Uber Eats

Blobfish appoints former Coca-Cola executive to spearhead US expansion in $4b sampling market

Behavioural intelligence firm Flowing Bee appoints Jonny Hanratty as head of applied research

Melbourne behavioural-intelligence startup Flowing Bee hires Jonny Hanratty from The Lab to lead applied research and strategy amid rapid growth; named backers include Archangel Ventures, Antler and LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund.

Construction tech startup Veyor builds $10.6 million Series A

Sydney construction logistics software firm Veyor has banked US$7.5 million in Series A money, with Marbruck Investments leading and CoAct, Investible and SpringCapital taking part; CEO Richard Fifita is relocating stateside.

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Did nobody say Menulog? Pioneering Australia food delivery service shuts after 19 years

Menulog, the Sydney-founded food delivery pioneer, shuts down this month under owner Just Eat Takeaway, recently acquired by Prosus; the article recalls its 2015 merger and sale and a string of failed delivery rivals.

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StrongRoom sells for $3 million – and now the games begin

Healthtech firm StrongRoom AI sold to pharmacy operator Joe Zhou for $3 million via administrators, while backer EVP litigates to recoup $10.4 million after the startup's collapse following a March raise.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·AFR Technology

Catch: A business timeline, in their words

Retrospective timeline of Catch's journey from its 2006 launch through Tiger Global's investment, the Menulog and Luxury Escapes deals and Wesfarmers' $230 million acquisition, to Wesfarmers' announced wind-down.

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The Week in AgriFoodTech: Blue Stripes, Nukoko land rounds for alt chocolate, OroraTech snags deal for wildfire detection

Roundup of agrifoodtech news: alternative-chocolate funding for Blue Stripes and Nukoko, new capital for OroraTech and other climate startups, an Australian plant-based firm's liquidation and sale, executive moves, and a forest fund's first close.

Hola Health secures $4.5 million to slash wait times with on-demand telehealth

Perth telehealth firm Hola Health has banked $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by M8 Ventures with FundWA and angels; M8 partner Emily Rich takes a Hola Health board seat.

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M8 Ventures returns to lead $4.5m pre-Series A for medtech startup Hola Health

Hola Health, a Perth-based on-demand telehealth and pharmacy delivery provider, has banked $4.5 million at pre-Series A with M8 Ventures heading the round, FundWA and angels also in; Emily Rich joins the board.

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Paine Schwartz launches $1.7bn agrifood fund, Cricket One unveils new plant, Infarm ‘declared bankrupt’

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup: Paine Schwartz closes its $1.7bn food-and-ag fund; several seed and Series A rounds; Tangelo acquires Diet ID; Infarm declared bankrupt; layoffs and partnerships across the sector.

‘Pay in advance’ fintech Paylab enters voluntary administration with trading future up in the air

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Aphea.Bio scores $78m for biologicals, Do Good Foods files Ch. 11, Chipotle’s avocado robots

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting numerous funding rounds including Aphea.Bio, Bobbie and Sensand, a Coca-Cola-backed venture fund close, Do Good Foods' bankruptcy filing, and The Andersons acquiring Bridge Agri Partners.

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The Week in AgriFoodTech: Neat Burger raises $18m, Debut bags $34m to expand cell-free biomanufacturing platform

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup covering several raises including Neat Burger, Debut and Earthodic, Woolworths buying delivery startup Milkrun, and shutdowns at Anuvia Plant Nutrients and Made By Cow.

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.

“It f*cking rocks and this sucks”: Gourmet ready-meal service CoLab calls in the administrators

Ready-meal platform CoLab has entered voluntary administration after a financing round collapsed, with EY partners appointed; the piece also recalls failures across Australian food delivery, including Deliveroo Australia, Voly, Send and Quicko.

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How this founder built a 40-person startup while 6,000km away from her team: A chat with Clare from bluesheets

Investible interviews bluesheets co-founder Clare Leighton about building the financial-automation company remotely from her co-founder, her earlier roles at Uber and DishDash, and its growth and partnerships.

Marketing tech startup Livewire bags $4.7 million Series A

Sydney gaming marketing company Livewire has raised a $4.7 million Series A led by Matt Berriman's new fund RealVC, with several individual and strategic backers, to scale headcount and expand globally.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Investment Notes: Blinq $5m Seed

Square Peg explains why it invested in Blinq's five million dollar seed round alongside Blackbird, describing the digital contact-sharing product and founder Jarrod Webb's background.

Also TechCrunch Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany