Ledger.

Investor · 1 deal

McKinsey & Company

Perth, WA

Coverage

Stories naming McKinsey & Company. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Key hire

Role call: new people at allt, SQC, RedBelly Network, Neara & Indebted

Weekly people-moves column: new executives at allt, SQC, Redbelly Network, InDebted and Neara, including Clive Dickens joining allt's board and Chris McNamara becoming InDebted's CEO.

Key hire

InDebted appoint Chris McNamara as Chief Executive Officer and Brendan Lee as Chief Financial Officer

Collections technology firm InDebted has named Chris McNamara as chief executive and Brendan Lee as chief financial officer, filling a search opened when founder Josh Foreman shifted to a founder and executive director role.

5 deals

AgriFood Signals: Ranch tech startup Ranchbot nets $15m, Target hires chief AI officer, plant cell culture megadeal

AgFunderNews roundup of agrifood funding raises, executive appointments, shutdowns and partnerships, including Ranchbot's Series B, ClimateAi and Cultimate shutting down, and Novonesis seeking sole control of MicroBioGen.

News

Q-Day: why quantum readiness can't wait, with Vikram Sharma, QuintessenceLabs

Allens' Cyber Brief podcast hosts QuintessenceLabs founder and CEO Vikram Sharma discussing quantum computing threats to encryption, harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks, and the governance steps boards should take toward post-quantum readiness.

Fund close US$750m

Google Cloud launches US$750M agentic AI partner fund at Cloud Next

Google Cloud has committed US$750 million to a new partner fund for agentic AI resources and incentives, unveiled at Cloud Next; the piece also recalls Google's March acquisition of security firm Wiz.

6 deals

Four Aussie startups that raised $28 million this week

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.

Seed $3.5m

Sydney fintech Primary raises $3.5m seed round

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

Grant $490.3k

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing updates: Sparc Hydrogen's R&D tax refund, executive appointments at Lockheed Martin Australia, Wellnex Life and Raytheon, a ReNu Energy power purchase deal, and BlueScope joining a low-carbon research centre.

Unnamed stage $7.5m

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

AuManufacturing roundup of brief industry news: Wide Open Agriculture banks a $7.5 million raise, Liontown adds a lithium offtake partner, Osteopore signs Zimmer Biomet for distribution, plus quantum, defence, rail and recycling items.

Funding announcement

Square Peg Investor Letter Half Year Report 31 December 2023

Square Peg's latest letter to investors reviews 2023 performance, recalls early bets on Canva and Airwallex, and introduces three hires across fundraising, public-markets investing, and people functions.

Funding announcement

Square Peg Investor Letter Half Year Report 31 December 2023

Square Peg's half-year letter to investors reviews 2023: fewer new bets, portfolio revenue milestones led by Canva, an AI investment thesis, conditions in Israel, and three new hires.

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.

2 deals

PropHero raises an additional $8 million in seed capital

Proptech PropHero closed an oversubscribed A$8 million seed round co-led by Fifth Wall and Samaipata, with existing backers Jelix Ventures and AfterWork Ventures returning after its 2022 pre-seed.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·proptechconnect.com

Exit / M&A

Fortescue Group announces major leadership reshuffle

Fortescue announces leadership changes: Andrew Forrest becomes Executive Chairman as Elizabeth Gaines steps down, Mark Hutchinson to lead FFI, plus new appointments including Guy Debelle as CFO and board director Li Yifei.

2 deals

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Roundup of Australian manufacturing items: Manildra draws on CEFC money to quit coal, Ankere Therapeutics launches with seed backing, Micro-X gear reaches Ukraine, plus a vessel naming, precinct tenders, an FFI appointment and a cable rebrand.

2 deals

Fintech Driva lands $6 million raise to become famous for car financing

Driva has raised $6 million in a round led by Carthona Capital, with follow-on backers and angels joining, to double headcount, build its brand, and expand into trade-ins and vehicle listings.

Also Australian FinTech

Exit / M&A

Founders Stories Podcast: Leigh Jasper and Robert Phillpot on transforming an offline industry

Square Peg's podcast interviews Aconex co-founders Leigh Jasper and Robert Phillpot about building the construction collaboration platform, its 2014 ASX listing, and its 2018 acquisition by Oracle for A$1.6 billion.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

10 deals

The startup funding round: NFTs in your cereal box, $1.5 million for high-tech ticketing, and an SME banking solution

Weekly roundup of startup funding: raises by Paytron, Kanopi, Listing Loop, Driva, Tixel, Alt Saints, Travello, Hey Bud and Volt, Tenacious Ventures closing a $35 million agritech fund, and Forter's Series F.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Seed $3m

Car finance platform Driva banks $3m in seed funding

Australian car finance comparison platform Driva closed a A$3 million seed round led by Carthona Capital, with angels Stephen Dash and Nicolas Scudamore-Smith joining existing backers Peter and Daniel Gammell.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech

Funding announcement

Founders Stories Podcast: Vend on making tough calls and leading without ego

Square Peg's podcast interviews Vend founder Vaughan Fergusson and new CEO Ana Wight, covering the retail software company's culture, leadership, its almost US$60 million raised, and its US$350 million sale to Lightspeed POS in March 2021.

Also Startup Daily

Something wrong? Tell us