Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Startup · $88m raised

SunDrive

Sydney, NSW

Coverage

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

5 deals

Sunshot program backs “Sun King” to bring large-scale solar panel manufacturing back to Australia

Sunman Group wins $171 million in federal and NSW funding for a Hunter Valley solar panel factory; earlier grants to Tindo Solar, Stellar PV, Solquartz and SunDrive are also recalled.

Fund close $230m

Climate tech now employs 7000+ people and is driving Australia's economic growth, Climate Salad's annual analysis finds

Climate Salad's report says Australia's climate tech sector has passed 7,000 workers across 730 startups and drew $680 million in venture capital; Sea Forest's ASX debut and fund commitments point to investor appetite.

13 deals

Cheque-in: 8 startups gobbled up $572.12 million in funding this week

Weekly roundup of eight raises totalling $572.12 million, led by Firmus's $500 million round; RAGE Biotech, SunDrive, Number 8 Bio, Fabra, Keeyu, MyGig and Drone-Hand also funded, plus two RAGE Biotech executive appointments.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Business News Australia

2 deals

ARENA commits $25.3 million to continue SunDrive's copper solar cell breakthrough

The renewable energy agency will grant SunDrive up to $25.3 million to scale its copper solar cell technology with partners Maxwell and Vistar, adding to $14 million in earlier support.

Also RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

Funding announcement

“Time to come back:” Sunman unveils plans to make flexible solar panels in Australia

Solar pioneer Zhengrong Shi intends a Newcastle factory for frameless lightweight panels via Sunman's Energus subsidiary, eyeing federal programs; CEFC, Southern Cross Venture Partners and Softbank China are recalled as backers.

Key hire

“Shell companies for rent seekers:” Coalition attacks solar innovators, including Turnbull-backed SunDrive

A federal opposition senator attacks Labor's solar manufacturing program and SunDrive, which has cut staff and changed CEO while pursuing partnerships with AGL and Trina Solar to localise panel production.

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.

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.

13 deals

Nine Aussie startups that raised $40.5 million this week

Weekly roundup covering nine Australian startups' new capital totalling $40.5 million, across solar, quantum computing, marketing tech and crowdfunding, plus a look back at Aconex's $1.6 billion Oracle sale.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Wholesale Investor

2 deals

“New era:” SunDrive wins funds to scale up Australia made solar cell production

SunDrive secured an A$11 million ARENA grant to take its copper-metallised solar cell manufacturing from prototype to commercial scale in Sydney, with plans targeting up to 5GW of yearly capacity.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

2 deals

Breakthrough solar panel startup SunDrive teams up with Sydney University on $2.78 million research project

ARENA has awarded $2.78 million to a University of Sydney professor partnering with SunDrive on perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. The piece also recalls SunDrive's $21 million Series B and names its backers.

11 deals

The Ignition Lane Wrap: Sunrise. Demise. No more pies.

Ignition Lane's weekly tech roundup covering record Australian VC fund raises, several green-tech startup funding rounds, Deliveroo's administration, the FTX collapse, and takeover offers for ELMO and Nitro.

Also Techboard

5 deals

NSW grants $3 million to Cannon-Brookes backed solar cell innovator

NSW Environmental Trust grants $3 million to solar innovator SunDrive within a $6.5 million allocation shared with Hysata, Southern Green Gas and Quickstep; SunDrive's recent series A drew CEFC alongside Blackbird and Grok Ventures.

Also @AuManufacturing

6 deals

Six Aussie startups that collectively raised $196 million this week

Roundup of six Australian startups that together secured about $196 million this week, covering raises by Airwallex, SunDrive, T-Shirt Ventures, Iluminr, Foodini and Banksia Academy.

Series A $21m

SunDrive raises $21m Series A to supercharge solar panel efficiency and drive down costs

SunDrive has raised a Series A round co-led by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Main Sequence Ventures, with Blackbird and Grok also backing its copper-based solar cell technology.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

3 deals

Malcolm Turnbull and Atlassian, Tesla and Canva bosses back solar startup in $21 million Series B

Solar cell maker SunDrive has raised a $21 million Series B led by Main Sequence Ventures, with CEFC, Grok and Blackbird investing, and first-time backers including Turnbull, Denholm and Adams.

Also RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

3 deals

Mike Cannon-Brookes tips $200 million into renewables finance company Infradebt

Atlassian's Cannon-Brookes, via his family firm Grok Ventures, has invested $200 million in renewables project financier Infradebt days after his AGL bid was rejected; the capital is already funding a Queensland battery project.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

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