Startup · $284m raised
Existing unicorn that continued rising in valuation
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Judo raised.
Companies Judo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Healy | CEO | SmartCompany |
| Peter Hodgson | Chairman | SmartCompany |
| Chris Bayliss | Deputy CEO and Chief Relationship Officer | SmartCompany |
| Jeff Nel | Head of Core Technology Services and Business Assurance (former) | Australian FinTech |
| Alistair Lamond | Head of Product | Startup Daily |
Stories naming Judo. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Ranking of Australia’s five best-funded fintechs — Airwallex, Athena, Zeller, InDebted and Brighte — profiling each one’s total raised, most recent raise, backers, valuation and growth moves.
CloudTech, a Melbourne blockchain payments firm, has closed a $14 million Series A from undisclosed investors, partly in Bitcoin and USDT, to build an institutional custody service for crypto holdings.
Westpac has invested $10 million in legal tech platform Lawpath, deepening an existing partnership; the article also recounts Lawpath's earlier raises from LegalZoom, Adcock Private Equity and other backers between 2015 and 2021.
Ethical fintech Maslow attracted 288 backers for a $409,676 equity crowdfunding round, largely founders from the impact sector, and hired two staff as it builds a subscription-based, at-cost financial services platform.
LaunchVic has selected ten scaleups for the last intake of its 30X30 mentoring program, which pairs their leaders with mentors from unicorn companies; the 20 earlier participants have together raised over $98.7 million.
Also RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Avenue Bank, a Sydney lender to small businesses, has obtained a full banking licence from APRA, 18 months behind schedule; the article recalls its $37m Series B, Liberty's backing, and neobank failures and sales.
Long-serving Judo Bank co-founder Joseph Healy will hand the CEO job to deputy Chris Bayliss in March; the piece also recaps the bank's capital raising and stockmarket listing.
AI search startup Marqo has landed a $12.5 million Series A and is relocating its headquarters to San Francisco, while LaunchVic statistics show Victoria's ecosystem grew in value despite a funding drop.
Biza.io, a Brisbane consumer data right firm, adds three staff: Jessica Booth leads customer success, Colleen D'Arcy joins as HR Business Partner, and Stephanie Robinson becomes Technical Writer.
Sydney small-business lender Shift, once known as GetCapital, has secured a Series C worth $27 million, with Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia heading the round and earlier backers also taking part.
Also Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech
LaunchVic reopens expressions of interest for its 30×30 program aiming to create 30 Victorian unicorns by 2030, recalling last year's nine participants, while July appoints Joanne Smith as its first chief financial officer.
Victorian luggage retailer July has hired Joanne Smith away from Little Birdie as its first chief financial officer, after its leadership team completed LaunchVic's 30×30 scaleup program.
Startup Daily reports neobank Volt is winding up, returning deposits and selling its mortgage book after a failed capital raise, recapping earlier raises by Judo Bank and Alex plus past neobank failures and acquisitions.
Also Startup Daily
Volt, Australia's first licensed neobank, is closing its deposit-taking business and handing back its banking licence after global capital raising failed, telling customers to move funds; the article recalls Xinja, 86 400 and Judo outcomes.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
SME funding platform Swoop has raised a Series A round to grow its Australian and global operations, expand its team, and build out its advisor product for accountants.
KPMG's half-yearly fintech report finds Australian fintech funding rebounded in 2021, recapping local raises, listings and acquisitions alongside record global deal figures and a bullish outlook for 2022.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech
SmartCompany reviews 2021's record ANZ startup funding, topping $10 billion per Cut Through Venture, highlighting mega-rounds by SimPRO, Rokt, Canva and Airwallex, plus early-2022 raises by Dovetail, Milkrun and TradeSquare.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
A year-end recap of SmartCompany's most-read startup stories of 2021, recalling raises by Carted, Octopus Deploy, Who Gives a Crap and Judo Bank, plus a bank acquisition, listings and a liquidation.
Cut Through Venture's newsletter reviews first-half 2021 Australian and New Zealand startup funding, covering aggregate round statistics, new unicorns, founder age patterns, and the strong funding of recently founded COVID-era companies.