NextGen Ventures

Cheque-in: 10 ANZ startups raised nearly $193 million this week

Weekly roundup of ten Australian and New Zealand startup raises totalling nearly $194 million, topped by Neara's $90 million round at a $1.1 billion valuation, with Splose, Operata, HAMR Energy and Adora also covered.

Atlassian's first investor leads $8.55 million Seed in workflows documentation startup Fluency

Melbourne work-documentation startup Fluency raised a US$6 million seed led by Accel at a $30 million valuation, with DST Global and others participating; its founders previously raised $1.5 million.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

This 19-year-old CEO just raised $1.2m to automate one of farming's toughest jobs

GrazeMate, a cattle-mustering drone startup founded by 19-year-old Sam Rogers, has raised $1.2m in a pre-seed round led by Y Combinator, with NextGen Ventures, Antler and Meat & Livestock Australia also taking part.

Also AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Meliora's Clive Dickens teams up with NextGen Ventures to back AI startups

Meliora, Clive Dickens' advisory firm, has started backing AI companies alongside a student-focused venture fund that is closing in on its fundraising target.

Also Forbes Australia

Gen Z VC fund NextGen Ventures scores Blackbird cofounders as investors in $2.5 million fund build

Student-run venture fund NextGen Ventures has locked in $1.5 million toward a $2.5 million target, backed by Blackbird's cofounders, Airtree and angel investors, and has already invested in AI startup Fluency.

Students are getting into VC with NextGen Ventures to back uni-founded startups

Student-run fund NextGen Ventures launches to back university-founded startups, training student investors with partner VC firms and seeking its own capital; its report counts over $1.2 billion raised by student-founded startups since 2012.

Investors have poured more than $1.2 billion into Australian student-founded startups

A student-run venture fund launches alongside research showing university founders have attracted backing topping $1.2 billion, though women-led teams receive a small share; Blackbird is the most active backer.