Accelerator · 9 deals
Sydney, NSW
Every published round muru-D 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, and a place in one of its own programs is under Cohorts.
Everyone muru-D has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
| Member | Program | Announced | Cheque | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Paddock | muru-D accelerator program | the first Melbourne intake | - | Skalata Ventures, Breakthrough Victoria |
Companies muru-D has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zetifi | 2019, Accelerator | 2 | 2 | |
| Farmbot Monitoring Solutions | 12 Oct 2021, Series A | 1 | 1 | |
| Smart Paddock | Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Agrinet | 16 May 2019, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Alta | 7 Feb 2022, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Farmbot | 13 Jun 2024, Bridge / extension | 1 | 0 | |
| FluroSat | 23 Jul 2019, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Monarc Global | 10 Jul 2019, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Pioneera Group Pty Ltd | 3 Feb 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for muru-D, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies muru-D has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal muru-D did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Jones | Entrepreneur in Residence | Startup Daily |
| Ben Sand | Folklore Ventures | |
| Julie Trell | Head | SmartCompany, Women's Agenda, Startup Daily |
| Luke Harwood | Head of Innovation | Beef Central / Grain Central |
| Luke Harwood | Mentor (former) | SmartCompany |
| Mick Liubinskas | functionly.com, Startup Daily, SmartCompany |
Stories naming muru-D. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Victorian agtech firm Smart Paddock has raised a $1.7m seed round co-led by Breakthrough Victoria and Telstra's muru-D, with Skalata, Twynam and Little Group also investing; Telstra executive Jon Young Flores joins the board.
Folklore Ventures Q&A with Strong Compute founder Ben Sand covering its enterprise AI compute offering, community events, grant programs, hiring and his take on how AI market assumptions have shifted.
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.
Seven Australian startups together banked over $90 million in the past seven days across venue software, hydrogen aviation, social media, craft brewing, plastics alternatives, aged-care robotics and accountant training.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Telstra has put another $2 million into water-monitoring agtech Farmbot, its third backing of the business, to support growth and an upcoming United States launch.
Zetifi, a regional NSW farm connectivity startup, raised a $12m Series A led by Telstra and GrainCorp's ventures fund, with existing backers returning; it earlier won accelerator places, government grants and a Grow-NY prize.
Virtual reality studio Alta has secured a $12.4 million seed round backed by Makers Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the Sydney-founded company at $62 million to build content and expand its team.
Also Startup Daily
Dale Cohen recalls the early days of Telstra's muru-D accelerator, published with the email announcing the program will leave its accelerator form behind and move to partnering with startups.
US agritech firm Farmers Business Network has acquired Perth startup Farmsave to enter Australia, keeping its staff; Farmsave's past backers included muru-D, and FBN earlier raised a Series E from Kleiner Perkins.
Also AgFunderNews
Australia's SheEO collective has named 21 semi-finalists for its latest loan round; its leaders discuss the community's lending model, growth since 2018, and the culture of asking for help.
Roundup covering a new Startmate climate accelerator, BlueChilli's shift to scale-ups, Telstra reviewing muru-D, 86 400's home loan launch, Domain buying Real Time Agent, and Uber's Saudi backing.
Brisbane data analysis startup Kapiche has raised $1.75 million led by Main Sequence Ventures to refine product-market fit and grow its team, with US expansion and a future capital raise planned.
Agritech firm FluroSat raised $3.2 million in a round led by M12; the piece also recalls its 2017 seed round, its purchase of ProductionWise, and a joint research grant.
Brisbane aviation booking startup Monarc Global closed a $500,000 seed round led by Brisbane Angels and Angel Loop, with River City Labs and Muru-D contributing, after strong US demand.
Also Startup Daily
Five startups join the 2019 Plus Eight Accelerator, run by Spacecubed with muru-D, offering seed funding, mentoring and a Silicon Valley trip; the teams have just returned from San Francisco, visiting alumni Humm at Skydeck.
Blackbird's note explains its backing of Incodocs' fresh seed funding supported by Maersk, covering the founders' trading background, the team's origins, and the market for digitising export paperwork.
Also SmartCompany
Telstra-backed accelerator muru-D names ten startups for its sixth Sydney intake, each receiving seed funding, while Clean Travel and Okra Solar join Booking.com's sustainable tourism accelerator running in Amsterdam.
Particle profiles Perth grocery-delivery startup Unocart, covering its founders' social mission against food insecurity, two earlier pivots, and its 2017 stint in the muru-D accelerator.