Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Startup · $16m raised · Robotics

Hullbot

Deploys autonomous underwater robots to solve biofouling for ship hulls

Sydney, NSW

Coverage

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

Funding announcement

Defence Trailblazer fast-tracking new technologies to help Defence and Industry transition to clean energy

Defence Trailblazer funds emissions-reduction projects with Electric Motor Power, Ocius Technology and Praxis, and profiles renewable-technology ventures from its Entrepreneurial Foundations for Defence program.

2 deals

Capital returns but discipline and liquidity remain key

A retrospective on 2025 Australian venture activity: large raises at Firmus, Heidi Health, Airwallex and others, deep tech momentum, and Folklore's own backing of Hullbot and Sphere.

Also Square Peg Capital·Australian FinTech·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·Fintech News Australia

Funding announcement

Defence Trailblazer backs clean-energy tech

Defence Trailblazer is advancing emissions-cutting defence technology projects pairing companies with university researchers, and names seven ventures in its Entrepreneurial Foundations for Defence program.

News

Defence Trailblazer Accelerates Net-Zero Tech for Australian Defence

Defence Trailblazer is running clean-energy projects with university and industry partners for Australian defence; its EFD program backs seven ventures developing batteries, drone power, hull-cleaning robots and solar tech.

9 deals

Eight Aussie startups that raised $108.6 million this week

Roundup of eight funding deals: Synchron's Series D, plus raises by Lumonus AI, Hullbot, Nbryo, Cytophenix, Giftbee, Understanding Zoe and Zeligate, spanning medtech, robotics, agtech and AI.

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

Series A $16m

Climate Tech Partners backs Hullbot in cutting shipping emissions: $16m series A

Australian robotics company Hullbot has raised A$16 million in a Series A led by Regeneration VC to expand its ship hull-cleaning technology worldwide; the deal is the first from Climate Tech Partners' new fund.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·katapultocean.com·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·greenreview.com.au·marinebusinessnews.com.au

Funding announcement

UNSW Founders to fund 18 startups with $200,000 each

UNSW Founders partnered with Luminary Partners to invest $200,000 each in 18 early-stage deeptech startups across its 2025 accelerator cohorts, extending prior backing arrangements.

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