Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Startup · $154m raised

Fortescue

Mining company using CorePlan's platform

Coverage

Stories naming Fortescue. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Seed US$10m

Finalists Announced For The 2026 WA Innovators Of The Year

Western Australia's government has shortlisted 23 companies for the 2026 Innovators of the Year awards across six categories; $310,000 in prizes will be shared in November, and past winners including Kanopy are recalled.

4 deals

Green hydrogen hopes lift as “headstart” project reaches crucial financial milestone

Orica will proceed with its Hunter Valley green hydrogen plant after a final investment decision, the first under Hydrogen Headstart; earlier government grants to it and CIP's Murchison are recalled.

5 deals

Green hydrogen hopes lift as “headstart” project reaches crucial financial milestone

Orica has reached a final investment decision for its Hunter Valley green hydrogen and ammonia project, confirming government grant support, while other planned Australian hydrogen projects advance slowly or have been abandoned.

Also RenewEconomy

4 deals

No customers: Plans for Townsville hydrogen project scrapped after failing to find buyers for the product

Edify Energy has shelved its Townsville green hydrogen plant for want of buyers, pivoting to solar and storage builds; governments are separately seeking repayment of hydrogen subsidies, including from Fortescue's closed Gladstone plant.

Also RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·Mirage News

2 deals

Affinda named fastest growing AI company in Australia, closes further $10m raise

Melbourne document-AI firm Affinda, founded by Tim and Ben Toner, closed a $10m round from family offices and wealthy individuals after an earlier $13m raise; Deloitte ranked it the nation's fastest-growing AI company.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Grant $490.3k

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing updates: Sparc Hydrogen's R&D tax refund, executive appointments at Lockheed Martin Australia, Wellnex Life and Raytheon, a ReNu Energy power purchase deal, and BlueScope joining a low-carbon research centre.

2 deals

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Briefs roundup: Forbidden Foods is acquiring oat milk maker Oat Milk Goodness alongside a $650,000 raise, Orbital Corporation wins a $1 million WA grant, and Sam Roberts becomes Professionals Australia's CEO.

3 deals

Plant-based meats venture ProForm Foods in voluntary administration

KPMG administrators took control of ProForm Foods, the company behind the Meet brand, and the piece recalls earlier raises at v2food and All G Foods as the plant-based sector cools.

21 deals

ARENA awards $59.1 million to hydrogen, steel-related R&D projects

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

Venture debt $7.5m

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Matrix Composites raises via convertible note, Cronos hits a sales milestone, Ellen Medical finalists, ASC digitises its supply chain, a hydrogen refueller opens, and Titomic signs a US reseller.

Grant $2.5m

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

News roundup: EMVision receives a $2.5 million NSW medical devices grant, ADDE appoints a liquidator, DroneShield wins an order, SciDev and Q-CTRL name executives, and ReNu Energy signs a non-binding term sheet with HESTA.

Also @AuManufacturing

Series B US$198m

Rio Tinto joins Gates to back renewable hydrogen startup as miners look to future tech

Mining major Rio Tinto has joined Bill Gates' fund and other industrial and cleantech backers in a US$198 million Series B for hydrogen electrolyser developer Electric Hydrogen; Fortescue's electrolyser investments are also noted.

Seed $1.6m

Stylerunner twins raise $1.6 million for their new shopping startup, Her Black Book

The founders of the shuttered Stylerunner have raised seed funding for their new shopping app Her Black Book, led by Andrew Hagger with Touch Ventures support; the article recalls Stylerunner's acquisition by Accent Group.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Unnamed stage $6m

Earlytrade attracts $6 million investment to solve late payments

Earlytrade, which speeds up invoice payments to suppliers, has landed a $6 million round, with Shearwater Growth Equity contributing $2.5 million and several business figures also taking part.

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