The Iconic

The Iconic adds Vonne Lombard to marketing leadership team

💫 Ramplify: April Architect

Rampersand's April newsletter: an essay on AI services startups, model releases from Anthropic and Meta, Firmus Technologies' $505 million raise, Dexibit's sale to accesso, plus portfolio jobs, events and market commentary.

Also Dealroom

💫 Ramplify: December Details

Rampersand's December newsletter leads with its $2m pre-seed investment in Cor, maker of the Obi AI avatar coach, plus trend retrospectives, tech news, portfolio updates, community events and a job ad.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Australian LegalTech Startup Plexus Raised $6M

A legal automation software company has raised more than six million dollars from existing shareholders and a Seattle-based non-dilutive lender, its first institutional backing, to fund international growth and AI product development.

Plexus secures $6 million to accelerate AI-driven growth strategy

Legal AI platform Plexus has raised more than $6 million, led by existing shareholders alongside Seattle lender Lighter Capital, its first institutional backer, to speed international growth, AI product delivery and hiring.

Over $1 million pledged to Australian women-led businesses at Sister Pitch 2024

Global Sisters' Sister Pitch event with Dentsu steered $1m-plus to a dozen Australian ventures led by women; GTAB Parfum, Soni Health and Chocolate On Purpose were standouts, and Google.org funded a 2023 pilot.

Smart50 alumni Cashrewards acquires Little Birdie

Cashrewards has bought Little Birdie, the deals startup backed by Commonwealth Bank that went quiet in May; the piece also recalls Cashrewards' 2017 Smart50 nod, 2020 ASX float, and later takeover by 1835i Ventures.

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

Runway May 24: The 7 startups revealing venture raises this week

Weekly roundup covering seven ANZ startup raises — Bare Funerals, Humii, WeMoney, CLT Toolbox, Clean Slate Clinic, SpatialGPT and Great Wrap — plus LaunchVic's $900,000 into Paul Little's Skalata fund.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Investment Notes: Hatch

Jelix Ventures explains why it joined Hatch's December 2023 funding round, citing the founders' track record, an AI job-matching product, strong customer feedback and a large addressable market.

Why We Invested in Hatch

Aura Ventures explains its seed investment in Hatch, an Australian jobs marketplace for young professionals co-founded by Adam Jacobs and Chaz Heitner, alongside Rampersand, Investible, Jelix Ventures and Alberts.

Also Alberts Impact Ventures portfolio·Aura Group portfolio·Startup Daily·Early VC·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

Eight Aussie startups that raised $81.5 million this week

Roundup of eight local raises totalling roughly $81.5 million: generative AI, sustainable packaging, VR medical training, optical radar, drinks, preventive health and wholesale retail software.

Also Ten13·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Fashion deals startup Her Black Book rebrands as Wrapd after raising $1.8 million

Twin sisters Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanja have rebranded their bargain-finding app Her Black Book as Wrapd, rolled out a browser version, and raised $1.8 million from returning plus four fresh backers.

Also SmartCompany

Trash and treasure: RecycleSmart raises $1 million to bring doorstep recycling pick-up nationwide

Sydney doorstep recycling pickup service RecycleSmart closed an equity crowdfunding campaign on the Birchal platform, collecting just over a million dollars from 965 backers to fund a national rollout beginning with Melbourne.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Employment Hero creates ‘super app’ with AI recruitment tools and auto-generated job descriptions for SMEs

HR and payroll platform Employment Hero has launched Swag, an app adding an AI-powered jobs board, auto-generated job descriptions and employee benefits to its existing small-business tools.

‘Game-changer’: Aussie HR unicorn takes on Seek with latest AI play

Employment Hero has launched Swag, an AI-powered hiring superapp for small businesses offering job drafting, candidate matching and employee benefits, putting it in competition with its own backer SEEK.

We invested in bra tech startup The OneTwo to build a virtuous cycle for women-led businesses

Guest post by Anna Mackenzie explaining why she and Caitlin, through lady-brains, backed bra tech startup The OneTwo, and urging more women to become angel investors.

Meet the Aussie entrepreneurs putting an end to uncomfortable bras

Lingerie startup The OneTwo has launched an online bra-fitting platform, founded by Margot Balch and Maria Golushko, backed by Antler and angel investors, aiming to solve badly fitting bras for Australian women.

Meet the Aussie entrepreneurs putting an end to uncomfortable bras

Profile of lingerie startup The OneTwo, which has launched an online bra-sizing platform. Co-founders Margot Balch and Maria Golushko describe the venture, a Kickstarter sales campaign, and backing from Antler Venture Capital and angel investors.

Female-led startup The OneTwo launches its tech solution for bad bras

A launch profile of custom-bra fitting startup The OneTwo, covering its fitting algorithm, sustainability angle, and social mission, and noting earlier backing from Antler and industry angels.

Archangel Ventures - 2022: Year in Review

Archangel Ventures' annual review recounts closing its second fund above $32 million, passing $10 million invested in Australian startups, and portfolio raises by Aerotruth, Bare, Trendspek, Pearler and Vively during 2022.

All-in-one online shopping app Sortd takes home $1.26 million in pre-Seed cash

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia

The best way to achieve great scale according to Quad Lock co-founder Rob Ward? Step aside

Quad Lock co-founder Rob Ward hands the CEO role to former Nike executive Andrew Poole, becoming chief growth officer, as the Melbourne phone-mount maker marks ten years and passes $100 million in sales.

Also SmartCompany

Our investment in Vouch

OIF Ventures' note explains why the fund co-led an $8m seed round in video-testimonial software maker Vouch with US-based Stage 2 Capital, profiling the product, founders and go-to-market model.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

FinTech Archa closes $24 million funding round backed by high profile investors

Corporate-card fintech Archa closed a $24 million pre-Series A round of debt and equity led by Wisr's Anthony Nantes, and secured a new institutional debt facility from Roadnight Capital.

Also Techboard