Australian venture funding, tracked

Georgina Turner signs on as Tidal Ventures partner

Tidal Ventures promotes principal Georgina Turner to Partner, while the early-stage fund continues raising for its third seed fund and plans further team growth.

AirTree joins leading VCs Square Peg and Blackbird in cutting Canva's valuation by a third

Australian venture firms Airtree, Square Peg and Blackbird have written down their Canva stakes, valuing the design company well below its last raise, amid wider market corrections hitting Klarna and other late-stage startups.

Healthtech startup InstantScripts sees valuation jump 10% as Bailador chips in another $5 million

Telehealth platform InstantScripts has taken a $5 million follow-on investment from ASX-listed Bailador, lifting its valuation 10%. The article also recalls a $10.9 million 2021 raise led by Perennial.

Also Startup Daily

Vac to the future: Privacy advocates accuse Amazon of buying Roomba company iRobot for data-gathering abilities

Amazon has agreed to buy vacuum maker iRobot for US$1.7 billion, with privacy and antitrust critics warning the deal would extend the tech giant's household data collection through Roomba mapping technology.

Kinaltek licenses catalyst technology to India

Materials developer Kinaltek has signed an agreement letting UPL Speciality Chemicals use its one-step alloy process for catalyst production in India; its Sydney pilot plant was built with a government grant.

Also @AuManufacturing

Frank Lab names the 10 startups in its new accelerator program

Law firm Hall & Wilcox has selected ten startups for its 2022 Frank Lab accelerator, spanning climate, edutech, fintech and art, offering legal support, office space and ESIC points.

Startup Watch: Hnry - NZ Entrepreneur Magazine

A profile of Hnry, a Wellington-based service automating tax and compliance for self-employed New Zealanders, covering its founders, product, customers, marketing approach and early challenges.

Lab-grown milk start-up raises $25m

Dairy alternative maker All G Foods has raised $25 million, led by UK-based Agronomics, to scale production of its lab-grown milk through precision fermentation.

Also AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Techboard·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing

Logistics software startup GetSwift is dead in Australia, on life support in the US

GetSwift's Australian subsidiary has been put into liquidation with KordaMentha, while its US-listed parent filed for Chapter 11 after court findings over misleading customer deal announcements; earlier ASX listing and raises are recalled.

Also Startup Daily

Heat pump solution to reduce emissions in the poultry industry

ARENA is giving Ground Source Systems a grant to demonstrate a solar-powered ground-source heat pump replacing LPG at a NSW broiler farm, with the University of Melbourne supporting the project's data analysis.

Also ARENA·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing

Perth's isolation no longer a barrier to attracting talent, former Flybuys boss John Merakovsky says

Perth tech platform Orijin Plus has appointed ex-Flybuys chief executive John Merakovsky as chairman, plus a board member and CTO, with the article arguing remote work lets WA startups recruit globally.

Raising Capital from Energy and CleanTech Investors- Tulika Raj from SunGreenH2

Startupbootcamp's energy partner interviews SunGreenH2's co-founder about fundraising strategy, investor communication, and dilution, as the green hydrogen startup raises capital to scale.

Australian-based global fintech Change Financial announces $5.7 million capital raise

Property fund manager acquires 50% stake in NZ proptech company

EGX, tech arm of EG Private Wealth, has bought half of NZ subsurface-mapping firm Reveal and is offering wealthy clients a pre-Series A stake, adding $2 million to its earlier $5.5 million.

Cohesity appoints ex-VMware Sanjay Poonen as CEO

Data management vendor Cohesity has named former VMware executive Sanjay Poonen as its CEO and president, with founder Mohit Aron shifting to a technology and product role while staying on the board.

LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund backed 11 female-led startups in its first year

LaunchVic's sidecar fund for women-led startups has deployed co-investments across eleven companies in year one, with Telecare, Age Up Health and Conserving Beauty named, and targets 60 founders by 2024.

Also Startup Daily·LaunchVic·LaunchVic

Bill Gates leads $US44m funding round to automate and accelerate solar PV construction

Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Prelude Ventures backed Terabase Energy's Series B, with the article also recalling the fund's earlier investment in air conditioning startup Blue Frontier.

