Australian venture funding, tracked

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Local Bounti lands $145m, Momofuku Goods bags $17.5m, Vow's 'mammoth' meatball

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting funding for Momofuku Goods, STEER, Cauldron, EV Biotech, Extracellular, Quisto, Local Bounti and Agreena, the shutdown of New Age Eats, and partnership and product news including Vow's mammoth meatball.

Also AgFunderNews

Savic holds funding round ahead of production, planned exports

Electric motorcycle maker Savic is extending a crowdfunding raise via Equitise ahead of C-Series production; the article recalls a $3 million equity round led by Artesian and government grant funding.

Hatch Quarter started here

Profile of Aiman Hamdouna, whose startup support network Hatch Quarter received a LaunchVic grant in 2017 and now partners with LaunchVic to help Victorian founders.

Zip divests European and South African businesses, continues wind-down of its Middle East operations

Buy-now-pay-later provider Zip has agreed to sell its European unit Twisto and South African business Payflex, expecting roughly $20 million in net cash inflows while winding down its Middle East operations.

AirRobe started here

LaunchVic case study profiling AirRobe founder Hannon Comazzetto, whose circular fashion platform went through the Startmate program before she relocated to San Francisco to pursue global growth.

Cauldron raises $7m to expand precision fermentation platform using 'smaller, smarter, cheaper' continuous process

Also SmartCompany·Women's Agenda·@AuManufacturing·SmartCompany

VR firefighting startup raises $6.7 million to support expansion, plans to hire 25

FLAIM Systems, a VR firefighter training company, announced a Series A led by Breakthrough Victoria, with Deakin University and others participating, funding expansion, R&D and planned hires.

Also SmartCompany

$3.2 million in grants awarded to defence industry SMEs

Australia's federal government awarded roughly $3.2 million in matched grants across two defence programs to six SMEs for manufacturing equipment, with amounts from about $62,000 to $1 million each.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

A manufacturing roundup: CSIRO issues a renewable energy storage roadmap, Mighty Craft completes a $5.1 million share placement, Bonfiglioli opens a Victorian office, and a Brisbane safety show announces speakers.

HEX started here

Profile of HEX, a Victorian startup offering innovation education programs, recalling its founding and noting a seed round backed by LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund, plus alumnus T Guthrie's data platform Why Hive.

Portfolio Spotlight: HEO Robotics - UNSW Founders

UNSW Founders profiles its alumnus HEO Robotics, a Sydney company that inspects satellites from orbit, recounting its founding, accelerator history, and founders' backgrounds.

Spotlight On: Helena Ngo, MoreGoodDays

Blackbird's interview with MoreGoodDays co-founder Helena Ngo covers her corporate brand career, meeting co-founder Neala Fulia in Startmate's 2021 Founder Fellowship, and how the chronic-pain healthtech startup wins customers.

How to Build a Successful Business: Insights from Tyler Tan, Executive Director of Airtasker

Wholesale Investor promotes a video in which Tyler Tan, an Airtasker executive and Skyfield Group investment director, discusses the investment landscape and offers guidance for founders seeking capital.

VC-backed crowdfunding platform Stride Equity is offering a new funding model for startups

Three ex-Investec executives launch Stride Equity, a crowdfunding platform where vetted startups get crowd raises plus co-investment from the Stride Lead fund; the founders previously backed firms including Vocus and Airtasker.

Tesla Inc Director Robyn Denholm appointed to SafetyCulture board

Robyn Denholm has joined SafetyCulture's board as a director, adding to her Tesla chairmanship and Technology Council role, replacing long-serving director and Blackbird co-founder Rick Baker.

Innovation helping to bring Aussie farmers home safely

Profile of AirAgri, a Victorian agtech startup whose tracking device and app alert others when farmers working alone get into trouble, recalling a government grant and accelerator programs that supported its development.

We've been connecting brains to computers longer than you'd expect. These 3 companies are leading the way

An overview of brain-computer interface history and current clinical-trial leaders, profiling BrainGate, a Dutch medical centre, and Melbourne-founded Synchron, written by a University of Melbourne neural engineering academic.

