Accelerator · 6 deals
Sydney, NSW
Every published round Techstars took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manifest | Pre-seed | Apr 2026 | $2m | Participant | Startup Daily, SmartCompany (1 May 2026), SmartCompany (29 Apr 2026) | |
| SeenCulture | Pre-seed | 20 Jul 2024 | $1m | Participant | SmartCompany (15 Aug 2024), SmartCompany (26 Jul 2024), Startup Daily | |
| Outread | Pre-seed | 26 Apr 2024 | $750k | Participant | SmartCompany (28 Jun 2024), Startup Daily, SmartCompany (26 Apr 2024) | |
| Femtek | Unnamed stage | 28 Mar 2024 | $1m | Lead | SmartCompany (11 Sep 2024), SmartCompany (26 Apr 2024), Women's Agenda, SmartCompany (28 Mar 2024) | |
| Kyri | Seed | Mar 2024 | US$1m (A$1.5m) | Lead | Forbes Australia, Women's Agenda, Arcanys Ventures portfolio | |
| Gecko | Pre-seed | 24 Jul 2023 | $350k | Lead | SmartCompany, Startup Daily (24 Jul 2023), Startup Daily (21 Jul 2023) |
Everyone Techstars has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
Companies Techstars has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SeenCulture | 20 Jul 2024, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Outread | 26 Apr 2024, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Manifest | AI-powered intelligence platform that captures how ad agency work gets done across teams,… | Apr 2026, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 |
| Kyri | Mar 2024, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Gecko | Makes it easy to hire event items securely | 24 Jul 2023, Pre-seed | 1 | 1 |
| Femtek | 28 Mar 2024 | 1 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for Techstars, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Techstars has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Techstars did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian Petersen | Mentor (former) | Afterwork Ventures portfolio |
| Damian Png | Program Director (former) | SmartCompany |
| Dave Lemphers | CTO In-residence (former) | Forbes Australia |
| Kirstin Hunter | Managing Director (NSW) | SmartCompany (8 Mar 2024), SmartCompany (3 Nov 2023) |
| Kirstin Hunter | Managing Director (former) | SmartCompany (11 Mar 2025), SmartCompany (10 Sep 2024), Startup Daily |
| Matt Kozlov | Managing Director | TechCrunch Australia |
Stories naming Techstars. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Adtech startup Manifest has launched with a $2 million pre-seed round, led by Brand Fund with Antler, Icehouse Ventures, Techstars, family offices and industry angels taking part, aiming to replace agency timesheets.
The NSW government has ended funding for Techstars Sydney, which closes after three cohorts; its managing director, Christie Jenkins, and her team are departing, and the $4 million diversity pre-accelerator has no operator yet.
Forbes Australia profiles billionaire Ed Craven's funding of MainCode, a Melbourne venture where chief executive Dave Lemphers leads a team building Australia's own large language model on home soil.
Birchal appoints Future Super founder and former Techstars Sydney managing director Kirstin Hunter as CEO after co-founder Matt Vitale stepped down in January; the crowdfunding platform recently banked $2m from retail investors.
Roundup of six Australian funding rounds this week: InDebted, Evolt, Restoke.ai, Mary Technology, Matilda and Demtech.ai, with investors, amounts, InDebted's valuation and a secondary component for early backers and staff.
Also Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·Fintech News Australia·Business News Australia
Menstrual-health startup Femtek has rebranded as Kyri, citing a trademark block; the piece also looks back at its seven-figure raise with Arcanys Ventures and Techstars leading earlier in the year.
Also Forbes Australia
Ten of the twelve startups joining the NSW-backed Techstars Sydney accelerator for 2024 have a female founder; past participant SeenCulture earlier banked $1m in capital.
Weekly roundup of three Australian raises: adtech firm Cuttable's seed round, Fundabl's equity round and SeenCulture's funding, naming investors, plus new Cuttable co-CEOs and a board appointment.
Roundup of the week's funding news: nine companies across Australia and New Zealand secured investment spanning clean energy, construction logistics, legal tech, coaching, research tools, creator media, medtech and marketing software.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·LaunchVic
A women's health startup in Australia has collected $1 million from Arcanys Ventures and Techstars to build its sleep-worn cycle tracker, with more funding sought and an application lodged for LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund.
SeenCulture's founder marks IWD by profiling four women who backed her HR-tech startup's growth: a mentor, its first investor, its operations head and an adviser, recalling its first cheque and Techstars Sydney cohort.
TechCrunch profile of Esper, an Australian startup preparing low-cost hyperspectral satellites, recalling its $1 million pre-seed close, grants from a foundation and the federal government, and a Techstars accelerator stint.
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
Profile of Mantaray Climate, an SME carbon accounting tool founded by former lawyer Rujuta Natu, which tracked and offset emissions for Techstars' Sydney Demo Day after joining its NSW Government-backed accelerator.
Cut Through Angels launched a syndicate letting wholesale investors back the twelve startups in Techstars' Sydney accelerator class of 2023 ahead of Demo Day, with each cohort company and founder named.
Twelve startups, eleven American and one Australian, will join the newest cohort of Techstars' thirteen-week aerospace program, run alongside two US space bodies.
Weekly roundup of eight Australian startups together securing $149 million: One Model, SafetyCulture, Hysata, Pendula, Marqo, Medigrowth, Curiious and Zena Sport, spanning HR analytics, safety tech, hydrogen, AI, medicinal cannabis, VR and sportstech.
Also Startup Daily·thebusinesstimes.com.au·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia
Crunchbase data analysis ranking the busiest cleantech investors, led by Lowercarbon Capital, and citing large sustainability rounds at Loam Bio, Our Next Energy, Ohmium and Palmetto Clean Technology.
Weekly roundup covering five Australian startups that announced a combined $58.5 million in new funding, spanning quantum computing, advertising software, mining safety technology and event rental software, alongside government grant programs.
Gecko, an events equipment rental marketplace, drew a pre-seed round led by Techstars' new Sydney accelerator, with two US investors also taking part; it joins the program's first intake of twelve startups.
Q&A with Kirstin Hunter and Lauren Fong, who lead Techstars' new Sydney accelerator backed by the NSW Government, on their backgrounds and the first 12-company class starting in July.
Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting numerous funding rounds including Loam Bio's Series B and SwarmFarm's Series A, plus partnerships, OrderEZ acquiring FoodRazor, and vertical farming expansion into the Middle East.
Also SmartCompany
Melt Ventures launched an advanced manufacturing venture fund expecting first close soon and targeting $20 million by March 2023; the piece also recalls earlier backing of Camplify, Gamurs, Greaseboss and other companies.
Weekly roundup reporting numerous agrifoodtech raises worldwide, Synthesis Capital closing its first $300 million foodtech fund, plus news on renewable energy, drone delivery partnerships and gene-edited tomatoes.
AfterWork Ventures explains why it joined SwingVision's $2 million seed round led by Tennis Australia's Wildcard Ventures, alongside Roddick, Blake and the MyFitnessPal co-founders; the app brings pro-grade tennis analytics to amateurs.