CQ company says 1/2-million-dollar grant will help it address construction supply shortages, make 16 hires

A central Queensland engineering firm has received a government manufacturing grant exceeding half a million dollars to buy rollforming machines and software, expand production into residential steel frames and hire sixteen additional staff.

Agtech startup DataFarming plants seeds for $5 million raise

DataFarming cofounder Tim Neale outlines plans for a $5 million Series A via AgriFutures' growAg platform, describing the company's satellite-based farm data tools and growing agritech investor interest.

Introducing Main Sequence's next Superstar

Main Sequence announces Danielle Haj Moussa as a new part-time investment analyst, highlighting her mechatronics degree, University Medal, startup program experience and her co-founding of a tech-for-good community.

Hysata raises $42m after hydrogen breakthrough

Australian hydrogen technology company Hysata has raised over $40 million to fund expansion following a breakthrough in hydrogen development, per an AFR report linked from the publisher's site.

Also RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·Techboard·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·Forbes Australia·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing

Closing the gender investment gap

LaunchVic marks one year of its government-backed Alice Anderson Fund for women-led startups, citing its investments and Telecare's seed round led by Australian Medical Angels.

Medtech startup Splose raises $1 million for Allied Health workers to help more people on the NDIS

Adelaide medtech Splose has raised $1 million for its allied health practice management software serving NDIS providers, having earlier received South Australian government funding, and now plans international expansion.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Stone & Chalk-based Splose raises $1 Million in capital to strengthen NDIS and Allied Health delivery

Splose secured one million Australian dollars to expand its practice management software for allied health providers, aiming to automate administrative tasks and improve NDIS service delivery efficiency.

Digital marketing startup Metigy placed in administration with the loss of 75 jobs

Adtech startup Metigy has entered administration with Cathro & Partners appointed and 75 jobs lost, 20 months after a $20 million Series B; proptech Yabonza also entered administration last week.

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

Kiwi fintech Sugar Wallet turns everyone into an investor in less than 5 minutes

Profile of New Zealand fintech Sugar Wallet, cofounded by Dev Soni and Sophia Ritchie, which simplifies investing for beginners and has joined GD1-backed Phase One incubator, with backing from fintech angel operators.

MCi's new Newcastle office supports CO2 capture

Carbon capture company MCi has opened a Newcastle industrial headquarters and is building a CO2-utilisation demonstration plant on Kooragang Island, backed by a federal government grant of up to $14.6 million.

Also @AuManufacturing

Farmbot startup LYRO Robotics raises $1.5m pre-Series A to solve labour shortages

Queensland robotics company LYRO has raised $1.5 million to scale produce-packing robots, with backing from Artesian/Boab AI, AgFunder and existing backer Toyo Kanetsu.

Also @AuManufacturing·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews

Our Seed Investment In Blinq

Blackbird reflects on its seed backing of Blinq, a Melbourne startup making digital business cards, explaining the viral SaaS product and founder Jarrod Webb's background.

Palisade Impact Reaches First Close For First Fund

Palisade Impact's debut impact fund has held an initial close above $400 million, with money already deployed into Gigacomm and Ecosave and Tideline taking a small stake in the manager.

Palisade Real Assets Acquires Malaby Biogas & Launches BioticNRG

Palisade's real assets arm bought UK anaerobic digestion plant Malaby Biogas outright as the first deal for its new BioticNRG bioenergy platform, with Malaby's managing director joining the firm; a July EMSL purchase is also noted.

Palisade Agrees Sale of Global Renewables Holdings Pty Limited To Cleanaway Waste Management Limited

Palisade Investment Partners and a co-investor have agreed to sell waste treatment firm Global Renewables Holdings to ASX-listed Cleanaway, with completion expected by end of August 2022 and no conditions attached.

CTV Funding News - July 2022

Cut Through Venture's August update rounds up July 2022 Australian startup funding, listing raises from Mx51 to WeMoney, Startmate's newest cohort of twelve, and the beta launch of its investor search tool.

Also Techboard

Yabonza collapses into liquidation as the Aussie tech sector continues to feel the heat

Proptech firm Yabonza has entered liquidation with administrators appointed and creditors owed millions. The piece recalls its past backers and 2020 purchase of Easyshare, plus other local tech collapses and layoffs.