Cauldron brews $10.5 million to globalise its precision fermentation platform

Regional NSW precision fermentation startup Cauldron has raised a $10.5 million seed round led by Main Sequence Ventures, following an earlier Queensland government investment, to expand its pilot facilities.

Also Women's Agenda·@AuManufacturing·AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Brookfield seals deal for Origin buyout and $20 billion renewables splurge

Brookfield has agreed an $18.7 billion takeover of Origin Energy, bringing in GIC, Temasek and Mid-Ocean, and plans a decade of major renewable and storage spending in Australia.

Purpose Ventures closes $37M fund to invest in WA startups

Kylie and Derek Gerrard's Purpose Ventures has closed $37m for its Western Australian startup fund, with WA investors, the Steinberg Family Office as cornerstone backer and state government operational support.

Also Startup Daily·innovationbay.com

Australian electric car-sharing platform evee charges ahead with crowdfunding campaign on Birchal

Australian EV car-sharing marketplace evee has kicked off an equity crowdfunding drive on Birchal to bankroll growth into Britain and Europe, with early registrations closing before the offer opens to all comers.

WA 'five times underrepresented' on local VC access

New Perth venture capital firm Purpose Ventures has gathered $37 million for early-stage WA startups; its general partners will direct half their performance fees to philanthropy, and Gerrard's earlier sale of Greensense features.

Rovers, hypnotherapy and pocket farms: Five Aussie startups that scored $20 million this week

A weekly funding roundup covering Mindset Health's Series A, grants for two lunar rover consortiums, Pivot's raise, and Invest Inya Farmer's seed round.

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Manufacturing roundup: Stärke-AMG buys plastics maker GADAC, Orbital's government loan converts to a grant after milestones, plus items on apprentices, SEA Electric, tyre recycling, UniSA's hub and electrification advocacy.

Little Green Pharma raises $5 million in placement

Moroku adds former Fidor executive Gé Drossaert to the Board

Fintech Moroku appoints ex-Fidor executive Gé Drossaert as independent non-executive director, replacing Richard Wong, as the company expands into new markets.

Boomer Home Loans bounces back to life…

Perth home loan lender Boomer Home Loans has exited voluntary administration six months after its UK cornerstone investor withdrew, forcing it to shelve its launch and dismiss its 33 staff.

Crypto exchange Independent Reserve snaps up Bitcoin.com.au for $3 million

Independent Reserve has bought Bitcoin.com.au for $3 million, relaunching it as a beginner-friendly crypto brand and renewing its sponsorship of the Sydney Swans football team.

Also Startup Daily

DASH Technology Group receives VC backing to accelerate innovation in wealth management

Wealth management technology firm DASH Technology Group has closed a capital raise, with Australian venture firm CoAct Capital finalising its investment to support the platform's development for financial advisers.

The Week in AgriFoodTech: Oatly raises $425m, Cocoon Bioscience bags $16 million to turn moths into bioreactors

Weekly agrifoodtech roundup reporting multiple funding rounds including Oatly and Cocoon Bioscience, two acquisitions, a shutdown, and SWEN Capital Partners closing its Blue Ocean Fund above target.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews

A temporary dancefloor and no plans for layoffs: Canva celebrates new Melbourne office through tech sector downturn

Canva has opened a converted Collingwood warehouse as its new Melbourne office and says it has no layoff plans, citing six consecutive profitable years while hiring continues despite widespread tech sector job cuts.

Restaurant ordering platform Mr Yum cuts another 40 jobs

The hospitality-tech firm Mr Yum has axed 40 more staff as it pushes toward profit; the article recalls the $89 million Series A that Tiger Global led in November 2021.

St Baker seeks $200 million in new fund focused on EVs, flying cars and energy

Trevor St Baker is launching a second investment fund seeking $200 million from outside backers, after his first vehicle backed Tritium, Novonix, Evie Networks and other energy and mobility companies.

Lunar rover arose with $4M

WA space consortium AROSE has received a $4 million Australian Government grant under the Space Agency's Trailblazer program to design a lunar rover for NASA, leading a sixteen-organisation group including Fugro and Nova Systems.

