Australian venture funding, tracked

Canva’s big backers slash $10b from software giant amid AI pivot

Blackbird Ventures and Airtree reduced Canva's valuation by ten billion dollars as the design platform faces challenges integrating artificial intelligence tools.

Canva investors wipe $10b from valuation

Blackbird and Airtree have marked down their Canva holdings by a combined figure above $10 billion, exceeded by Canva's own internal write-down, after the company lowered its growth outlook on rising AI costs.

Pepperstone appoints Nigel Fernandes as Chief Technology Officer

Online trading firm Pepperstone has hired Xero engineering leader Nigel Fernandes as its new technology chief, to oversee engineering, architecture, security and data worldwide from its Melbourne base.

Lextech appoints Mark Humphries as Chief Product & Technology Officer

Mortgage law firm Lextech has named a long-serving Computershare technology leader as its new product and technology chief, as the firm pushes an AI-native platform strategy for Australian lenders.

Big, four-hour battery that survived long-distance objectors hits financial close, moves to construction

Acenergy's 250 MW Yanco battery in NSW has been bought by UK-based BW ESS and has secured financing, with construction due to begin this year and operations targeted for 2028; CATL is system integrator.

Also RenewEconomy

Veteran agtech Farmbot digs up $22 million Series B for US push

Livestock water monitoring company Farmbot, founded in Sydney, has raised a $22 million Series B led by Lewis & Clark Partners to fund US expansion and a corporate restructuring into a Delaware parent.

Also inforcapital.com·inforcapital.com·SmartCompany·raising.fi·ontargetish.com·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily

Queensland Minister for Primary Industries Visits Nbryo committing to a $2 million investment | 11 August 2026

Queensland's agriculture minister toured Nbryo's Brisbane lab, with a state-backed fund committing $2 million to the cattle-genetics company; the page also recalls earlier $10 million and $8 million closes.

Why long-horizon innovation needs more than good ideas

An analysis of what Australian long-horizon research commercialisation requires, citing Gilmour Space, Cochlear and BluGlass as illustrations of patient capital and ecosystem support needs.

Brandon BioCatalyst's CUREator+ distributes $13.5M in grants

Six Australian biomedical and health ventures receive a combined $13.5 million in non-dilutive grants through round two of the CUREator+ commercialisation program operated by Brandon BioCatalyst and backed by the Medical Research Future Fund.

Also Dealroom

PM Capital's global fund raises A$221M in upsized placement

ASX-listed PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund raised about A$221 million through a share issue priced at A$3.07, with a shareholder purchase plan to follow; its chair expects greater scale and liquidity.

Critical Infrastructure arranges C$1M placement in quick re-raise

RLF AgTech raises AUD 3.9M to fund Australian growth push

Australia's Visaible raises $1M to help hotels win AI bookings

Hotel-tech startup Visaible has raised roughly A$1 million in an early-stage round to expand a platform that tracks how AI assistants recommend hotels and turns that visibility into direct bookings.

Canadian pensions giant PSP cooks up bid for Inghams

PSP Investments has engaged Barrenjoey Capital Partners as it prepares a possible takeover proposal for ASX-listed poultry company Inghams, but has not yet approached the board chaired by Helen Nash.

Centuria-backed ResetData secures AI data centre capacity

ResetData, half-owned by Centuria, has lined up data centre capacity from CDC, secured 72MW of power, and locked in $165m of Macquarie debt for GPU deployment.

AgriFood Signals: Ranch tech startup Ranchbot nets $15m, Target hires chief AI officer, plant cell culture megadeal

AgFunderNews roundup of agrifood funding raises, executive appointments, shutdowns and partnerships, including Ranchbot's Series B, ClimateAi and Cultimate shutting down, and Novonesis seeking sole control of MicroBioGen.

CUREator+ backs six Australian startups with $13.5 million to advance new health technologies

Six Australian health tech startups received a combined $13.5 million in non-dilutive funding from the CUREator+ program, supported by the Australian Government.

Our Investment in Bower | The AI Research Partner for Scientists

Ten13 led Bower's A$2m pre-seed round for a voice-first AI assistant that helps scientists capture lab observations hands-free, founded by a four-person team with backgrounds at Microsoft, Google and Atlassian.

