Founder, Platoon
Stories naming Ben Grabiner. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
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.
Australian startup Fabra has debuted a browser-based 3D design tool alongside pre-seed backing of $2.8 million from four funds, and intends to seek seed capital ahead of 2026 general availability.
Sydney AI platform Leonardo.Ai has completed a Series A on top of its seed round, taking total backing past $47 million from Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Samsung Next, Smash Capital and TIRTA Ventures.
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.
Also SmartCompany
Outstaffer announced a $1.5 million strategic round to grow its global hiring platform, with Utiliti Ventures, 1in100 Ventures and Side Stage Ventures leading and several other Australian investors taking part.
SmartCompany reports Side Stage Ventures has completed a $15 million first close of its debut fund, backed by founders of Airtasker, Linktree and Go1 plus LocalGlobe, targeting $30 million and already backing early startups.
Linktree's co-founders have launched Side Stage Ventures, a collective investing in very young creative-tech companies; it has already backed several startups, and associate Ben Grabiner's music platform Platoon was bought by Apple.
Also Australian FinTech