.

15 ANZ startups that raised $67.2 million this week

Roundup of the week's Australia and New Zealand raises: Gridsight, Pearler and Apate.AI secure the biggest cheques, Drumbeat and GonGlobal add smaller sums, and ten AI startups join Airwallex's Latitude 37 program.

Inside Latitude 37: Airwallex's $1 million bet on under-25 AI founders

Airwallex unveils Latitude 37, naming ten young Australian AI startups to its first cohort; members receive equity-free backing, mentorship, worldwide network access and overseas immersion trips.

Airwallex tips $1 million into 10 AI startups

Airwallex's inaugural Latitude 37 program has selected ten AI startups, each receiving $100,000 in non-dilutive cash alongside mentorship, connections and overseas travel.

Also Dealroom·Australian FinTech·fundedstartupsdaily.com

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #176, 30th August 2026

Weekly roundup: Blackbird confirms a record fund close and Galileo reaches a first close, Genesis merges with Proudi, IREN secures massive debt, and several startups report raises, grants and program wins.

Blackbird nails 2nd $1 billion fund

Blackbird has locked in a second billion-dollar fund — its sixth, slightly bigger than the last — bringing in new institutional backers, and the article recalls portfolio wins, writedowns and failures.

Also Business News Australia

A billion reasons to invest right at the very beginning

Blackbird announces its new early-stage and growth funds have brought in A$1.05 billion, reflecting on early cheques, portfolio outcomes like Eucalyptus's sale, and new international backers.

Also Dealroom·Dealroom·AFR Technology·Startup Daily·Business News Australia·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #175, 23rd August 2026

Weekly roundup: Constantinople raises $62.5m; Blackbird wraps fund six above $1b; Guardhouse buys Mobohubb; SCX.ai debuts on the ASX; plus seed rounds, exits and executive changes across the ecosystem.

Well, well, Wells

Capital Brief's roundup: superannuation policy plans, a NSW data centre planning dispute, KPMG resisting a break-up, Stripe and Canva leaders on AI, Stripe's local Treasury push, and Culture Amp's data policy change.

The Big 3 VCs back robot testing startup’s $11.5 million Seed raise

Robot data analysis startup Alloy Robotics has raised $11.5 million in a seed round led by Square Peg, with Blackbird and Airtree participating, less than a year after a $4.5 million pre-seed.

Also SmartCompany

AI made founding a startup easier than ever – but VC data shows funding is getting harder

Cut Through Venture's Q2 2026 report shows early-stage deal numbers at historic lows, though quarterly capital reached $1.7 billion, driven by two large rounds by Firmus and Airwallex.

Also Startup Daily·Business News Australia·Cut Through Venture

Cut Through Quarterly 2Q 2026

Cut Through Venture's Q2 2026 report counts $1.7 billion announced across 64 venture rounds, carried by two mega-deals, with record median deal sizes, AI concentration, and deal counts at their slowest since before 2020.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Square Peg Investor Letter Half Year Report 30 June 2026

Square Peg's half-year investor letter reports two funds reaching final close, three exits including Talon.One's sale to Adyen, realisations past US$1bn, and a framework for judging AI disruption across its portfolio.

Square Peg's H1 2026 investor letter: portfolio up 30%, US$1bn in realisations

Square Peg reports 30% portfolio growth, US$1bn+ cumulative realisations, US$138m returned this half, closes two new funds, and outlines an AI disruption framework.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #167 28th June 2026

Weekly roundup flags Acorn's purchase of learning firm B Online Learning for an undisclosed sum, plus $487m across ten raises, Airwallex product launches, Blackbird's biggest-ever investment, and layoffs at Culture Amp and Immutable.

Airwallex worth $16 billion after $460 million Series H

Airwallex has closed a Series H valuing it at $16 billion, with Addition in the lead and eight other backers named; the piece also recalls its December Series G.

Also Startup Daily·Cut Through Venture

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #166, 21st June 2026

Weekly newsletter edition recaps seven funding deals worth $82.5m, reports Expert360 is seeking a buyer, covers Airwallex's new AgentOS product, notes a proposed capital gains tax break for startups, and unveils a redesign.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #164, 7th June 2026

Weekly roundup: eight funding rounds totalling $12.1m; Airwallex bought Leapfin; 4DMedical agreed a deal for Contextflow; Scalare Partners took over Fishburners; Airtree and Build Club each unveiled new founder programs.

Also Australian FinTech

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #163, 31st May 2026

Weekly roundup tallies five completed raises totalling $26.6m, plus Airwallex releasing a billing product, HEO approaching a Series B, Tanda hunting a private-equity backer, Firmus's ASX listing timeline slipping, and a DroneShield shareholder protest.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #159, 3rd May 2026

Weekly roundup: Hipages takes a majority stake in VIZ Insurance, Side Stage Ventures banks $40m for fund two, Airwallex unveils the Latitude 37 program, Anthropic appoints an ANZ general manager, Atlassian shares jump.

