Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Company

James Cook University

Coverage

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

Funding announcement

Wise Repro launches state-of-the-art semen processing lab

A Queensland cattle genetics business has opened a laboratory to process bull semen at Glen Aplin with government grant support, and a partner will sort sexed semen there from early 2026.

2 deals

Livestock methane reduction startup swallows $11 million Series A

Sydney synthetic-biology venture Number 8 Bio has banked an $11m Series A with Icehouse Ventures leading, to advance cattle trials of its methane-cutting supplement; its 2024 seed and accelerator stint are recalled.

Also AgFunderNews·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Grant $668.1k

NT construction company to move into specialty glass manufacture through $5.4 million project

Construction firm Northern Trade Solutions is launching a glass-making arm, Northern Glass Solutions, with a $668,072 Northern Territory Government grant toward a $5.4 million, 12-month project alongside industry and university partners.

Funding announcement

Here are the 11 deep tech startups to emerge from CSIRO's ON Accelerate

CSIRO's ON Accelerate program presents its ninth intake of eleven research startups, drawn from universities nationwide and the agency itself, spanning biotech, healthcare and sustainability, at a Melbourne showcase.

Funding announcement

Red seaweed was billed as a gamechanger for livestock methane reduction… so when will it deliver?

Q&A with FutureFeed's chief executive on Asparagopsis seaweed as a livestock methane-cutting feed additive: its licensing business, backers, licensees' progress, regulation, research and scaling hurdles.

Funding announcement

Here are the 12 deep tech startups CSIRO chose for its latest ON Accelerate program

CSIRO has picked twelve deep-tech teams, mostly from Australian universities, for the eighth edition of its ON Accelerate commercialisation program starting in February 2024.

News

Lightning in a box? Rainstick harnesses electrical fields to grow crops 'bigger, faster, and more sustainably'

Australian agtech startup Rainstick treats seeds and microbes with targeted electrical fields to lift germination and crop yields; cofounder Mic Black describes early trial results, university validation work, and the company's funding position.

Funding announcement

Provectus Algae seeks to disrupt livestock methane reduction space with tech delivering 'a step-change in the cost of goods'

Queensland algae startup Provectus Algae launches a seaweed-based livestock methane additive, touting cheaper production; founder Nusqe Spanton recently took strategic backing from Korea's CJ Bio.

4 deals

The founders raking in millions to secure Australia's food future

Profile of four agtech founders tackling food security: Invertigro's modular vertical farms, Regrow Ag's satellite soil-carbon measurement, Lleaf's light-altering greenhouse film, and Sea Forest's methane-reducing seaweed cattle supplement.

Funding announcement

High-tech twist on the rain dance sparks a shiitake storm

Profile of Cairns startup Rainstick, which uses artificial lightning to boost mushroom growth. It won $20,000 from Dream Ventures, has taken in $200,000, and joined CSIRO's ON Accelerate with nine other teams.

Grant $500k

Arctic panels to insulate the Territory

A Northern Territory government manufacturing fund co-funds Arctic Installations' tropical insulating panel project, with the company contributing its own capital, and the business has won a first export deal in Timor-Leste.

Also @AuManufacturing

Unnamed stage $1m

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

A manufacturing roundup covering a university research grant, a clinker terminal groundbreaking, quantum chip progress, a share placement, a pumped hydro plan, and an autonomous vessel demonstration.

News

Methane-reducing seaweed additive now commercially available for beef producers

Asparagopsis seaweed feed supplement reaches commercial phase in Australia as CH4 Global records first feedlot sales. FutureFeed licenses CSIRO-discovered technology, with Sea Forest and SeaStock also taking orders from beef producers.

Grant $52m

Gilmour Space lands $52 million grant to ramp up Queensland’s rocket launching ambitions

The Gold Coast rocket maker has won federal co-funding for a 32-member space manufacturing network, backing a Queensland manufacturing hub and a new orbital launch pad at Bowen.

Also Techboard·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing

6 deals

Six agtech projects awarded $4 million on novel feeds for methane reduction

Six research projects share four million dollars in federal MERiL grants to test seaweed, legume and synthetic feed additives that could cut methane from cattle and sheep.

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