Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Accelerator · 16 deals

Y Combinator

San Francisco, OS

Coverage

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

3 deals

Space monitoring startup scores NRF backing in $37 million Series B

Beaten Zone Venture Partners led a US$25 million Series B in HEO Robotics, which images other spacecraft, with the NRFC contributing $10 million; the piece also recalls earlier Series A and seed rounds.

Funding announcement

Bower raises $2M to bring ambient intelligence to the research lab

Bower, an Australian startup, has closed a $2 million pre-seed round led by TEN13 with Admiralty Capital Group, Edale Capital and angel backers, funding ambient AI that captures laboratory work as structured research records.

Funding announcement

This Week in Australian Startups #174, 16th August 2026

Australian startups raised funds including Alloy Robotics, Farmbot and Atmo Biosciences. Firmus Technologies acquired Benmax while Tabcorp bought BetMakers. SafetyCulture rebranded to Mitti.

11 deals

Seven ANZ startups that raised $71.8 million this week

Weekly roundup covering seven raises across the Tasman: Phonely's Series A, Pay.com.au's private placement, and rounds for Atomic Tessellator, Caruso, Deteqt, Clean Slate Clinic and Earthletica, worth roughly $72 million combined.

Also crane.vc

8 deals

Seven ANZ startups that raised $17 million this week

Weekly roundup of seven Australian and New Zealand startup raises totalling $17 million, including two startups entering Y Combinator, plus a new QuantX Labs board director and SmartrMail's earlier sale to Relay Commerce.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Accelerator

The Brisbane start-up tackling the “tech tax” on food

FaBA profiles Pollinate, a Brisbane startup founded by Adeep Mitra and Corey Berther that uses AI to automate food supply chain workflows, tracing its path from a university food challenge to Y Combinator backing.

Also Business News Australia

14 deals

AgriFood Signals: SAP & Syngenta partner, BASF buys biocontrol startup, Microsoft's record deal with Indigo

Weekly agtech and foodtech roundup: several startup raises, BASF's purchase of AgBiTech, three new funds, a Bühler CEO appointment, Microsoft carbon-credit deals, and company shutdowns.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Pre-seed $1.2m

This 19-year-old CEO just raised $1.2m to automate one of farming's toughest jobs

GrazeMate, a cattle-mustering drone startup founded by 19-year-old Sam Rogers, has raised $1.2m in a pre-seed round led by Y Combinator, with NextGen Ventures, Antler and Meat & Livestock Australia also taking part.

Also AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Funding announcement

Slow and steady or fast and furious: Different pathways to commercialisation

Radium Capital article contrasts two aviation founders: Stralis Aircraft raised venture capital through Y Combinator, grants and R&D lending, while V-TOL Aerospace bootstrapped for two decades before sharing a federal grant.

6 deals

The IPO Market Is Opening Up. These 14 Companies Could Be Next.

Crunchbase News profiles 14 venture-backed companies its predictive models flag as likely IPO candidates, from Stripe to Sierra Space, recapping their funding histories, valuations and financial milestones.

Seed $3.5m

Investment Notes: Index

Blackbird's investment note explains why it led Index's A$3.5 million seed round with Bain Capital Ventures, Y Combinator and industry angels, profiling the planning platform built by two former Canva and Atlassian staff.

Also Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

3 deals

Three Aussie startups that raised $21.1 million this week

Roundup of three Australian raises: telehealth player Updoc landed $20m from listed investor Bailador, AI receptionist builder Phonely joined Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch with US$500k, and Citizen Wolf crowdfunded over $380,000 via Birchal.

Also Startup Daily

15 deals

AI, Web3 And E-Commerce Led For New Unicorns In April 2024

Eleven companies reached billion-dollar valuations in April 2024, led by Xaira Therapeutics' $1 billion Series A; Rubrik and Ibotta listed on the NYSE, and several existing unicorns raised at higher valuations.

Also Crunchbase News

Unnamed stage

2023 in Review 💫

Ten13's year-end post recaps nine new portfolio additions, follow-on support for existing holdings, the Mr Yum and Me&U merger, Go1's Blinkist acquisition, Smileyscope's FDA clearance, and community events.

Also Ten13·OIF Ventures portfolio·TechCrunch Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Funding announcement

Queensland is backing 5 accelerators, including Farmers2Founders & Energylab, to help 100s of startups get VC-ready

Queensland's QVCDF, managed by QIC, will fund five accelerator programs to ready over 160 local startups for venture capital investment across two years.

3 deals

Three Aussie entrepreneurs to watch

Profiles three founders: Kismet's Mark Woodland ($4m pre-seed for disability-services software), Forage's Tom Brumskill and Pasha Rayan (job-simulation platform, Series A and B), and Diolog's Amy Benson (self-funded investor-communications startup planning a seed round).

Also Startup Daily

8 deals

Four Aussie startups that raised $38.4 million this week

Weekly roundup covering fresh raises by four Australian startups: Ignition's banking facility, HEO Robotics' Series A, Laronix's seed round and Haast's pre-seed, plus a past ACT grant.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Wholesale Investor

3 deals

Satellite inspection startup raises $12 million Series A

Sydney spacetech firm HEO Robotics has closed a $12m Series A led by AirTree Ventures, with Salus, In-Q-Tel, Y Combinator and angels also in, as federal cutbacks hit Australian space programs.

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

8 deals

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.

Pre-seed

BLAST OIF | Edition VI

OIF Ventures' newsletter announces leading Nullify's pre-seed round, two investment team hires, portfolio company awards and product launches, and Go1's acquisition of Anders Pink.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Funding announcement

Melt Ventures launches $20 million Advanced Manufacturing Venture Fund

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.

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