Startup · $5.5m raised · Education
Perth, WA
Every published round Curtin University took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted, and a place in one of its own programs is under Cohorts.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respiradigm | Accelerator | 30 Dec 2025 | - | Lead | Startup Daily, Startup News (WA) | |
| Matilda | Accelerator | 19 Apr 2023 | $5k | Lead | Startup Daily | |
| Kevin Mitchem | Accelerator | 2020 | - | Lead | Startup News (WA) |
Everyone Curtin University has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
Companies Curtin University has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wata Wacha | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 1 | |
| Suss Beauty | Developer of a proprietary waterless skincare formulation | 8 May 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Sunfish Robotics | Solar-powered autonomous underwater vehicle for extended uncrewed operation | 8 May 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| STEM XR | Curtin Accelerate participant | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 |
| Speed Signature | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 1 | |
| Safe Call Up | Discreet safety-monitoring app aimed at family and domestic violence survivors | 30 Dec 2025, Accelerator | 2 | 2 |
| Rock AI | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Respiradigm | A digital health companion to predict infant asthma risk and provide parent-friendly guid… | 30 Dec 2025, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Procuracon | 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Matilda | AI-native immigration law service | 19 Apr 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Luddi | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Insole Lab | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Heal Domain | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Care Corner | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Animate Infinity | 8 Mar 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Aisembl | Design-to-documentation platform for homeowners and professionals | 8 May 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for Curtin University, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Curtin University has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Curtin University did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No portfolio company of Curtin University is recorded as having been acquired. | ||||
Companies Curtin University acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Curtin University raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Renewable Energy Agency | Grant | $5,000,000 |
| Innovation Seed Fund | Grant | - |
| WA Future Health Research and Innovation Fund | Grant | - |
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| A/Prof Juliana Hamzah | Innovation Team Lead | @AuManufacturing |
| Chris Moran | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research | Startup News (WA) |
| Danelle Cross | Director of Entrepreneurship | Startup News (WA) (8 May 2026), Startup Daily, Startup News (WA) (22 Nov 2023), Startup News (WA) (14 Dec 2022) |
| Dr Geremy Farr-Wharton | Curtin Entrepreneurs Programs Manager | Startup Daily |
| Guohua Jia | Associate Professor | @AuManufacturing |
| Rohan McDougall | Commercialisation Director | Startup Daily, Forbes Australia, Startup News (WA) |
Stories naming Curtin University. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Historical profile of the Fremantle craft brewery founded in 2000, covering its rise, its 2012 acquisition by Lion and 2023 sale to Asahi, and its lasting mark on Australian beer culture.
Western Australia's government is putting $6.5 million into the local space sector, dividing it between the AROSE consortium and Curtin University's Binar satellite program, with South Australia's bigger spend cited for comparison.
A university-run startup program in Western Australia finished its latest twelve-week intake, with participating ventures winning a hospital trial and taking products to market faster than any prior group.
Rampersand's April newsletter: an essay on AI services startups, model releases from Anthropic and Meta, Firmus Technologies' $505 million raise, Dexibit's sale to accesso, plus portfolio jobs, events and market commentary.
Also Dealroom
Curtin University has picked 13 startups for the 2026 intake of its free Accelerate program, which this year spans health, safety, education, beauty and robotics ventures.
Western Australia's latest Innovation Booster and Commercialisation Bridge grant round gives 21 startups a combined $1.9 million, unveiled at West Tech Fest; two-thirds are regional, First Nations or female-founded ventures.
A weekly roundup of funding deals by Australian and New Zealand startups, spanning baked goods, retail, health AI, beverages, edtech, solar, legal tech, and Western Australian medical research grants.
WA's Innovation Seed Fund has awarded almost $5 million in grants to 12 researchers and startups for health projects, from liver cancer tests to endometriosis diagnosis, ranging from $90,000 to $500,000.
Breakthrough Victoria profiles Diag-Nose.io chief executive Eldin Rostom, who describes the company's respiratory-disease diagnostics work and credits the investor's backing for building its lab, team and research scale.
Roundup: Titomic's April equity raise, a Curtin student's SunSmart fashion win, Innovation Bay's NT angel launch, BenchOn's Queensland portal, WHISE backing a Victorian manufacturing strategy, plus Curtin nanocrystal research.
Western Australia's government has awarded $8.5 million in grants across three schemes, a health innovation seed fund, commercialisation bridge grants and innovation booster grants, naming dozens of local recipients.
Ahead of its 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers awards breakfast, @AuManufacturing names Advanced Navigation chief executive Xavier Orr as keynote speaker, recounting his company's gyroscope manufacturing, Botany factory and underwater exploration work.
University spinout Kotai Energy is developing a powdered hydrogen carrier for cheaper exports, and has secured an ARENA grant plus funding from Velox Energy Materials and Curtin University.
