Coca-Cola

Blobfish appoints former Coca-Cola executive to spearhead US expansion in $4b sampling market

Sia significantly expands Australian footprint with Seven Consulting deal

Global consultancy Sia has acquired Seven Consulting, an Australian business transformation firm, roughly quadrupling Sia's local headcount and adding major banking, government and retail clients.

Sia accelerates its expansion in Australia with the acquisition of Seven Consulting

Consulting group Sia has bought Seven Consulting, an Australian transformation consultancy, adding Sydney and Melbourne offices, a Perth presence and major clients across banking, government and retail.

Also Dealroom·Dealroom·sevenconsulting.com·briefglance.com·melbourne-insider.au·cfotech.com.au·consultancy.com.au

Six Aussie startups that raised $197.4 million this week

Roundup of six Australian funding deals: AutoGrab, Applied EV, Checkbox, Hometime, Factory and On the House, with amounts, investors, and Hometime's past acquisitions and raise history detailed.

Also Startup Daily

Checkbox raises $35 million Series A to scale AI legal platform

Australian legaltech firm Checkbox has raised a $35 million Series A led by Touring Capital to grow its AI platform for corporate legal teams, with four institutional backers joining.

Also Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Two Aussie AI startups pitched to 500 Silicon Valley investors – we were there

Recap of Australian startups Adiona and Deeligence pitching at a global startup competition in San Francisco; the million-dollar investment prize went to a US battery company, but both gained customers and investor contacts.

AI-powered fleet logistics startup Adiona Tech drives away with Startup World Cup Sydney win

Fleet-logistics software firm Adiona Tech won the Sydney pitch competition and heads to the San Francisco finale vying for a US$1 million investment prize; Telstra and Third Sphere previously backed the company.

Three Aussie startups that raised $11.4 million this week

Weekly roundup tallying three Australian raises: legal tech firm Plexus ($6m), cattle-probiotics startup Bovotica ($3.4m seed), and beauty group York St Brands ($2m Series C plus a $4m NAB credit line).

Here are the 16 startups pitching at Startmate Demo Day this week

Preview of the sixteen startups in Startmate's Summer '25 Accelerator cohort pitching at Demo Day at Carriageworks, closing out Blackbird's Sunrise gathering in Sydney.

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Aphea.Bio scores $78m for biologicals, Do Good Foods files Ch. 11, Chipotle’s avocado robots

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting numerous funding rounds including Aphea.Bio, Bobbie and Sensand, a Coca-Cola-backed venture fund close, Do Good Foods' bankruptcy filing, and The Andersons acquiring Bridge Agri Partners.

Also AgFunderNews

Spotlight On: Franki Chamaki, HIVERY

Blackbird's founder chat interviews HIVERY's Franki Chamaki on the company's origins in a Coca-Cola hackathon, its values, and its growth plans following this year's Series B round.

SafetyCulture grows its workforce safety products with $6 million acquisition of SHEQSY

SafetyCulture has bought lone-worker safety app SHEQSY for $6 million, having backed it early; the article also recalls SafetyCulture's $99 million round, Series C, EdApp purchase and Unleash Live Series A.

“A better way”: Startups are raising millions to bring tech solutions to retail

Two retail technology companies have secured investment: Kepler Analytics raised $22 million for in-store shopper analytics, while Remi.ai closed a $1.44 million seed round for its AI demand-forecasting software amid growing retailer adoption.

Also SmartCompany

Investment Notes: Checkbox

Tidal Ventures explains why it backed Checkbox, a no-code expert process automation platform, recounting the pre-Series A round raised alongside Sequoia India's Surge and the founders' execution.