This Week in Australian Startups #174, 16th August 2026
Australian startups raised funds including Alloy Robotics, Farmbot and Atmo Biosciences. Firmus Technologies acquired Benmax while Tabcorp bought BetMakers. SafetyCulture rebranded to Mitti.
Venture capital fund · 16 deals
Woollahra, NSW
Every published round Macdoch Ventures 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.
Companies Macdoch Ventures has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmazingCo | Experience days including mystery picnics and family adventures | 10 Sep 2019, Series A | 1 | 0 |
| Brainfish | 6 May 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Cecil | Spatial datasets API for ESG and nature risk analytics | 1 Mar 2022, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 |
| Farmbot | 13 Oct 2021, Series A | 4 | 0 | |
| Farmbot Monitoring Solutions | 12 Oct 2021, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| Flagship | 14 Sep 2023, Seed | 2 | 0 | |
| LawPath | 5 Nov 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| Primary | Treasury software for global growth companies | 18 Sep 2024, Seed | 1 | 0 |
| Qwilr | Proposal software for sales teams to send interactive quotes | 5 May 2020, Series A | 1 | 0 |
| Ranchbot | 13 Aug 2026, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Riparide | Nov 2021 | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Macdoch Ventures, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Macdoch Ventures has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Macdoch Ventures did.
Stories naming Macdoch Ventures. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Australian startups raised funds including Alloy Robotics, Farmbot and Atmo Biosciences. Firmus Technologies acquired Benmax while Tabcorp bought BetMakers. SafetyCulture rebranded to Mitti.
Eight Australian and New Zealand startups secured a combined $67.4 million in funding across various sectors including agtech, medtech, robotics, and fintech.
Also ontargetish.com
Livestock water monitoring company Farmbot, founded in Sydney, has raised a $22 million Series B led by Lewis & Clark Partners to fund US expansion and a corporate restructuring into a Delaware parent.
Also inforcapital.com·inforcapital.com·SmartCompany·raising.fi·ontargetish.com·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily
Ranch Bot, an Australian internet-of-things firm for ranch water and livestock management, has banked a Series B round from Lewis & Clark Partners and five co-investors, reorganising under a new US parent.
Also AgFunderNews
Pet-sitting marketplace Mad Paws has recommended a proposed $62 million takeover by US company Rover, with its Pet Chemist arm earmarked for VetPartners, while earlier raises are recalled.
Tracxn figures show Australian tech funding reached $1.8 billion by mid-2025, powered by large late-stage rounds at Protecht, Airwallex, Harrison AI and Advancell, while seed and early-stage raising fell away sharply.
Weekly roundup detailing new capital for Australian startups Diraq, BrainFish, RecycleSmart, Cohabit and Five Faces, alongside Alumly's undisclosed multimillion-dollar backing from UK investor Mauve Group.
Also Startup Daily
Sydney AI customer-support startup Brainfish has secured a $9.8 million pre-Series A, with Prosus Ventures leading and existing backers Peak XV's Surge and Macdoch Ventures participating, to fund its US expansion.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Roundup of two Australian raises: a quantum security company's government-led $20m round and a retail analytics startup's US seed round backing its American push.
Westpac has invested $10 million in legal tech platform Lawpath, deepening an existing partnership; the article also recounts Lawpath's earlier raises from LegalZoom, Adcock Private Equity and other backers between 2015 and 2021.
Weekly roundup of four Australian startup raises: Kismet's $20m seed extension, Primary's $3.5m seed round, Willed's $3m from Seven West Media, and East Forged's $1.5m from a Vietnamese agribusiness's venture arm.
Sydney cash-management startup Primary has completed a $3.5m seed round backed by Carthona Capital and five other funds, with Carthona partner Damian Fox set to join its board.
Also SmartCompany
Agtech investor Tenacious Ventures reached an $18 million first close on its second fund, which has a $50 million target; backers include Trawalla Group, Wollemi Capital Group and Macdoch Ventures.
Also Forbes Australia
Weekly roundup detailing new funding for eight local startups: home lending, document verification, farm water monitoring, alcoholic drinks, freight software, leaf protein, artist content sales and organic bedding, totalling over $36 million.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Farm water monitoring firm Farmbot raised A$4.6 million, topping its initial $3 million goal, with Telstra and Macdoch Ventures among returning backers as it pushes US growth through subsidiary Ranchbot.
Farmbot has closed a bridge round to bankroll its push into the United States, with prior backers and fresh investors taking part, following raises in 2021 and 2022.
Weekly roundup of nine Australian startups that together raised over $233 million, led by Hysata's $172 million Series B, with rounds also for V2 Digital, AgriWebb, Disco, Genero, Brainfish, Kite Therapy, Nucanon and Maslow.
Sydney AI customer-support startup Brainfish has raised $3.85 million in a round led by Peak XV Partners' Surge, with Macdoch Ventures, Black Sheep Capital and angels taking part, bringing its total capital to $5 million.
Also Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
Flagship, whose software helps retailers optimise in-store merchandising, has raised a $2 million seed round led by Tidal Ventures, with Afterpay cofounder Nick Molnar, brother of founder Simon, among the backers.
Weekly roundup of agrifoodtech deals: numerous startup funding rounds including GrowUp Farms, PlantLab and Australia's Cecil, a secondary share sale in Hone, and Kerry Group's acquisitions of C-LEcta and Enmex.
Weekly roundup of nine Australian startup raises, led by SimPRO's $485.6 million round, plus SimPRO's acquisitions of AroFlo and ClockShark and Open Markets Group's buyout of Cannon Trading.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Techboard·SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Melbourne accommodation booking platform Riparide raised $4 million from Macdoch Ventures and Upswell Ventures to fund its first international expansion, starting with Auckland, New Zealand.
Also SmartCompany
Water monitoring company Farmbot Monitoring Solutions raised $2.7 million, with Telstra contributing $1 million alongside Macdoch Ventures, Follow the Seed and three customers, and plans US expansion and a future Series B.
Sydney document automation startup Qwilr closed a $7.25 million Series A led by AirTree Ventures, with Skip Capital and Robert Muñoz joining, plus existing backers participating, to fund US and European expansion.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
UK education data integration startup Wonde raised $2.6 million led by Tempus Partners, with Transition Level Investments, Macdoch Ventures and Xponova joining, to support its Australian expansion.
Legaltech firm Lawpath has closed an oversubscribed $4.4 million round led by Adcock Private Equity, with all backers reinvesting, to expand into Asia and grow its Australian SME user base.
A promotional update inviting investors into Mad Paws's open capital raise, already mostly subscribed, describing the Australian pet-care marketplace's growth and naming Qantas, Equity Venture Partners and Macdoch Ventures as existing backers.
Also Wholesale Investor
Profile of Farmbot, a Sydney agtech company monitoring livestock water systems, listing four venture rounds totalling $23 million, including a 2026 Series B backing its North American expansion.
Also Beef Central / Grain Central·AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Beef Central / Grain Central