January Capital

Cheque-in: 8 startups gobbled up $572.12 million in funding this week

Weekly roundup of eight raises totalling $572.12 million, led by Firmus's $500 million round; RAGE Biotech, SunDrive, Number 8 Bio, Fabra, Keeyu, MyGig and Drone-Hand also funded, plus two RAGE Biotech executive appointments.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Business News Australia

Fabra raises $2.8 million for browser-based product design tool

Australian startup Fabra has debuted a browser-based 3D design tool alongside pre-seed backing of $2.8 million from four funds, and intends to seek seed capital ahead of 2026 general availability.

Also @AuManufacturing·Startup Daily

Build Club is launching an accelerator for AI founders to take on the US

Build Club and AWS are launching a six-week Sydney accelerator for 15 technical founders in AI, offering credits, mentoring and a US tour, with two founders already chosen.

2023 in Review 💫

Ten13's year-end post recaps nine new portfolio additions, follow-on support for existing holdings, the Mr Yum and Me&U merger, Go1's Blinkist acquisition, Smileyscope's FDA clearance, and community events.

Also Ten13·OIF Ventures portfolio·TechCrunch Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Aussie AI startup Marqo raises $19.4 million and moves HQ to San Francisco

Australian vector search firm Marqo has banked US$12.5 million in a Series A headed by Lightspeed, with Blackbird, January Capital and an individual backer taking part, and is shifting its base to San Francisco.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Early VC

DOG'S BREAKFAST: Pet Circle's $75m raise from US VC a rare highlight for Australian startups amid a 42% fall in funding for September quarter

Cut Through Ventures' quarterly analysis shows Australian startup funding down 42% year-on-year at A$739 million over 77 deals, with Pet Circle's $75 million Series D from Prysm Capital the period's largest round.

Also SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing

Investment Notes: Marqo

Blackbird announces it led AI search startup Marqo's seed round, joined by January Capital, The Creator Fund and angel investors, having previously backed the company's pre-seed in May 2022.

Also TechCrunch Australia·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Eight Aussie startups that raised $149 million this week

Weekly roundup of eight Australian startups together securing $149 million: One Model, SafetyCulture, Hysata, Pendula, Marqo, Medigrowth, Curiious and Zena Sport, spanning HR analytics, safety tech, hydrogen, AI, medicinal cannabis, VR and sportstech.

Also Startup Daily·thebusinesstimes.com.au·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

Meet Marqo, an open source vector search engine for AI applications

Melbourne vector-search startup Marqo has announced a $4.4 million seed round, with Blackbird Ventures leading and Creator Fund, January Capital and Cohere's co-founders also in; the piece recalls its pre-seed and rivals' raises.

Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio

Australian cyber security start-up bags US$24 million

Dark web monitoring company Cyble closed a Series B backed by Blackbird, King River and others, with the article recalling its earlier seed and Series A raises.

AI voice bot startup raises $7 million pre-Series A

Voice AI company Curious Thing has secured $7 million in a pre-Series A round led by Hawkstone, with Blacksheep Capital, January Capital and returning backers Reinventure and Qualgro, to fund hiring and expansion.

Also TechCrunch Australia

EMQ Announces Close of $20M Series B Funding Round

Hong Kong payments network EMQ closed a $20 million Series B led by WI Harper Group alongside ten other backers, funding expansion, product work and licensing across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Manuri Gunawardena is changing the future of medicine with HealthMatch

Profile of HealthMatch founder and chief executive Manuri Gunawardena, covering the patient-trial matching platform's investor backing and her win at Veuve Clicquot's Bold Future Award.

Hupo AI's $10M Series A Led by DST Global Partners

Sales-coaching AI startup Hupo has announced a $10 million Series A, with DST Global Partners leading and four earlier backers returning for the round.