Also Startup Daily

Bids for unicorn Employment Hero test $2b value in Seek sell-off

Bids for Seek's stake in HR software firm Employment Hero point to a resilient valuation, while Seek prepares to hand shareholders proceeds from selling a billion dollars of startup holdings.

Australia’s ADHD system made him ‘snap’. Now he’s raised millions to build a new one

Zac Altman’s ADHD telehealth startup Kantoko has secured $3.5 million in a Side Stage Ventures-led seed round, with Andrew Forrest’s Tenmile and Go1’s founders investing; the article also recalls his earlier ventures’ sales.

Also Dealroom·Startup Daily·Business News Australia·SmartCompany·ontargetish.com

Six Australian startup health innovators awarded $13.5 million through CUREator+ to accelerate breakthrough medical therapies and technologies.

CUREator+ granted thirteen point five million dollars in non-dilutive funding to six Australian health tech startups to support commercialisation of medical innovations.

BioScout raises A$6.75 million to take its agricultural technology global.

Uniseed announces portfolio company BioScout's A$6.75 million round co-led by Demea Sustainable Investment and Astanor to scale its crop disease sensor network internationally.

The Big 3 VCs back robot testing startup’s $11.5 million Seed raise

Robot data analysis startup Alloy Robotics has raised $11.5 million in a seed round led by Square Peg, with Blackbird and Airtree participating, less than a year after a $4.5 million pre-seed.

Also SmartCompany·ontargetish.com·Cut Through Venture

Australian Business Growth Fund doubles first cheque size to $30 million

The government-backed growth fund has doubled its largest first-investment size to $30m and may now take majority stakes; it also invested an undisclosed multimillion sum in defence manufacturer Griffin Industrial Group.

Zepto appoints Emily Curlewis as General Manager, Commercial

Zepto has promoted Emily Curlewis to General Manager, Commercial, heading sales, relationships and marketing after more than four years at the Australian payments company; she earlier held senior roles at PayPal and Atturra.

HazardCo buys Gtee to extend compliance from site to handover

Safety software firm HazardCo has bought Gtee, which handles post-handover compliance for builders, adding defect and warranty tools across Australia and New Zealand; price undisclosed.

Ex-Altium chairman Sam Weiss cornerstones $2.8M Pathkey.AI raise

ASX-listed Pathkey.AI has completed a A$2.8 million placement anchored by former Altium chairman Sam Weiss, who becomes a strategic advisor as the company advances its Chipforge chip-design automation technology.

Defence drone manufacturer Innovaero lodges prospectus with ASIC ahead of initial public offering

A Perth-based maker of military drones has lodged listing paperwork with the corporate regulator ahead of a planned sharemarket float; its current Defence Force munitions contract is worth $24.2 million.

News and Announcements

Wholesale Investor's news listing spanning Australian private capital: deep-tech and biotech company profiles, property and crypto commentary, Q1 2026 venture funding totals, and guides to wholesale investor qualification.

Me&u takes on American Express and DoorDash as it eyes first profitable year

Me&u launches a new AI-powered reservations platform to compete with Resy and SevenRooms, targeting profitability in 2026 after merging with Mr Yum.

Rising Australian AI start-up star set to seal $1b ‘unicorn’ status

Heidi Health is negotiating a funding round exceeding 100 million dollars that would value the medical AI company at over one billion dollars.

Also Dealroom·Forbes Australia·Dealroom·Dynamic Business·Mirage News

Cattle producers set to gain from targeted genetics tech investment

Queensland's government has put $2 million into Nbryo, a Brisbane cattle-breeding technology startup, the first investment from its new $30 million farm innovation fund, which QIC manages.

Also Dealroom·Startup Daily

SafetyCulture has a new name – and an insurance bet to match

SafetyCulture, an Australian unicorn selling workplace-safety software, has rebranded as Mitti. Luke Anear, who founded it, is chief executive again, and insurance plus AI now anchor its growth plans.

Investor behind Amber Electric hits $10 million under management, milestone for new fund

Climate tech fund manager Impact Ventures has passed $10m under management and taken its follow-on vehicle to a first close; its portfolio spans Amber Electric, Orkestra and Infravision.

Investor behind Amber Electric hits $10 million under management, milestone for new fund

Sydney early-stage climate tech backer Impact Ventures says it now manages $10 million and has completed the first close on its follow-on vehicle, which will keep backing its maturing portfolio companies.

WA government delivers $1.275 million in grants to 26 startups

Western Australia's government has awarded Round 8 Innovation Booster Grants totalling nearly $1.27 million across 26 startups, including Indigenous-founded, female-founded and regional founders, funding early-stage projects from health and agriculture to space.

Also Startup News (WA)

Advantai Group strengthens leadership team with two senior appointments

Australian telco enablement group Advantai hires Ben Dobbin as Prvidr's COO and Julian Dell as Staqr's CTO, effective immediately, as it scales across the Trans-Tasman telecommunications market.

ACE Kinetics receives a 50,000 AUD Western Australian government grant

WA's government granted ACE Kinetics 50,000 AUD to prototype its Orbital Gearmotor motor-gear system, one of 26 early-stage ventures sharing a 1.275 million AUD grant pool spanning robotics, farming, health and Indigenous enterprises.

Also Startup Daily·Startup News (WA)

Group48 buys accessories distributor Vimwood to widen its brand portfolio

Alloy raises $8M seed to help engineers debug robot fleets with AI

Robotics AI startup Alloy has banked an $8m seed at an $80m valuation, led by Square Peg with Blackbird, Airtree and Skip Capital back again; funds earmarked for engineering hires and growth in the US.

One Kidney lands A$50K WA grant to advance artificial kidney work

Western Australia's eighth Innovation Booster round granted One Kidney and Open Ocean Exchange A$50,000 each, within A$1.27 million shared across 26 early-stage recipients, supporting work from an artificial kidney to farm trade infrastructure.

Also Startup Daily·Startup News (WA)

GMEX moves to buy 30% of AI firm MediaMeta.Ai to add “social intelligence” to robots

Sydney robotics maker GMEX has agreed to buy an initial 30% stake in AI firm MediaMeta.Ai, hired a president for its US operations, and signed a preliminary, non-binding deal with a California sensing company.

Hanwha bids up to $1.2B for Austal's US shipbuilding arm

Hanwha of South Korea has tabled an early, non-binding bid for the American shipbuilding business of Australia's Austal, leaving out its Australian, Philippine and Vietnamese units; a four-week diligence window follows.

Hanwha Group pitches preliminary offer for Austal's US operations

Hanwha's US subsidiary has made an indicative offer of US$1.05–1.20 billion for Austal's American business; the target's board approved a four-week due diligence window, with the proposal excluding its home-market operations.

Queensland announces funding for Craig International Ballistics body armour production

Queensland's government will grant over $500,000 to Gold Coast armour maker Craig International Ballistics from its Sovereign Industry Development Fund, expanding hard armour plate output and creating 47 jobs by late 2027.

Brookfield Asset Management's Record Capital Raise

Brookfield Asset Management gathered $77 billion in second-quarter commitments across private equity and infrastructure, with an initial close on its AI infrastructure vehicle, and completed its takeover of credit manager Oaktree.

SafetyCulture has a new name – and an insurance bet to match

Forbes Australia reports the workplace-safety unicorn's new name and its expanding insurance arm, with founder Luke Anear back as chief executive.

Soul Patts-backed Leading Edge Data Centres seeks growth capital

Street Talk reports the Sydney-based regional data centre operator, whose backers include DigitalBridge and Soul Patts, is seeking growth funding and has shifted focus toward the neocloud market, with Newcastle expansion plans.

Our investment in Zabidou: Giving heavy industry eyes it can finally afford

Main Sequence announces a follow-on seed investment in Zabidou, an industrial vision-systems startup it earlier backed at pre-seed, and recalls its previous backing of founder Cibby Pulikkaseril's LiDAR company Baraja.

Also Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·This Week in Australian Startups

Tabcorp strikes $283m deal to acquire racing technology group BetMakers

Tabcorp has agreed a $283 million takeover of BetMakers, a Melbourne-based racing technology provider, in a cash-and-scrip deal the target's board unanimously backs, pending shareholder, court and regulator approvals.