Monash University

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #179, 26th September 2026

Weekly roundup recording a dozen raises and acquisitions, Firmus's scheduled float, a new $50m venture fund, a founder share sale, grant winners, an accelerator intake, and an AI agent's government breach.

Also DealStreetAsia·Dealroom·This Week in Australian Startups·AFR Technology·AFR Technology·Startup Daily·AFR Technology·AFR Technology·ABC News Technology·iTnews

Melbourne biotech ImmunoBiota progresses $5m seed raise for world-first oral Type 1 diabetes therapy

Melbourne biotech ImmunoBiota courts investors for its still-open seed round around an oral Type 1 diabetes therapy; its recent Diabetes Australia award is recorded, while the flagged Series A and listing remain plans.

Paul Little's Skalata Ventures raising up to $50m for fund two

Skalata Ventures, the seed fund and founder-training program led by Paul Little and Rohan Workman, is raising a second vehicle plus growth capital, reporting 30 investments and a 44 per cent IRR.

Breakthrough diabetes biotech Immunobiota looks to raise $5 million Seed for clinical trials

Melbourne biotech ImmunoBiota Therapeutics, a Monash University spinout, is developing an oral type 1 diabetes treatment and seeking seed funding for paediatric trials; its founder won a Diabetes Australia innovation prize.

About - Jerrara Environmental

About page for waste solutions company Jerrara Environmental profiling its holdings and operating boards, with biographies recalling sector transactions including Cleanaway's sale to KKR and later acquisition by Transpacific.

Topic | Cybersecurity | Australian Financial Review

AFR cybersecurity topic page rounding up recent stories: Origin Energy's data breach investigation, Point Wild's planned ASX float, AI models hacking companies, and a CyberCX–Monash University cybersecurity degree partnership.

Uniseed Invests in xCystence Bio to Advance New Therapy Targeting Genetic Kidney Disease

xCystence Bio secured pre-seed funding from Uniseed, Monash Ventures, Breakthrough Victoria, and BioCurate to develop targeted protein degraders for treating genetic kidney disease.

Kite Magnetics wins $2M grant to scale EV motor material

Melbourne EV materials company Kite Magnetics has been awarded an Australian government grant to commercialise its motor-core material, with a larger Series A raise planned but not secured.

Also Startup Daily

Recent Good News from our portfolio

Breakthrough Victoria rounds up April–May 2026 portfolio news, including grants for Number 8 Bio and Xefco, Liquid Instruments' Series C, program selections, partnerships, regulatory clearances and two new Aravax directors.

Also Breakthrough Victoria

Our investment in Arkeus

Folklore Ventures announces it has joined Arkeus' A$25 million Series A with QIC Ventures, R+ VC and returning backers, describing the Melbourne defence-sensing startup's technology and growth plans.

Also Beaten Zone Venture Partners portfolio·Beaten Zone Venture Partners portfolio·arkeus.com·Forbes Australia·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Dealroom

The Ferrari of Immunotherapy: Chimeric’s High-Stakes Race to Cure Cancer

A profile of Chimeric Therapeutics and CEO Rebecca McQualter covering its CAR T cancer therapy, clinical progress, manufacturing partnerships, FDA designations, and path to Phase 2 trials by mid-2026.

Investment update: xCystence Bio

Breakthrough Victoria reports investing in xCystence Bio, a Monash University spinout developing polycystic kidney disease therapies, via its University Innovation Platform alongside BioCurate and UniSeed.

Also Uniseed

Breakthrough Victoria's university platform funds EntroMat, Excelligent and Remagine Labs

Victorian pre-seed program BVUIP, backed by Breakthrough Victoria and seven universities, has funded startups EntroMat, Excelligent and Remagine Labs, plus fellowship grants for three PhD-led ventures.

BV Fellow Q&A: Mohammad Haft Tananian on Rethinking Applications and Scaling Innovation

Breakthrough Victoria interviews a researcher at Monash University who joined its fellowship, describing how program connections redirected his medtech platform from IVF imaging toward endoscopy markets.

Seven ANZ startups that raised $93.1 million this week

Roundup of seven trans-Tasman raises worth $93.1m this week, headlined by IND Technology's $50m round, with LawVu also acquiring ClauseBase.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Science: The World's Shared Language That Carried One Founder Across Continents

Profile tracing Sara Prickett's path from UK labs to co-founding Aravax, the peanut-allergy biotech Brandon Capital backed, as its Phase II trial nears readout in mid-2026.

RAGE Biotech raises $29 million for new lung disease treatment

Melbourne biotech RAGE Biotech has raised a $29 million Series A, with IP Group Australia and Hostplus leading, to fund human trials of its lung disease therapy; new executives were appointed.

Also Startup Daily

Radium Capital surpasses $1 billion in innovation funding

Radium Capital's R&D lending has passed $1 billion across 1,000-plus companies since 2017; case studies recall WeMoney's $12 million Series A and ElectraLith's $27.5 million Main Sequence-led round.

Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·Fintech News Australia·Fintech News Australia

Mental health startup Tala Thrive reveals $500,000 pre-seed raise as it moves back to Melbourne

An exclusive interview with founder Sonia Kaurah discloses the culturally focused mental health platform's previously unreported $500,000 pre-seed round, backed by crowdfunding and angels, as the company relocates from London to Melbourne.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Uniseed boss Peter Devine calls time on 20 years leading Australia's OG VC

Uniseed chief executive Peter Devine departs after two decades; Monash's Alistair Hick takes over in 2026. The piece recounts Uniseed's fund history and recent stakes in ENA Respiratory and Morse Micro rounds.