Also SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·Defence Connect·@AuManufacturing

Relectrify achieves world-first certification for cell-level control in commercial battery product

Virescent Ventures reports that Relectrify, a company it backs, has won certification for its ReVolve battery storage product under international safety and grid connection standards, clearing it to supply customers.

Michelle Bendschneider to lead new Arinco, Cevo and D6 parent company Connetico

ARN reports Michelle Bendschneider becomes CEO of Connetico, new parent of cloud firms Arinco, Cevo and D6, with Lara Wright as CFO, after Quadrant fund backing; Kloud's earlier sale to Telstra is recalled.

Relectrify achieves IEC certifications for its commercial and industrial energy storage product

Melbourne energy storage firm Relectrify won IEC certifications for its ReVolve product, with endorsements from Nissan Casting and Counties Energy; the article recalls a growth round led by Toyota Ventures.

Robots and radiotherapy among projects awarded $18 million in Accelerating Commercialisation grants

Over thirty Australian projects received federal Accelerating Commercialisation grants totalling roughly $18 million, including Jevons Robotics, Glaciem, Electrogenics and LYRO Robotics, with the full recipient list published.

Also @AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing

AROSE and EPE to design lunar rovers following grant awards

Two Australian consortia, AROSE and one involving EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania, each received a four million dollar grant under the Space Agency's Trailblazer programme to design lunar rover prototypes.

Alex Bank taps market for $20M to accelerate growth with new ADI status firmly in place

Alex.Bank has announced a new equity raise targeting $20 million at a $130 million valuation, following its 2022 raise and recent ADI licence receipt, to fund lending and deposit growth.

XSights secures US interest in its animal welfare tech

WA agtech Xsights joins SVG Ventures' inaugural THRIVE APAC Accelerator, trials its smart ear tag with Craig Mostyn Group, and has locked in $2 million toward a $4 million seed target.

Preloved wind turbines from Netherlands help power remote outback microgrid

Refurbished Dutch turbines have reached Advanced Energy Resources' Moora microgrid project in WA; the piece also recalls the Port Gregory microgrid, which received ARENA support and a $1.8m state government grant.

Hypersonix awarded first major contract

An Australian hypersonics developer won a US defence agency contract for hypersonic test aircraft, selected from 63 respondents, with a Californian firm taking a second award; values undisclosed.

Six Aussie startups that raised over $19 million this week

A weekly roundup reporting six Australian startups that raised a combined $19 million, including Quasar, Nexl, MoreGoodDays, DAS and Our Cow, plus Our Cow's earlier acquisition of delivery startup Voly.

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

Provectus Algae to expand ‘carbon negative’ biomanufacturing ingredients platform with new funding

Australian algae-based ingredients startup Provectus Algae has secured a strategic investment from CJ Bio to expand its carbon-negative biomanufacturing platform, with an interview covering its technology and plans.

Also AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of manufacturing news: Hino picks SEA Electric drivetrains, a hydrogen grant for Nyrstar's Port Pirie plans, Imagion's funding facility, K-TIG's raise, and Quantum Brilliance's CEO change.

Pooptech Startups Are Passing The Smell Test

A survey of waste-management startups covering livestock and human waste ventures, their cumulative funding, Rumin8's January round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and accelerator and corporate partnerships in the sector.

Skalata backs Queensland Uni grads in software startup transforming chemical engineering

Lewi Software, a wastewater-management software startup whose founders studied at the University of Queensland, has banked $200,000 in a first round from Melbourne venture firm Skalata Ventures after completing UQ's ilab accelerator.

Antler Investor Memo Series: PropCode takes the heavy lifting out of property development analysis

Investor memo profiling PropCode, a pre-seed startup whose platform automates property regulation analysis. Backed by Antler Australia, it launched in NSW, and founders say global opportunity awaits.

GrainCorp awarded $2.9M to progress world-class sustainable livestock feed trials

GrainCorp received a $2.93 million federal grant through the MERiL program's third round to run large-scale dairy and beef trials of low-emission feed supplements, working with FutureFeed, CSIRO, University of Queensland and Agriculture Victoria Services.