Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Investor · 38 deals

Department of Industry, Science and Resources

Coverage

Stories naming Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Exit / M&A

‘A sword to send companies into bankruptcy’: Businesses face ‘audit hell’ as R&D goalposts shift

Advisers warn that ATO audits and years-later repayment demands are destabilising firms claiming the R&D tax incentive, citing BindiMaps' administration and sale, as the government prepares to overhaul the scheme from 2028.

Exit / M&A

Beaten Zone Venture Capital Fund 1 Achieves Unconditional ESVCLP Registration

Steve Baxter's Brisbane defence-tech fund announces it now holds unconditional early-stage venture capital registration, giving investors tax breaks; it has put A$4.45m into four companies so far.

News

Beaten Zone fund wins approval, targets AUD $451m defence tech

Beaten Zone's defence-tech fund has won full ESVCLP status, unlocking tax breaks for its backers; the Brisbane vehicle has backed four companies with $4.45m and screens a deep pipeline of defence deals.

4 deals

Cauldron awarded $2.8m to advance continuous fermentation tech, appoints CTO

Precision fermentation firm Cauldron wins an Australian government grant for its continuous fermentation platform and appoints David Weiner chief technology officer, alongside mentions of fellow grant recipients and its Horizons Ventures-led Series A.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

5 deals

Neural Notes: Dragonfly Thinking’s next steps after inaugural AI Sprint victory

Profile of Dragonfly Thinking after its win in Australia's first AI Sprint, covering its $300,000 support prize, accelerator experience and product plans, plus brief AI news including raises by TrueState and Andromeda Robotics.

Also SmartCompany·The Mandarin·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Unnamed stage $20m

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

News roundup: Cyclopharm's $20m placement, Eden Innovations' first Holcim orders, Rio Tinto and BHP electric haul truck trials, a hybrid boat's marine award, and a national rail procurement database launch.

2 deals

Budget 2024: It seems the federal government went dutch with Queensland on the $940 million PsiQuantum deal, but the really surprising part is a $28m fine print cost

Federal budget documents show Canberra's PsiQuantum commitment at $466.4 million via Export Finance Australia, plus $27.7 million for oversight, and recall Blackbird joining the quantum company's 2021 Series D.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia

34 deals

Boosting Female Founders: $11.6 million awarded to 34 businesses in Round 3 grant funding

Round 3 of the Boosting Female Founders Initiative has granted $11.6 million across 34 women-led startups; the article lists each recipient, its project and its grant amount.

Also Women's Agenda·Forbes Australia

34 deals

Meet the 34 grant recipients sharing in the $11.6 million Boosting Female Founders Initiative

Round three of a federal grant program backs 34 women-led startups, with individual awards listed from $133,740 to $480,000 drawn from an $11.6 million pool run by DISR.

Funding announcement

QuantumTX delivers $750,000 to 30 companies

QuantumTX's 2022 space and technology incubator has awarded $750,000 across 30 Australian companies, half from Western Australia, working in remote operations fields including robotics, AI and satellite communications.

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