Breakthrough Victoria hands out $150,000 fellowships to 3 academics to turn their ideas into startups

Breakthrough Victoria has chosen three academic founders for its new fellowship, providing each with $150,000 to help commercialise research in mental health, IVF and skin cancer detection.

Breakthrough Fellowship Program

Breakthrough Victoria announces the first three fellows of its $7.5 million fellowship, giving each researcher $150,000 and support to turn research into startups in mental health games, IVF imaging and skin cancer detection.

Fellowship Investment Update: Mohammad Haft Tananian, InnovaIVF

Breakthrough Victoria's fellowship program puts $150,000 into InnovaIVF, whose founder Mohammad Haft Tananian, a Monash researcher, is building imaging technology to improve which embryos are chosen during IVF.

NASA is sending an Australian-made lunar rover to the Moon by 2030

NASA confirmed the Australian-built Roo-ver will reach the Moon by 2030 under its Artemis program. The ELO2 consortium, technically led by Lunar Outpost Oceania of Melbourne, has $42 million in Australian Government backing.

Respiratory disease startups score $3 million to develop AI-powered treatment analysis

Two medical startups have received a $3 million federal CRC-P grant to build RhinoMAP, an AI tool giving clinicians earlier reads on whether respiratory treatments are working, with university and clinical partners.

FytonBio | with Monash Ventures Pre-Seed Fund

FytonBio secured one million dollars in pre-seed funding from Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University to develop antibody therapies for autoimmune diseases using Monash's GREAT platform.

Remagine Labs raises $500,000 pre-seed via Monash Ventures fund

Melbourne wearable drug-delivery startup Remagine Labs secured $500,000 pre-seed funding, split between Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University, to advance chronic condition treatment devices.

3 Monash University health tech startups score $2.25 million in pre-Seed backing, supported by Breakthrough Victoria

Two Victorian backers put a combined $2.25 million into three university spinouts pursuing biologics, antibody drugs and delivery devices, launching a new $15 million pre-seed vehicle.

Also @AuManufacturing

Four Aussie startups that raised $4.25 million this week

Weekly roundup: Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University co-invest $2.25 million across three university healthtech spinouts, while Blackbird backs Hall, which helps businesses win visibility on AI platforms, with $2 million pre-seed.

Also Startup Daily

BREAKTHROUGH VICTORIA AND MONASH UNIVERSITY INVEST IN THREE GROUNDBREAKING STARTUPS TO IMPROVE LIVES AND EASE PRESSURE ON VICTORIA’S HEALTH SYSTEM

Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University put joint pre-seed backing into three life-sciences spinouts and launched the $15m Monash Ventures pre-seed fund, part of a $100m platform commercialising Victorian university research.

Breakthrough Victoria and Monash University Back Three Health Startups with $2.25 Million Investment

The investor's site reports a joint pre-seed investment with Monash University totalling $2.25 million across three health startups, and the launch of Monash Ventures' $15 million pre-seed fund for research commercialisation.

Also Breakthrough Victoria·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing

Climate Tech and driving a Clean Economy

Breakthrough Victoria showcases nine climate-focused portfolio companies across clean energy and agrifood, describing each technology and its contribution to the energy transition and circular economy.

NRF backs PolyActiva in $40 million raise for dissolvable eye implants

Biotech PolyActiva has banked a Series C round led by the National Reconstruction Fund with Brandon Capital, funding late-stage trials of its dissolvable glaucoma implant and a consolidated Melbourne site.

Also Startup Daily

Seven Aussie startups that raised $495.8 million this week

Weekly roundup of seven Australian startup raises, led by Airwallex's Series F, plus EatClub, Kite Magnetics, Termina, Preve, Foremind and Liveheats.

Also Startup Daily

SQM Lithium puts $3.6M into EV tech startup Kite Magnetics

A lithium producer's venture arm is backing a Melbourne maker of electric-motor components with a $3.6 million investment, funding a manufacturing facility and staff as the company scales production of its magnetic material.

Kite Magnetics receives $3.6 million seed investment from SQM Lithium Ventures

Electric motor maker Kite Magnetics has landed a seed backing from SQM Lithium Ventures as part of its Seed+ round, with plans to scale its Aeroperm motor material and grow globally.

Also SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily

Q&A with Dr Olga Hogan

Breakthrough Victoria's Dr Olga Hogan explains its University Innovation Platform, which co-invests pre-seed funding alongside Victorian universities, plus a fellowship helping PhD researchers turn research into companies.

Gen Z VC fund NextGen Ventures scores Blackbird cofounders as investors in $2.5 million fund build

Student-run venture fund NextGen Ventures has locked in $1.5 million toward a $2.5 million target, backed by Blackbird's cofounders, Airtree and angel investors, and has already invested in AI startup Fluency.

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Roundup of manufacturing news: Sydney Rum Distillery's plans for a former dairy factory site, HiveKeepers beating its Kickstarter target, FBR's $6.3 million placement and restructure, plus research on enzymes, timber supply and waste-to-energy.

YieldX | with La Trobe University's Eagle Fund BREAKTHROUGH VICTORIA CO-INVESTS IN AGTECH COMPANY FOR EARTH AND SPACE VIA ITS UNIVERSITY INNOVATION PLATFORM PARTNERSHIP... Read 28 Mar 2025

AgTech firm YieldX has attracted a $1.7 million round, with Breakthrough Victoria and La Trobe University's Eagle Fund contributing $500,000 apiece alongside Mandalay Venture Partners and LaunchVic's Hugh Victor McKay Fund.