Also Startup Daily

5-year-old proptech Yabonza is the latest startup to hit the wall on funding

Sydney proptech Yabonza has entered administration owing creditors over $2.5 million, with a sale now sought; the piece recalls its convertible note raise, a $9.5 million property fund, and its 2020 acquisition of Easyshare.

Also SmartCompany

Melbourne startup July named as official luggage suppliers for 2022 Australian Commonwealth Games team

Melbourne luggage brand July will supply cases for Australia's 2022 Commonwealth Games team, after a similar Winter Olympics deal. The profile recalls its $10.5 million raise and pandemic-era revenue slump.

How Lisa Vincent is tackling the skills shortage crisis and empowering people in the process

Profile of HowToo co-founder and CEO Lisa Vincent, covering the platform's 2020 launch, its growth, federal grant funding, and backing from three investors.

How Lisa Vincent is tackling the skills shortage crisis and empowering people in the process

Profile of HowToo co-founder and CEO Lisa Vincent, covering her move from agency Savv-e, federal grant funding, three venture backers, and plans to expand the learning platform into the United States.

Australian fintech Cover Genius acquires Booking Protect to expand reach in ticketing and live entertainment market

Insurtech Cover Genius has bought ticket-protection specialist Booking Protect, bringing its partners onto the XCover embedded insurance platform and expanding Cover Genius's ticketing and live entertainment presence.

Spotlight On: Melissa Miller, The Mintable

Blackbird profiles The Mintable co-founder Melissa Miller, who recounts volunteering in the Peace Corps, operations roles at Gusto, founding with Lauren Humphrey, fundraising while pregnant, and working across distant time zones.

3 Australian impact startups named in real estate industry-backed global challenge to improve ESG

Taronga Ventures' ESG Impact program has picked twelve startups for its 2022 intake from more than 220 applications, with Australian companies Bardee, BindiMaps and SiteHive among those chosen to advance sustainability in property.

Maker of Australia’s unapproved vaccine blames ‘new world order’ for setbacks

Crikey reports that the designer of an unapproved Australian COVID-19 vaccine, who earlier gathered a million dollars in donations, is now asking for further money while airing conspiracy theories about his project's setbacks.

Advanced Digital Lender With Over $600K MRR and 10,000+ Issued Loans

Digital lender Nectar has opened its Series A round to fund loan-book growth and processing automation, with half a million dollars already committed by current shareholders.

Australian Sentinel uses Innovation grant to bring Sydney Ferries onto 5G

Managed service provider Australian Sentinel received federal 5G Innovation Initiative grant funding supporting a 5G rollout with ferry operator Transdev Sydney Ferries using Cradlepoint routers for CCTV and passenger services.

Poolwerx announces latest strategic partnership to drive global expansion

Australian pool-service franchisor Poolwerx has brought in Ellerston Capital as a growth backer to support local and overseas expansion, joining the manager's private assets portfolio, building on an earlier tie-up with Norwest.

10 promising climate change startups in the new EnergyLab accelerator program

EnergyLab's 2022 Climate Solutions Accelerator has taken ten Australian climate tech startups into its six-month program, backed by $750,000 in total pre-seed funding from angel investors, half again more than the prior year.

Pure Battery Technologies progresses battery materials hub

A battery materials maker has engaged an engineering firm to run feasibility work on its planned Kalgoorlie refinery hub, a project earlier awarded a large federal manufacturing grant and pursued with a nickel miner.

Task automation platform Servicely raises $1.2 million for international ambitions

Servicely, a low-code AI service management platform, has raised its first external funding of $1.2 million from unnamed wealthy individuals and a family office, to fund product development, overseas expansion and sales.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Henkel takes stake in recycled wood innovator 3RT

Henkel's venture arm has invested an undisclosed sum in Australian recycled-timber company 3RT, whose founders include Flinders University academics. 3RT also recently received an Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre commercialisation grant.

Also @AuManufacturing

E-commerce platform Local Threads lands $500,000 pre-seed round

Melbourne startup Local Threads secured pre-seed backing led by EMQ's Dr Qin Ding with angel support, to build a shopping platform letting customers own and monetise their data.