Mike Abbott

Advertising fintech Flyweel nabs $2.41 million pre-Seed

Flyweel, a Queensland fintech for financing and managing ad spend, has banked $2.41 million in a pre-seed round Ten13 led, with Antler, QIC and several founder-angels aboard; a US launch comes first.

Butter: The anti-establishment app working to get you offline and breaking bread IRL

Forbes Australia profiles Butter, a year-old Melbourne app fighting loneliness through in-person gatherings, now at 10,000 users with $260,000 from backer Antler at a roughly $2.2 million valuation.

Antler backs 8 new AI-first startups, from robotics to health, cybersecurity and fintech, in its 12th cohort

Antler announced investments in eight startups from its 12th Australian residency, across robotics, cybersecurity, health and fintech; applications for the 14th residency are open, offering founders as much as AU$260,000 for a 12% stake.

Antler Investor Memo Series: Lyngo AI answers the healthcare communication crisis with AI receptionists

Investor memo profiling Lyngo AI, a startup whose AI voice agents answer clinic calls and manage bookings, covering its Antler pre-seed backing, the founders' backgrounds, early traction, and growth plans.

Antler Investor Memo Series: Licode is the new no-code way to build AI-enabled Web Apps

A partner memo profiling Licode, a no-code platform for AI web apps founded by ex-Finder engineer Kelvin Htat, which took pre-seed backing from Antler Australia and is seeking follow-on capital.

Antler just invested $1.575 million in pre-Seed funding in 7 startups, from edtech to deep tech. Here's who they are

Antler's Australian arm announced $225,000 pre-seed investments in seven startups at its Portfolio Spotlight event, alongside a new Google Cloud partnership, with residency applications open.

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Queensland gets back in the venture capital game

Queensland's government has set up a venture capital fund managed by QIC and has put in $133 million, partnering with five VC firms so local startups can draw on matched funding.

Queensland government backs 5 VCs, including Antler and Main Sequence, with $130 million

Queensland's government is committing $130 million across five venture firms — Antler, Five V Capital, Main Sequence, Mandalay and Salus — via a new fund to widen early-stage funding for local startups.

Early-stage investor Antler lands $60 million 2nd fund as Uber Australia OG Mike Abbott signs on as partner

Antler reaches final close on its second Australian fund with commitments nearing A$60 million, backed by Snow Foundation, Geoff Harris and Roger Allen, and hires early Uber Australia employee Mike Abbott as partner.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Australian manufacturing roundup: Zip Water appoints a marketing director, EMVision triggers a milestone payment, Kleos Space faces bankruptcy, AnteoTech secures placement commitments, and LaunchVic funds two women-founder pre-accelerators.

B2B booze marketplace Kaddy acquired by WineDepot in $34 million deal

Drinks marketplace Kaddy has been bought by Digital Wine Ventures, WineDepot's parent, for $34.25 million in cash and shares, with over $5 million set aside for the platform; it raised $3.5 million in 2020.

Booze marketplace startup Kaddy doubles revenue and raises $3.5 million, even amid COVID-19 hospitality crisis

Drinks marketplace Kaddy has secured $3.5 million from existing and new backers despite pandemic pressure, following an $800,000 seed round last year, with revenue nearly doubling month on month.

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