Company · Telecommunications
Australian telecommunications company where Aigentsphere founders previously held senior roles.
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Optus raised.
Companies Optus 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Dickens | VP of TV and Content (former) | Startup Daily |
| Emma Jensen | Vice President for Small Business | SmartCompany |
| Kelly Bayer Rosmarin | CEO (former) | Forbes Australia, Main Sequence, Women's Agenda, Australian FinTech |
| Michael Venter | Chief Financial Officer | Australian FinTech |
| Quinton Anderson | CIO (former) | Forbes Australia, Main Sequence |
Stories naming Optus. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin warns rogue AI agents in enterprises are inevitable and discusses Aigentsphere, her AI-monitoring startup, which raised a $4 million seed round from Main Sequence in April.
Australian telco enablement group Advantai hires Ben Dobbin as Prvidr's COO and Julian Dell as Staqr's CTO, effective immediately, as it scales across the Trans-Tasman telecommunications market.
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.
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
Devoli has hired Kent Plummer from Aussie Broadband as channel manager for Australia, tasking him with helping the provider's MSP partners simplify how they run connectivity.
Main Sequence's post sets out why the fund backed Aigentsphere, which builds governance tooling for enterprise AI agents, citing the founders' banking backgrounds and a $4 million seed raise.
Three seasoned agribusiness and funds figures have launched a boutique fund to buy and turn around overlooked mid-market companies in staple industries, with capital raising under way and first acquisitions planned for early 2026.
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
Airwallex adds ex-Optus chief Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and four other directors to its subsidiary's board while it pursues an Australian banking licence; the article also recaps the fintech's US$300 million Series F.
Jason Ashton, formerly NBN Co's wireless networks technology chief and BigAir's co-founder, rejoins Superloop on 3 March in a newly created role leading acquisitions and its smart communities portfolio.
SmartCompany teams with Optus on a video series wrapping each month's business news; edition five covers Oltre's Pitch competition win, BindiMaps, and founder Kesley McCormick on UK research connecting ADHD with entrepreneurship.
Superloop's board has rejected Aussie Broadband's merger proposal as too low, with Aussie already holding a 19.9% stake; the piece also recalls Superloop's VostroNet purchase and Aussie's Symbio buyout.
Roundup of eight Australian startup raises totalling $433m, topped by Employment Hero's $263m Series F and Skykraft's $120m round; Darwinium, Konvoy Kegs, The Martec and three Birchal crowdfunds complete the week.
Also AgFunderNews
The Martec, a Sydney talent-marketing platform, has secured an $8 million round led by family office AS1 with Airtree backing, to grow its offshore presence; its customers include Telstra, Coles and Adobe.
Also SmartCompany
Optus awards $5,000 technology grants plus mentoring to two founders, including Anthogen Australia's Alison Stokes; the piece profiles the health startup's app for chronic-condition patients.
Weekly roundup detailing seven Australian startup raises totalling $16.4 million, covering Thinxtra, Canopus Networks, Mash, Beamible, Earthodic, Citadel.run and Cleverbean, with investors, amounts and founder backgrounds.
NBN Co is testing small wind turbines from a Newcastle university spinout to keep remote sites powered in emergencies; the maker earlier received an ARENA grant for similar trials.
Ignition Lane's weekly wrap: Tiger Global's losses and past Australian bets, MilkRun and TradeSquare closures, Cyara's Spearline acquisition, a Co Ventures pre-seed fund, Square Peg's partner promotion and LaunchVic's 30×30 picks.
NSW adds $3.5 million to its disaster-recovery connectivity initiative, with five telecom contractors appointed in September 2022 to run trials and findings expected mid-2023.
Ignition Lane's weekly tech roundup covering fresh Australian startup raises, new venture funds and closes, a wave of acquisitions, delistings and a liquidation, executive moves, and Canva's product launch.
Also Techboard·Startup Daily
Padua Solutions has hired Rudy Haddad to lead technical advice and Kun Singh as marketing head, while recalling a $10.5 million raise in late 2021 that fueled its rapid expansion.
Unleash live, working with Optus and AWS, flew its first drone test for Endeavour Energy, streaming 5G footage; the project earlier received a $648,000 federal government 5G Innovation Initiative grant.
Zetaris has banked a $30 million raise at a valuation topping $110 million, with Exto Partners leading and several co-investors; the company earlier won Ingram Micro's 2019 Comet Competition, worth up to $1.5 million.
Also ARN (ARNnet)·ARN (ARNnet)
Software vendor Freshworks appoints SAP veteran Ben Pluznyk as director and country manager for Australia and New Zealand, following its channel chief hire and local expansion through distributor Synnex.