Leonardo AI, Airtasker, Canva and Linktree founders back Side Stage Ventures in $50 million Fund II

Side Stage Ventures has reached a $40 million initial close on its $50 million second fund, backed by founders of earlier wins, while principal Elli Hanson steps up to partner.

Also This Week in Australian Startups·Startup News (WA)

Airwallex founder Jack Zhang is offering $100,000 to AI startup founders under 25

Airwallex cofounder and CEO Jack Zhang announced Latitude 37, an annual program giving ten young Australian AI founders $100,000 each without taking equity, plus network access and overseas immersion; registrations are open.

Once close enough for an acquisition, Stripe and Airwallex are now going after each other

Airwallex co-founder Jack Zhang recounts turning down Stripe's billion-dollar buyout, describes building a licensed global payments network, and argues the Melbourne fintech can now challenge Stripe directly.

Airwallex is about to take on Stripe and the rest of the payments industry — in the physical world

TechCrunch profiles Airwallex's new point-of-sale offering letting businesses take payments in person across countries, pitting the Australian firm against Stripe, Square and Adyen, and recalls its rejection of Stripe's 2019 buyout bid.

Record Investment Fuels Victoria’s Startup Surge

LaunchVic and dealroom.co report Victorian startups raised a record $2.4 billion in 2025, driven by late-stage deals despite early-stage declines.

RBA Governance Board Member Elana Rubin to Chair Airwallex Australia

Payments company Airwallex has brought in a new independent chair for its Australian board and added a former New Zealand prime minister as a director; he already leads its NZ board.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #156, 5th April 2026

Weekly digest reporting Australia Post's purchase of delivery-software firm Rendr, an $83 million sharemarket raise by 4DMedical, Reserve Bank director Elana Rubin's move to Airwallex, and an Anthropic-government memorandum.

Also SmartCompany

Airwallex strengthens Australian leadership appointing Elana Rubin AM and Sir Bill English to its Australian board

Airwallex has appointed Elana Rubin AM to chair its Australian board and former New Zealand prime minister Sir Bill English as a director there, with both roles starting immediately; their other board roles are listed.

Stone & Chalk backs 12 female founders with IWD scholarships

Stone & Chalk awarded its 2026 International Women's Day scholarships to twelve female founders across Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide hubs, doubling the intake after applications rose 60%; a past recipient's climate startup also appears.

Capital returns but discipline and liquidity remain key

A retrospective on 2025 Australian venture activity: large raises at Firmus, Heidi Health, Airwallex and others, deep tech momentum, and Folklore's own backing of Hullbot and Sphere.

Also Square Peg Capital·Australian FinTech·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·Fintech News Australia

Square Peg secures $650M first close as new fund begins investing

Square Peg Capital has reached a A$650 million first close across its two newest funds and is already investing the money, with payments company Airwallex among recipients, ahead of a final close.

Also Forbes Australia

Airtree's Fund V: $650m to back Aussie and Kiwi founders from idea to global household name

AirTree closes its $650m Fund V across seed and growth vehicles, backed mostly by international institutional capital, and promotes three early-career investors to Principal.

Airwallex acquires Paynuri to unlock global opportunities for Korean businesses

Airwallex has completed its acquisition of South Korean licensed payments provider Paynuri, enabling cross-border financial services for Korean businesses; the deal follows Airwallex's recently reported Series G round valuing it at US$8 billion.

Courage, vision, impact: The women leaders who redefined power in 2025

A year-end list profiling women leaders worldwide, from presidents to tech founders; it recalls Airwallex's landmark capital raise and Mira Murati's new AI venture with its record seed round.

Also Forbes Australia

Six ANZ startups that raised $568.1 million this week

Funding roundup led by Airwallex's US$330 million Series G at a $12 billion valuation, with raises from Kasada, Hnry, All G, Bless Payments and Emanda, plus earlier rounds recalled.

Also Startup Daily

Airwallex raises a blockbuster $498 million Series G as its valuation soars to $12 billion

Fintech Airwallex raised a $498 million Series G led by Addition, lifting its valuation to $12 billion; Square Peg and Airtree joined, and Blackbird's $60 million May Series F backing is recalled.

Also SmartCompany·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Dealroom

Remittance fintech Bless Payments raises $3.75 million Seed round

Perth remittance startup Bless Payments revealed a $3.75 million seed round backed by Charlie Shahin and London's Forte Securities, with a Series A planned to fund expansion into Canada, the UK and the US.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily