Seven Aussie startups that raised $495.8 million this week
Weekly roundup of seven Australian startup raises, led by Airwallex's Series F, plus EatClub, Kite Magnetics, Termina, Preve, Foremind and Liveheats.
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Startup · $34.5m raised
Sydney, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round 86 400 raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Series A | - |
The transaction that ended 86 400's run as a startup, per published coverage. It closes the funding history too, where it is the ladder's last rung.
Companies 86 400 acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Stories naming 86 400. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly roundup of seven Australian startup raises, led by Airwallex's Series F, plus EatClub, Kite Magnetics, Termina, Preve, Foremind and Liveheats.
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Sports scoring software maker Liveheats has secured $1.3 million in seed backing from five individual backers to grow its product and sales teams and expand into the US and Europe.
Startup Daily reports neobank Volt is winding up, returning deposits and selling its mortgage book after a failed capital raise, recapping earlier raises by Judo Bank and Alex plus past neobank failures and acquisitions.
Volt, Australia's first licensed neobank, is closing its deposit-taking business and handing back its banking licence after global capital raising failed, telling customers to move funds; the article recalls Xinja, 86 400 and Judo outcomes.
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KPMG's half-yearly fintech report finds Australian fintech funding rebounded in 2021, recapping local raises, listings and acquisitions alongside record global deal figures and a bullish outlook for 2022.
Zip Co has hired Travis Tyler, previously a founding leader at neobank 86 400 with past roles at Westpac and St George, as its Australian Chief Product Officer, starting January 2022 and joining the ANZ leadership team.
KPMG's Fintech Landscape 2021 counts 718 active Australian fintechs and highlights record corporate M&A, including NAB buying 86 400, Latitude buying Symple Loans and Square's pending Afterpay takeover.
Banking entrepreneur Anthony Thomson, who founded Metro Bank and Atom Bank, becomes Chair of Zip's UK board as the BNPL firm pushes British growth; its strategic investment in ZestMoney is also noted.
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An Envestnet | Yodlee executive argues open banking and data aggregation have helped Australian fintechs grow through the pandemic, citing sector investment figures and past raises by Finder, Judo Bank, AfterPay and Airwallex.
Volt has bought Australian Mortgage to add digital mortgage approvals, paying mostly in shares; the piece recalls AFG's $15m investment in Volt, plus Xinja's shutdown and NAB's $220m buyout of 86 400.
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Swedish communications firm Sinch is buying Melbourne-based MessageMedia for US$1.3 billion, in an article rounding up a surge of Australian tech acquisitions including A Cloud Guru, Big Ant, Neto and Vend.
Neobank Volt raises $15 million from mortgage group AFG to expand its Banking-as-a-Service offering, with white-labelled products planned for AFG's broker network. The piece also recalls sector turmoil, including Xinja's closure and 86 400's sale to NAB.
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Novatti has partnered with BC Invest, whose subsidiary will pay $2m for a stake in Novatti's banking subsidiary, while a BC Invest consortium invests $3m in Novatti via share placement, ahead of licence approval.
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Australia's competition regulator approved NAB's $220 million takeover of neobank 86 400, while warning the decision sets no precedent and that future bank-fintech mergers reducing competition could be blocked.
Roundup covering Deliveroo's cut IPO price range, ACCC clearance for NAB's purchase of neobank 86 400, Compass Education acquiring Momentum ESR, Victorian government funding for Startmate, and NSW's digital lost property system launch.
Digital bank 86 400 has proposed combining with UBank under NAB, which would acquire remaining shares for up to about $220 million, pending shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
Neobank Xinja is shutting its Australian banking operations, handing back its ADI licence and returning deposits, blaming COVID-19 and difficult fundraising, while pivoting to its US share trading product.
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Analysis arguing that despite eye-catching raise headlines during COVID-19, deal counts fell sharply in early 2020, with experts citing portfolio protection, pipeline deals rushing to close, and media amplification.
Australian smartbank 86 400 completed a $34 million Series A in March, led by Morgan Stanley, lifting total capital to $90 million to fund product development and mortgage growth.
NAB is buying neobank 86 400 for roughly $220 million, folding it into UBank, shortly after rival Xinja said it would quit banking, leaving fewer independent Australian neobanks standing.
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Neobank Volt has raised an oversubscribed $70 million Series C as it rolls out products and prepares for a possible IPO, with rivals 86 400 and Xinja also announcing new offerings.
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Roundup covering a new Startmate climate accelerator, BlueChilli's shift to scale-ups, Telstra reviewing muru-D, 86 400's home loan launch, Domain buying Real Time Agent, and Uber's Saudi backing.
Roundup covering Australian angel investing awards, Peloton's US listing, CEO departures at WeWork, eBay and Juul, a McDonald's Beyond Meat pilot, and open banking permissions for fintechs.
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Challenger banks Xinja and 86 400 reach APRA licensing milestones and launch app-based retail transaction and savings accounts, becoming the first neobanks to offer Australian retail deposit products.
Small-business focused challenger bank Judo Bank has banked a $400 million round from new and returning institutional backers, reportedly the largest single raise by an Australian startup, double its original target.
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Morgan Stanley has begun approaching investors for an equity raising at newly licensed digital bank 86 400, which is seeking fresh capital to fund its first three years of operation.
Neobank 86400 aims to close a large capital raise later in 2019, while the piece recaps recent funding by Australian neobank rivals Judo, Xinja and Volt plus Airwallex and Deputy.
Digital bank 86 400, backed by Cuscal and awaiting APRA licensing, plans an Australian launch and seeks $250 million, with Morgan Stanley assisting the raise.
Neobank 86 400 has hired an investment bank to run a planned search for new shareholders later in the year, noting payments firm Cuscal has funded it so far while it pursues a banking licence.
A roundup of Australia's largest equity crowdfunding campaigns since the 2017 laws, led by Xinja's record raise, also covering ingogo, Jayride, DC Power Co, West Winds Gin and PT Blink, with platform executives commenting on the sector's growth.
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