Australia's renewable energy agency handed out $59.1 million in grants across two rounds, backing 21 university, CRC and startup projects in green hydrogen and cleaner iron and steel production.
Also RenewEconomy
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has expanded its hydrogen and green metals research funding to $59.1 million across 21 projects, with recipients including Hysata, Curtin University and Fortescue subsidiary MIH2.
Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Iluka's refinery cost estimate, a biotech placement with a founder sell-down, a CEO appointment, a retirement, an R&D refund, a distribution deal, a CRC merger and Victorian grants.
Year-end podcast episode: a festival panel with the founders of Uluu, Raaise and Electro Ventures on climate tech challenges, wins and plans for 2024.
Hydration-tracking startup Omni Biotech, based in Perth, has completed a $300,000 pre-seed round from Skalata Ventures to develop phone- and wearable-based hydration monitoring, founders Will Poot and Zac Farrow announced at West Tech Fest.
Also Startup Daily
Podcast chat with Paperly founder Dan Dawson, whose education technology company joined a Perth accelerator and won backing from venture fund Purpose Ventures.
Simon Anderson discusses building school engagement platform Notis over a decade with overseas funding, and his newer social video app Swayz, on Perth's Startup West podcast.
Two new Western Australian syndicates, West Tech Investor Network and VentureX Capital, have unveiled debut deals via the Aussie Angels platform, eyeing Procuracon and HeyLady; an earlier $100,000 outlay across three startups is recalled.
Podcast episode in which the co-founders of a medtech startup discuss their vein-visualising device, last year's seed raise, a grant win, and progress toward trials.
Birchal's cofounder argues equity crowdfunding is closing the capital gap for founders outside the big cities, citing Western Australia's FY23 growth and two regional companies reaching the $5 million cap.
Manufacturing news roundup: Fleet Space's oversubscribed Series C, a grant-backed 3D printing research project, an agreed brand acquisition, equipment orders, a cargo drone first flight and industry awards.
Ten startups graduate from Curtin University's 2023 Accelerate cohort, spanning health, education, mining and tech; the group shares $100,000 in equity-free money backed by Lotterywest via Spacecubed's IdeaStarter fund.
Perth marketplace CO-architecture secured $330,000 pre-seed funding from Skalata Ventures and local angels to connect design professionals with hiring businesses; its founders earlier came through Curtin's Ignition and Accelerate programs, winning an MVP grant.
WA agtech Xsights joins SVG Ventures' inaugural THRIVE APAC Accelerator, trials its smart ear tag with Craig Mostyn Group, and has locked in $2 million toward a $4 million seed target.
Curtin University has named the startups joining the 2023 intake of its redesigned 12-week accelerator, which provides grants and pooled equity-free funding support.
Startup News hands out its fifth annual community-voted awards, honouring WeMoney, Stuart Kidd and Paula Taylor, plus Spacecubed's Golden Ticket won by Matilda, and recaps the year's most-read stories including several funding rounds.
Startup West podcast episode with Artrya co-founder John Barrington on the ASX-listed healthtech firm, which raised $40 million when it listed in November 2021 at a $105 million valuation.
Podcast interview with SWAN Systems co-founder and CEO Tim Hyde covering the water and fertiliser scheduling platform's farming origins, awards, cumulative raising, team size and overseas clients.
Podcast interview with Soter Analytics co-founder Matt Hart on the Perth-born workplace-safety wearables firm, now London-headquartered, its growth beyond 50 staff and its most recent raise exceeding A$16 million.
Podcast episode with the two founders of IDEA, a new school for young entrepreneurs, covering their accelerator graduation, early backing from BetterLabs Ventures, and first student cohort.
Perth firm Mining and Process Solutions, commercialising Curtin University's glycine leaching technology, has been fully sold to Czech chemical supplier Draslovka, with Curtin briefly becoming a shareholder.
A consortium led by two Australian universities has received a $50 million federal Trailblazer grant for recycling and clean energy research commercialisation, following hubs announced for Curtin and Adelaide under the same program.
Interview with the founder of Envited about a social-media-agnostic event tool for teenagers, covering his recent pre-seed raise and upcoming launch.
A $50m federal grant funds an Adelaide-led defence research commercialisation centre, with matching pledges from universities, CSIRO and industry partners; a Curtin-led resources hub and engineering internship funding were also announced.
The Western Australian government committed $6.5 million over four years to the state's space sector: $4 million to consortium AROSE and $2.5 million to Curtin University's Binar space program, supporting Diversify WA.
Also @AuManufacturing
Podcast interview with Annie Brox, founder of Western Australian agtech startup Origo farm, covering her path from Norway and telecoms into building IoT connectivity products for farmers, including two government grant wins backing the business.