Ledger.

Co-founder and Partner Emeritus, AirTree Ventures · angel in 3 deals

Daniel Petre

Coverage

Stories naming Daniel Petre. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Funding announcement

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #176, 30th August 2026

Weekly roundup: Blackbird confirms a record fund close and Galileo reaches a first close, Genesis merges with Proudi, IREN secures massive debt, and several startups report raises, grants and program wins.

Fund close $25m

Athletes' venture firm raises first fund | Private Equity Media

Athletic Ventures, started by former athletes, has closed its debut fund at $25 million, with about 100 sports stars and several veteran venture figures backing it as limited partners.

Funding announcement

Industry and science minister Ed Husic wants you to know something is going to happen, soon

Industry minister Ed Husic told a Tech Council summit the National Reconstruction Fund is close to its first investments after asking for a $300m drawdown; the piece recaps federal tech funding moves including PsiQuantum's.

3 deals

Superseeder: psychedelic biotech Psylo plants $12 million in latest 'Seed' round

Psylo, a Sydney maker of psychedelic therapies, has landed a US$8 million seed round led by Tenmile while moving to the US; earlier raises in 2022 and 2021 are recalled.

9 deals

Nine ANZ startups that raised $60.3 million this week

Roundup of the week's funding news: nine companies across Australia and New Zealand secured investment spanning clean energy, construction logistics, legal tech, coaching, research tools, creator media, medtech and marketing software.

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

Fund close $450m

Cochlear chair Alison Deans joins CSIRO VC Main Sequence as venture partner

Main Sequence, CSIRO's deep tech venture fund, adds Cochlear chair Alison Deans as a venture partner, extending her investment committee service since 2017; its third fund brought in $450 million in July.

3 deals

Three Aussie entrepreneurs to watch

Profiles three founders: Kismet's Mark Woodland ($4m pre-seed for disability-services software), Forage's Tom Brumskill and Pasha Rayan (job-simulation platform, Series A and B), and Diolog's Amy Benson (self-funded investor-communications startup planning a seed round).

Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily

7 deals

Seven startups that raised $77.2 million this week (kind of)

Weekly roundup of seven Australian and New Zealand startup raises, headlined by a previously unreported $32 million seed for banking software venture Constantinople, plus new rounds for six other companies.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Techboard·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·Startup News (WA)·Forbes Australia·AgFunderNews

2 deals

Psychedelic biotech startup Psylo raises $5 million Seed round

Sydney psychedelic biotech Psylo has banked a $5 million seed round led by CSIRO's Main Sequence Ventures, its second raise since emerging from Startmate, to advance a fast-acting psilocybin therapy toward clinical trials.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

5 deals

Ignition Lane's Wrap: the state of Cloud, VC advice, Tiger stripes, cattle class crypto, M&A fires up

Weekly tech wrap: cloud-market trends, Tiger Global's cheques into Stake, Shippit and Carma, new VC funds, several acquisitions, grocery delivery startups Send and Quicko collapsing, and Elaine Stead joining M8 Ventures.

Also Startup Daily

Unnamed stage $1.1m

Psychedelic biotech startup Psylo raises $1.1m to treat mental health issues with the key ingredient in magic mushrooms

Sydney psychedelic biotech Psylo has raised $1.1 million in a round led by Possible Ventures, with angel Daniel Petre also backing it, to develop shorter-acting psilocybin-inspired mental health medicines.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Fund close $15m

Jelix Ventures raises $15 million from Who’s Who list for an early stage VC fund

Sydney early-stage investor Jelix Ventures has pulled together $15 million for a new fund from prominent tech founders and executives, has already backed three startups, and plans a further raise before year's end.

Also Women's Agenda

News

“You get your time in the sun”: AirTree founder Daniel Petre to step back from day-to-day operations at the firm

Veteran venture capitalist Daniel Petre will withdraw from daily duties at the firm he co-founded in 2014, moving toward a chair role, while discussing ecosystem maturity, a future fund and philanthropy among Australia's newly wealthy.

2 deals

Design ‘unicorn’ Canva’s value is reportedly set to double to $2.5 billion

Canva has bought stock photo sites Pexels and Pixabay and launched a photography subscription, with a report saying the Sydney design company has just completed a new round that could value it at US$2.5 billion.

Also TechCrunch Venture·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

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