Unnamed stage
$5.4m
Startup · $12m raised
Lyrebird
Melbourne, VIC
Funding history
-
Unnamed stage : $12,000,000Reported valuation $50,000,000 post-money per the original report, not confirmed by the company.
-
Accelerator
Investors
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Lyrebird raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Five V Capital | Unnamed stage | - |
| Octopus Ventures | Unnamed stage | - |
| Startmate | Unnamed stage · Accelerator | - |
What Lyrebird bought
Companies Lyrebird acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
People
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Kai Van Lieshout | CEO · Founder | Forbes Australia, Startup Daily (10 Jun 2025), Startup Daily (26 Jul 2023) |
| Linus Talacko | Founder | Startup Daily (10 Jun 2025), Startup Daily (26 Jul 2023) |
Coverage
Stories naming Lyrebird. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Funding announcement
Startmate CEO Michael Batko calls time after 8 years, Phoebe Pincus takes the helm
Startmate chief Michael Batko departs following an eight-year stint; COO Phoebe Pincus steps up. The piece credits his tenure for the accelerator's growth, returns and alumni, and notes his exits from two side ventures.
Exit / M&A
Startmate CEO Michael Batko steps down after eight years, COO Phoebe Pincus takes top spot
Long-serving Startmate chief Michael Batko departs the accelerator's top job, with operations lead Phoebe Pincus promoted to CEO; the piece also recalls two side ventures Batko previously exited.
2 deals
FORBES Australia's 30 UNDER 30 list 2025
Forbes Australia unveils its 2025 30 Under 30 honourees across technology, sport, finance and the arts, noting startup raises, an early-stage venture fund close and major athlete contracts.
Funding announcement
From 0 to 4.5 billion: how the Startmate pay-it-forward mentorship model built a startup powerhouse
Startmate reflects on a decade of backing founders, profiling breakout alumni across its cohorts and describing how its mentors reinvest in newer startups, alongside its fund model and returns.
2 deals
Medical AI agents startup NexusMD prompts $6.3 million Seed round from Square Peg
Square Peg has backed NexusMD, a Melbourne startup using AI agents to cut hospital admin work, in a $6.3 million seed round; cofounder Mike Zhu earlier sold Baikemy Net to ByteDance.
Unnamed stage
$12m
AI-powered healthcare transcription platform prescribed $12 million
Melbourne AI medical scribe Lyrebird Health raises $12 million from Five V Capital, Octopus Ventures and Startmate at a $50 million valuation; Five V partner Chris Gillings joins its board.
Unnamed stage
$45k
Startmate reveals the 13 new startups it's backed ahead of SXSW Demo Day
Startup Daily covers Startmate's Winter 2023 accelerator intake of 13 startups, the accelerator's reported fund performance, its backer returns, and an upcoming Demo Day alongside SXSW Sydney.
News
LaunchVic is tipping another $300,000 into Startmate to teach uni students about startup life
LaunchVic is giving Startmate $300,000 across two years so hundreds of university students can try its Student Fellowship; the next intake's application window closes in October, and alumni include Lyrebird Health's founders.