🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #168 5th July 2026
Weekly roundup: Echo IQ raises $110m through a placement to expand its US diagnostics business; Deputy debuts an AI product; Medical Angels brings on Michael Batko as a venture partner.
Startup · $70m raised
Sydney, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Deputy raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Express Employment Professionals | Unnamed stage | $37,000,000 |
| OpenView | Series A | - |
Investors whose own portfolio pages list Deputy, even though we haven't found any coverage of the round yet.
| Investor | Listed on |
|---|---|
| Square Peg Capital | its portfolio page ↗ |
Companies Deputy acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Alison Deans | @AuManufacturing, Startup Daily | |
| Ashik Ahmed | Founder | Startup Daily |
| Ashik Ahmed | CEO (former) · Founder | SmartCompany, Investible, Startup Daily, Forbes Australia, TechCrunch Australia, Square Peg Capital |
| Sean Marshall | Early Employee (former) | Startup Daily (29 Apr 2025), Startup Daily (10 Feb 2025) |
| Silvija Martincevic | CEO | Startup Daily, Forbes Australia (29 Feb 2024), Forbes Australia (4 Jan 2024), TechCrunch Australia |
| Steve Shelley | Founder | Startup Daily, Forbes Australia, Square Peg Capital |
Stories naming Deputy. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly roundup: Echo IQ raises $110m through a placement to expand its US diagnostics business; Deputy debuts an AI product; Medical Angels brings on Michael Batko as a venture partner.
EVP says its fifth fund is live and nearing its $100 million cap, with most commitments from returning backers; the post describes its Series A business-software strategy and names portfolio companies.
Funding roundup covering five raises totalling $340.2 million: Firmus's Nvidia-backed round, plus H3D, Puralink, Escape This and Isaacus, across AI infrastructure, health tech, robotics, entertainment and legal AI.
Also SmartCompany
Sydney robotics startup Puralink has raised $2.3m in seed capital, with Peak XV leading and several local funds and angels joining, to commercialise its leak-detecting robot for pipes.
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.
Tyson & Blake, which seeded StrongRoom AI, threatens legal action against EVP, which is suing to recover its $10.4 million after the Melbourne medtech entered administration.
Square Peg's half-year letter to investors reviews 2024: $146m invested, $220m returned via five exits, fund value up to $3.25bn, plus portfolio raises at Rokt, Constantinople, Exodigo, Cuttable and Supabase.
Square Peg's half-year investor letter reviews 2024: portfolio growth, $220m returned across five exits, a Rokt secondary at a $3.5bn valuation, and recent raises at Constantinople, Exodigo, Cuttable and Supabase.
Also Square Peg Capital·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech·Forbes Australia·Dealroom·Dealroom
Investible's 2024 review letter highlights its early-stage and climate-tech investing, Club Investible's tenth anniversary event with Canva and Deputy founders, and pitches from Harvest B and Syenta.
Eleven companies reached billion-dollar private valuations in March 2024, three from crypto; the roundup lists each newcomer's raise, lead backer and worth, with Sydney's Deputy the only Australian.
Also Crunchbase News
Deputy says it is now worth more than A$1.1 billion after US staffing group Express Employment Professionals put in A$37 million, making the Sydney workforce-tech firm Australia's newest unicorn.
Question-and-answer profile of Deputy's chief executive tracing her path from a Croatian childhood to Affirm's stockmarket debut and leadership of the Australian shift-work software firm.
Also valueaddvc.com
Briefs roundup: Main Sequence adds Alison Deans as venture partner; Starpharma hands the CEO role to Cheryl Maley; DroneShield lands a $2.2 million repeat order; Q-CTRL will deliver quantum training with QUIN.
Main Sequence, CSIRO's deep tech venture fund, adds Cochlear chair Alison Deans as a venture partner, extending her investment committee service since 2017; its third fund brought in $450 million in July.
Venture firm EVP has wrapped up the final close of its fourth fund at its $100m target, lifting total assets managed past $270m; recent raises by portfolio companies Hnry and Zipline are also noted.
Deputy appoints ex-Affirm commercial chief Silvija Martincevic as CEO and board director, succeeding co-founder Ashik Ahmed, as the Australian workforce platform pushes US expansion with $100 million AUD annual recurring revenue.
Square Peg's investment note explains why it backed e-scooter operator Neuron's US$18.5 million Series A with GSR Ventures, highlighting the company's city-permit strategy across Australia and New Zealand.
Also Square Peg Capital
Square Peg's investment note explains its reasons for backing Deputy's US$81 million Series B with IVP, Openview and Equity Venture Partners, describing the workforce scheduling platform's growth, customers and team.
Singapore-based spend management startup Volopay has raised a $29 million Series A mixing equity and debt, led by Justin Mateen's JAM Fund, with several other backers joining, to fund expansion into APAC and MENA markets.
Square Peg Capital's year-in-review recaps its 2021 portfolio: raises it led or joined, SPAC listing decisions, Vend's acquisition, new investment-team hires, and its newsletter and podcast output.
Also Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Techboard·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·myzeller.com·Australian FinTech·Forbes Australia·Dealroom·rswebsols.com
Shipping platform Shippit took a AU$2.2 million Series A led by Aura Group, with Addventure Fund and RTL Group participating, turning down a larger oversubscribed offer to bankroll Asia-Pacific expansion and hiring.
Also Startup Daily