Startups Weekly: Different paths on the road to liquidity
Weekly roundup covering several startup acquisitions, a clutch of venture rounds across AI and other sectors, a Clay employee share sale, and Marathon Venture Capital's new fund close.
Investor · 2 deals
Every published round Bosch took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Yield | Unnamed stage | 15 May 2020 | $11m | Participant | SmartCompany, Women's Agenda, @AuManufacturing, Startup Daily, AgFunderNews | |
| The Yield | Series A | Apr 2017 | $6.5m | Participant | AgFunderNews, Tenacious Ventures |
Companies Bosch has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Yield | Apr 2017, Series A | 2 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Bosch, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Bosch has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Bosch did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Gavin Smith | President | @AuManufacturing, AgFunderNews, SmartCompany |
Stories naming Bosch. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly roundup covering several startup acquisitions, a clutch of venture rounds across AI and other sectors, a Clay employee share sale, and Marathon Venture Capital's new fund close.
RayGen Resources closed a $51 million round led by SLB, with Breakthrough Victoria contributing $20 million, to expand Victorian manufacturing; the piece recalls its 2021 Series C backers and an earlier ARENA grant.
Also Breakthrough Victoria·RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy
Melbourne body-scanning startup Bodd raised $5 million led by Candice and Nick Hirons to expand into North American wellness, fashion and pharmaceutical markets and grow its uniform business.
An AuManufacturing interview with Kite Magnetics co-founder Richard Parsons covers the Monash spinout's newly completed seed raise, its Aeroperm material for electric aircraft motors, and the 2014 sale of MagniX to Clermont Group.
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
Melbourne body-scanning startup Bodd is preparing a capital raise to fund global expansion, with William Buck advising, while Bosch manufactures its scanners and uniform and fashion clients deploy the technology.
Soil-data agtech firm CropX reports 2020 sales quadrupling, two competitor acquisitions and a Series B being widened through a $5M extension offered to investors at a $65M pre-money valuation, ahead of a planned 2022 Series C.
Analysis of Australian agtech's post-COVID prospects, citing The Yield's recent $11 million raise led by Yamaha Motor Ventures, and founders' views on transparency trends and capital barriers.
Also Startup Daily·AgFunderNews·@AuManufacturing·Women's Agenda
Yamaha's venture arm leads an $11m raise for agtech startup The Yield, while Sydney home-loan fintech Verteva lands a $33m Series A; plus Twitter's Covid warning labels and Sidewalk Labs dropping its Toronto project.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Women's Agenda·AgFunderNews
Victoria's government has granted Bosch $2.3 million to trial driverless cars on rural roads from late 2019, the first award under its connected vehicle grants program; Adelaide's Cohda Wireless earlier received $2 million for an autonomous-vehicle radar trial.
A review of global agtech investment trends and Australia's growing ecosystem, recalling 2016 sector figures plus recent local milestones: an accelerator and venture fund launch, an acquisition, and a large raise.
Also Virescent Ventures·AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·evokeag.com·AgFunderNews