VC firm blog
Everything we hold that Startmate published.
Every article we hold from Startmate.
Startmate unveils its incoming Winter '26 accelerator intake, profiling AI, aerospace, legal tech, construction and healthcare startups founded across Australian cities, with others based in San Francisco and Christchurch.
Clinara founders discuss building an AI tool that transcribes consultations and coaches aesthetic clinic staff, ahead of a planned pre-seed angel round.
Profile of Sally Wood, whose venture Kinrest is developing a screen-free device that helps children wind down for sleep, built on customer testing after she joined Startmate's Launch Club.
Interview with Minh Cung about Hyperlocalise, which builds AI agents that adapt marketing and product content for new language markets while keeping cultural context intact; a Launch Club alumnus seeking a co-founder and capital.
Startmate profiles Brainwaves, which builds strategy software for marketing teams, ahead of its Demo Day pitch, covering the founding team, early revenue and enterprise traction.
Profile of Zabidou, which builds laser-based AI vision systems for factory inspection without stopping production, led by a Baraja co-founder; invites readers to its upcoming Demo Day pitch night.
Founders Anthony See and Jason Hor built FlowGo, an AI agent embedding into WhatsApp and email to automate B2B order processing for suppliers, partnering with platforms like Food Market Hub and Pracbiz.
Profile of iBnk, a payments startup using stablecoin and banking rails to move money across borders in minutes, telling its founders' origin stories and inviting readers to its upcoming Demo Day pitch.
Startmate reflects on a decade of backing founders, profiling breakout alumni across its cohorts and describing how its mentors reinvest in newer startups, alongside its fund model and returns.
Profile of Turnto founder Jessica Dove London, who built a health-information platform after her son's rare cerebral palsy diagnosis; the startup has secured $1.1 million pre-seed from angel and fund backers.
Deals recorded from Startmate's coverage. A round is listed once, however many of their articles mention it.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zabidou | Accelerator | 19 Feb 2026 | - | |
| Brainwaves | Accelerator | 19 Feb 2026 | - | |
| Mindset Health | Accelerator | 14 Mar 2024 | - | |
| Edrolo | Accelerator | 14 Mar 2024 | - | |
| Sicona | Accelerator | 4 Apr 2023 | - | |
| Lyrebird | Accelerator | 2023 | - | |
| Uluu | Accelerator | 2021 | $1.8m | |
| Vertus Energy | Accelerator | 2021 | - | |
| Heaps Normal | Accelerator | Nov 2020 | $1.3m | |
| Swoop Aero | Accelerator | 2018 | - | |
| Morse Micro | Accelerator | 2017 | - | |
| Amber | Accelerator | 2017 | - | |
| Sitemate | Accelerator | 2017 | - | |
| Bugcrowd | Accelerator | 2013 | - | |
| UpGuard | Accelerator | 2012 | - | |
| AirRobe | Accelerator | undated | - |
Companies named in Startmate's articles, most-covered first.
| Company | What it does | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Startmate | Early-stage investment and mentorship for founders | 7 |
| Blackbird Ventures | 4 | |
| Canva | Online design and visual communication platform | 3 |
| Carriageworks | 2 | |
| Hyperlocalise | AI agents that adapt marketing, product and business content across languages while prese… | 2 |
| 5B | 1 | |
| Adore Beauty | 1 | |
| AirRobe | 1 | |
| Amber | 1 | |
| Ansight | Ansight connects coding agents to live apps so they can inspect, debug, and verify their … | 1 |
| Antares Aerospace | Reusable launch vehicles for dedicated small satellite missions | 1 |
| Atlassian | Australian software company referenced as Accel's earlier investment. | 1 |
| Baraja | Developer of advanced LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicles | 1 |
| Brainwaves | AI platform for brand strategy and creative direction | 1 |
| BrandViz.AI | Software optimizing brand visibility in AI search engines | 1 |
| Bugcrowd | Cybersecurity firm | 1 |
| Comet CX | Tech consultancy co-founded by Rob Scott | 1 |
| CultureAmp | 1 | |
| Edrolo | 1 | |
| EstiMate | AI software for construction estimating and quantity takeoffs | 1 |
| Euronews | European news media organisation | 1 |
| FlowGo | AI agent that structures WhatsApp/email orders and injects them into suppliers' ERP syste… | 1 |
| Forward | Forward sources borrowers globally, structures their documents, and matches them to the b… | 1 |
| Technology company operator of Firebase, referenced as comparison | 1 | |
| Google Maps | 1 | |
| Great Wrap | Makes compostable cling wrap out of potato peels and food waste | 1 |
| Heaps Normal | Non-alcoholic beer company | 1 |
| Heidi Health | Australian HealthTech company | 1 |
| Luxury Escapes | 1 | |
| Lyrebird | 1 | |
| McAfee | 1 | |
| Microsoft | 1 | |
| Mindset Health | 1 | |
| Morse Micro | Hardware/Robotics/IoT company | 1 |
| Mr Yum | Digital ordering and hospitality technology company | 1 |
| Pepsi | 1 | |
| Propeller | 1 | |
| Publicis | Global marketing and advertising company | 1 |
| Red-Point | 1 | |
| RedPoint | software group | 1 |
| Samsung | 1 | |
| SecurityBreak | SecurityBreak is the AI Threat Intelligence company that helps organisations detect, inve… | 1 |
| Sicona | 1 | |
| Sitemate | No code software platforms for built world companies | 1 |
| Swoop Aero | autonomous solutions | 1 |
| Tailor | Tailor uses AI to cut multi-stakeholder document approvals from weeks to days - automatin… | 1 |
| Try Turnto | 1 | |
| Tyro Payments | 1 | |
| Uluu | Deep tech startup making biodegradable plastic alternatives from seaweed-derived PHA | 1 |
| UpGuard | Cybersecurity firm providing AI-powered cyber risk posture management | 1 |
| Vertus Energy | Develops green fuel products | 1 |
| WORK180 | 1 | |
| Workyard | 1 | |
| Xero | 1 | |
| Zabidou | AI computer vision for automated industrial robotics QA | 1 |
Investors named in Startmate's articles, most-covered first.
| Investor | What it does | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Afterwork Ventures | 1 | |
| Co Ventures | Pre-seed venture fund for Australian software founders | 1 |
| LUXEM Ventures | 1 | |
| Radar Ventures | Venture fund backing early-stage deep tech companies | 1 |