Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Venture capital fund

Macquarie Group

Sydney, NSW

Coverage

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

Key hire

Role call: new people at allt, SQC, RedBelly Network, Neara & Indebted

Weekly people-moves column: new executives at allt, SQC, Redbelly Network, InDebted and Neara, including Clive Dickens joining allt's board and Chris McNamara becoming InDebted's CEO.

Key hire

InDebted appoint Chris McNamara as Chief Executive Officer and Brendan Lee as Chief Financial Officer

Collections technology firm InDebted has named Chris McNamara as chief executive and Brendan Lee as chief financial officer, filling a search opened when founder Josh Foreman shifted to a founder and executive director role.

2 deals

Sarah Thompson

Street Talk roundup: Tasman Capital's new fund reaches first close, EQT buys control of an NRL club, KKR eyes a Drifter exit, PAG dealmakers jump to Jardine Matheson, Colter Bay lands a debut loan.

Also AFR Technology·AFR Technology·AFR Technology·Dealroom

Exit / M&A

Sia significantly expands Australian footprint with Seven Consulting deal

Global consultancy Sia has acquired Seven Consulting, an Australian business transformation firm, roughly quadrupling Sia's local headcount and adding major banking, government and retail clients.

Unnamed stage ≤€250m

Sia's Australian Gambit: Snags Seven Consulting in Push for AI Dominance

French consulting group Sia has bought Australian business transformation firm Seven Consulting, adding roughly 130 consultants and East Coast offices. The deal follows Sia's earlier acquisitions and Blackstone's minority investment earmarked for expansion.

Also consultancy.com.au

Exit / M&A

Sia accelerates its expansion in Australia with the acquisition of Seven Consulting

Consulting group Sia has bought Seven Consulting, an Australian transformation consultancy, adding Sydney and Melbourne offices, a Perth presence and major clients across banking, government and retail.

Also Dealroom·Dealroom·sevenconsulting.com·briefglance.com·melbourne-insider.au·cfotech.com.au·consultancy.com.au

9 deals

Eight ANZ startups that raised $102 million this fortnight

Roundup of eight Australian and New Zealand startups whose late-July funding totals $102 million across space capsules, medical devices, livestock breath analysis, sports analytics and AI crop forecasting.

Series A $25m

NRF boosts Southern Launch in $25 million Series A

Southern Launch raised a $25m Series A with $10m from the National Reconstruction Fund, led by Brindabella and Company and including ex-Macquarie executives and Coupland Asset Management, to grow headcount and launch services.

Also SmartCompany·Dealroom·Startup Daily·Space Connect

Key hire

AUDC continues leadership team expansion to support rapid growth and regional stablecoin rollout

Stablecoin issuer AUDC hires Andrew Kitchen as CFO and José Barroso as growth chief, extending an executive build-out to support rising demand for its digital-money and settlement services across Australia and New Zealand.

Seed $11.5m

Ex-Atlassians score an exit for their AI data security startup after just two years

RecordPoint has bought Redactive AI, a Melbourne data security startup founded by former Atlassian staff, for an undisclosed sum two years after its founding; Felicis and Blackbird co-led its 2024 seed round.

6 deals

Uniseed adds another $25m from UniSuper to commercialise academic research

UniSuper adds a further $25 million to its backing of Uniseed, reaching $100 million in total support for the university research commercialisation fund; past cheques to quantum and biotech startups are recapped.

3 deals

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of manufacturing briefs: rare earths and semiconductor firms win government grants, Pro-Pac takes a shareholder loan, Macquarie buys into Dow infrastructure, plus sales records, a China distribution deal and a space security hub.

2 deals

Affinda named fastest growing AI company in Australia, closes further $10m raise

Melbourne document-AI firm Affinda, founded by Tim and Ben Toner, closed a $10m round from family offices and wealthy individuals after an earlier $13m raise; Deloitte ranked it the nation's fastest-growing AI company.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

6 deals

Four Aussie startups that raised $28 million this week

Weekly roundup of four Australian startup raises: Kismet's $20m seed extension, Primary's $3.5m seed round, Willed's $3m from Seven West Media, and East Forged's $1.5m from a Vietnamese agribusiness's venture arm.

Seed $3.5m

Sydney fintech Primary raises $3.5m seed round

Sydney cash-management startup Primary has completed a $3.5m seed round backed by Carthona Capital and five other funds, with Carthona partner Damian Fox set to join its board.

Also SmartCompany

Funding announcement

Constantinople co-founder Di Challenor on the power of grit and how she pulled off the largest seed round raise in Australia

Interview with Constantinople co-founder Di Challenor on her banking career and the record $32 million seed round she and Mac Duncan raised from Square Peg, Airtree and Great Southern Bank.

Exit / M&A

AirTrunk's $23 billion sale buoys the South Asian Australian startup community

Data centre company AirTrunk's multi-billion-dollar sale to Blackstone and a Canadian pension board is celebrated by founders of South Asian heritage, who see Robin Khuda's journey as inspiration for Australia's startup ecosystem.

Also Forbes Australia·ARN (ARNnet)·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

2 deals

12-year-old document processing scaleup rides AI wave with $10 million raise

Melbourne document-analysis company Affinda has pulled in $10 million from its previous backers at double its earlier valuation, and Christine Christian has joined its board.

Also Forbes Australia

2 deals

Macquarie Asset Management Hits Final Close for $1.9B Opportunistic Property Fund

Macquarie Asset Management has wrapped up its second opportunistic property vehicle, MREP, at $1.9 billion in commitments; the story also recaps the manager's earlier property investments across Asia, Europe and the US.

Funding announcement

Mike Cannon-Brookes names former Macquarie banker Tan Kueh as Grok's CEO

Mike Cannon-Brookes' investment vehicle Grok Ventures has hired Tan Kueh, ex-Macquarie, UBS and BlackRock, as CEO, joining CIO Jeremy Kwong-Law, as it sharpens its strategy around climate investing.

20 deals

The top 20 agtech deals of 2023

A year-end countdown of 2023's twenty largest agtech funding rounds, from biofuels and carbon marketplaces to farm robotics, with EcoCeres' $400 million raise at the top.

Also AgFunderNews

Key hire

Grid Connections: Who’s going where in Australia’s energy transition

A rolling roundup of Australian energy-sector job moves, listing dozens of executives, directors and ministers joining or leaving utilities, regulators, developers and industry bodies between May and December 2023.

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