Kasada

Six ANZ startups that raised $568.1 million this week

Funding roundup led by Airwallex's US$330 million Series G at a $12 billion valuation, with raises from Kasada, Hnry, All G, Bless Payments and Emanda, plus earlier rounds recalled.

Also Startup Daily

Data-scraping bot blocker backed by Malcolm Turnbull pockets $30 million

Bot defence firm Kasada has secured $30 million from EQT plus earlier backers Turnbull & Partners, Reinventure, Main Sequence, OIF, StepStone and Ten Eleven, with founder Sam Crowther back in Sydney.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Finding the Real AI Value – What Investors Should Look For

Main Sequence explains how it judges which AI startups build lasting value, setting out focus areas in neglected industries, efficient computing and robotics, and citing several firms from its portfolio.

The Future of AI Investing – A Deep Tech Perspective

Main Sequence opens a three-part series explaining its AI investment thesis, the market shifts behind it, and where it sees long-term value, citing several portfolio companies.

How Sam Crowther turned a high school gig into an international bot-blocking empire

Profile of Kasada founder Sam Crowther, a Forbes Australia 30 Under 30 listee, tracing the bot-mitigation firm from a $50,000 angel-backed launch in Newcastle to global operations and lifetime funding of $39 million.

Blast OIF | 23 things from 2023

OIF Ventures' year in review: full Eftsure exit, Opportunity Fund close, Visory, DataMasque and Nullify backed, follow-ons at Inspace and Dataweavers, new team members and portfolio milestones.

Tech founders pile in as VC fund raises $55m in a week

OIF Ventures has gathered $55 million toward a new Opportunity Fund with a $75 million goal, backed by several tech founders, and has put $4 million into Advanced Navigation's $108 million round.

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BLAST OIF | Edition VI

OIF Ventures' newsletter announces leading Nullify's pre-seed round, two investment team hires, portfolio company awards and product launches, and Go1's acquisition of Anders Pink.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

VC fund defies the downturn, raising $100m in 24 hours

OIF Ventures has closed its third fund at $140m, beating its original $100m target, with founder backers including Peter Lilley and Andrew Barnes; earlier trade sales underpin its strong returns.

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NASDAQ giant swoops on Canberra start-up in $500m+ deal

OIF Ventures republishes an AFR report on NetApp buying Canberra data-technology firm Instaclustr for a reported $500 million-plus, covering founder paydays and the fund's returns, including a 20-times outcome on its early backing.

Malcolm Turnbull helps Newcastle hacker bank $23m to fight NFT bots

Bot-security firm Kasada, founded by Sam Crowther, raised $23m in a Series C led by StepStone, with OIF and Turnbull & Partners among existing backers; StepStone had recently acquired Greenspring Associates.

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Ignition Lane's Weekly Wrap: Startup hatches, matches & dispatches, fresh crop of VCs, Microsoft 30.0

Weekly roundup reporting many startup funding rounds, Investible's fund close, Skalata's committed capital, hipages buying Builderscrack, Stack Sports acquiring Team App, and Level Equity's stake purchase in Eftsure.

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

Pets, cars and cybersecurity: 10 Aussie startups that raised a combined $372 million this week

A weekly roundup reporting ten Australian startups that together raised about $372 million, spanning pet e-commerce, marketplace software, fintech, used cars, cybersecurity, freight, data tools, genetic testing and payments anti-fraud.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Techboard

BLAST OIF | Edition III

OIF Ventures' third monthly portfolio roundup: XM Cyber's roughly billion-dollar sale to Schwarz Group, Assignar's secondary raise, new investments in Inspace, mod.io and Atelier, plus portfolio awards, customers and product launches.

OIF, Macquarie win big from $US700m XM Cyber acquisition

OIF says its early stake in Israeli cybersecurity firm XM Cyber, bought by Schwarz Group for US$700 million, returned the firm's entire first fund; Macquarie and others joined its 2020 Series B.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily

BLAST OIF | Edition II

OIF Ventures' newsletter rounds up portfolio achievements: award wins and list placements for several companies, new product launches, and partnerships including Go1 with Employment Hero and Adobe, plus community masterclasses and webinars.

BLAST OIF | Edition I

OIF Ventures' first portfolio newsletter: OIF Fund II closed above $100 million, plus recent raises at Go1, Circle In, Assignar, Arcade, Visionary Machines, Neara, Futurerent and Adventus.io.

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Founders tip in cash for upsized OIF

OIF has upsized its second fund's target to $100m from $75m, with $50m committed at an August 2020 first close and $30m more banked by February 2021; $20m deployed across twelve startups so far.

Ignition Lane's Weekly Wrap: VC investment peaks, cowtech as bro, Big Tech earnings soar

Weekly roundup covering Main Sequence's second-fund close, operating partner hires at Blackbird and AirTree, raises by Sea Forest, Adventus.io, Halter and others, acquisitions by Equiem, Stripe and Toyota, plus Big Tech earnings.

Fund 2 Announcement

Australia's Main Sequence has pulled in A$250 million for its second deep tech fund, with existing backers returning and a sharpened emphasis on decarbonisation investments.

Also TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·TechCrunch Venture

OIF banks $80 million and hires former Amazon boss

Australian venture firm Our Innovation Fund has secured $80 million for its new fund, exceeding its $75 million target, and hired ex-Amazon Web Services executive Paul Migliorini as a venture partner.

The incredible story behind creating Buildkite, the $200 million ‘best-kept secret in DevOps’, by an investor there from the start

Early investor Matt Allen recounts Buildkite's origins in the Ruby community, its sole $200,000 raise from nine individuals, and this week's secondary share sale valuing it at $200 million.

Turnbull and Xenophon spar over Huawei

Former senator Nick Xenophon lobbies for Huawei while ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull joins cybersecurity firm Kasada's board, with each accusing the other of advancing foreign powers' interests in Australia.

Aussie cybersecurity startup Kasada raises $14 million amid COVID-19 online crime spike

Cybersecurity firm Kasada has raised a Series B round led by Ten Eleven Ventures, with existing backers participating, as the pandemic drives a surge in online fraud and bot attacks.

Also ARN (ARNnet)·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

The CIA’s VC fund has backed Australian malicious bot blocker Kasada

Cybersecurity firm Kasada completed a $7 million Series A with CIA-backed venture fund In-Q-Tel as a new investor, adding to earlier backing from Main Sequence Ventures and Reinventure Group.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Anti-bot startup Kasada raises $7M in Series A from CIA's venture fund In-Q-Tel

Bot-fighting startup Kasada has raised $7 million in a Series A joined by In-Q-Tel, the US intelligence community's venture arm, its first Australian investment, and hired Pascal Podvin to drive revenue operations.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

How this 23-year-old founder secured 500% revenue growth, and bagged $6.5 million in funding to boot

Security startup Kasada has banked fresh capital from Main Sequence Ventures and Reinventure to drive American expansion, reporting rapid revenue gains; an earlier round involving Our Innovation Fund is also noted.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Reinventure backs cyber security start-up Kasada

Reinventure's blog announces its seed investment in Kasada, a bot-detection cybersecurity startup from 22-year-old founder Sam Crowther, with proceeds earmarked for local hiring and US expansion.