Company · Telecommunications
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Optus raised.
Companies Optus acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Sheridan | Vice President Regulatory and Public Affairs | ARN (ARNnet) |
| Clive Dickens | VP of TV and Content (former) | Startup Daily |
| Emma Jensen | Vice President for Small Business | SmartCompany |
| Kelly Bayer Rosmarin | CEO (former) | Forbes Australia, Main Sequence, Women's Agenda, Australian FinTech |
| Michael Venter | Chief Financial Officer | Australian FinTech |
| Quinton Anderson | CIO (former) | Forbes Australia, Main Sequence |
| Reid Meldrum | Executive (former) | ARN (ARNnet) |
| Russell Scrimshaw | Director of Marketing (former) | Australian FinTech |
Stories naming Optus. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin warns rogue AI agents in enterprises are inevitable and discusses Aigentsphere, her AI-monitoring startup, which raised a $4 million seed round from Main Sequence in April.
Australian telco enablement group Advantai hires Ben Dobbin as Prvidr's COO and Julian Dell as Staqr's CTO, effective immediately, as it scales across the Trans-Tasman telecommunications market.
Global consultancy Sia has acquired Seven Consulting, an Australian business transformation firm, roughly quadrupling Sia's local headcount and adding major banking, government and retail clients.
Consulting group Sia has bought Seven Consulting, an Australian transformation consultancy, adding Sydney and Melbourne offices, a Perth presence and major clients across banking, government and retail.
Also Dealroom·Dealroom·sevenconsulting.com·briefglance.com·melbourne-insider.au·cfotech.com.au·consultancy.com.au
Devoli has hired Kent Plummer from Aussie Broadband as channel manager for Australia, tasking him with helping the provider's MSP partners simplify how they run connectivity.
Main Sequence's post sets out why the fund backed Aigentsphere, which builds governance tooling for enterprise AI agents, citing the founders' banking backgrounds and a $4 million seed raise.
Three seasoned agribusiness and funds figures have launched a boutique fund to buy and turn around overlooked mid-market companies in staple industries, with capital raising under way and first acquisitions planned for early 2026.
Meliora, Clive Dickens' advisory firm, has started backing AI companies alongside a student-focused venture fund that is closing in on its fundraising target.
Also Forbes Australia
Airwallex adds ex-Optus chief Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and four other directors to its subsidiary's board while it pursues an Australian banking licence; the article also recaps the fintech's US$300 million Series F.
Jason Ashton, formerly NBN Co's wireless networks technology chief and BigAir's co-founder, rejoins Superloop on 3 March in a newly created role leading acquisitions and its smart communities portfolio.
SmartCompany teams with Optus on a video series wrapping each month's business news; edition five covers Oltre's Pitch competition win, BindiMaps, and founder Kesley McCormick on UK research connecting ADHD with entrepreneurship.
Superloop's board has rejected Aussie Broadband's merger proposal as too low, with Aussie already holding a 19.9% stake; the piece also recalls Superloop's VostroNet purchase and Aussie's Symbio buyout.
Roundup of eight Australian startup raises totalling $433m, topped by Employment Hero's $263m Series F and Skykraft's $120m round; Darwinium, Konvoy Kegs, The Martec and three Birchal crowdfunds complete the week.
Also AgFunderNews
The Martec, a Sydney talent-marketing platform, has secured an $8 million round led by family office AS1 with Airtree backing, to grow its offshore presence; its customers include Telstra, Coles and Adobe.
Also SmartCompany
Optus awards $5,000 technology grants plus mentoring to two founders, including Anthogen Australia's Alison Stokes; the piece profiles the health startup's app for chronic-condition patients.
Weekly roundup detailing seven Australian startup raises totalling $16.4 million, covering Thinxtra, Canopus Networks, Mash, Beamible, Earthodic, Citadel.run and Cleverbean, with investors, amounts and founder backgrounds.
Ignition Lane's weekly wrap: Tiger Global's losses and past Australian bets, MilkRun and TradeSquare closures, Cyara's Spearline acquisition, a Co Ventures pre-seed fund, Square Peg's partner promotion and LaunchVic's 30×30 picks.
NSW adds $3.5 million to its disaster-recovery connectivity initiative, with five telecom contractors appointed in September 2022 to run trials and findings expected mid-2023.
Ignition Lane's weekly tech roundup covering fresh Australian startup raises, new venture funds and closes, a wave of acquisitions, delistings and a liquidation, executive moves, and Canva's product launch.
Also Centerstone Capital portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·6clicks.com·ARN (ARNnet)·Centerstone Capital portfolio·Techboard·Startup Daily
Padua Solutions has hired Rudy Haddad to lead technical advice and Kun Singh as marketing head, while recalling a $10.5 million raise in late 2021 that fueled its rapid expansion.
Unleash live, working with Optus and AWS, flew its first drone test for Endeavour Energy, streaming 5G footage; the project earlier received a $648,000 federal government 5G Innovation Initiative grant.
Zetaris has banked a $30 million raise at a valuation topping $110 million, with Exto Partners leading and several co-investors; the company earlier won Ingram Micro's 2019 Comet Competition, worth up to $1.5 million.
Also ARN (ARNnet)·ARN (ARNnet)
Software vendor Freshworks appoints SAP veteran Ben Pluznyk as director and country manager for Australia and New Zealand, following its channel chief hire and local expansion through distributor Synnex.
Weekly roundup reporting Australian raises including Zero Co, MOBI and CipherStash, Cashrewards' takeover agreement, Shebah's collapse, WeWork's NYSE listing, crypto regulation recommendations and SiteMinder board appointments.
Also Australian FinTech·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
Perth network-software firm ActivePort has joined the ASX under ticker ATV after a $12 million float at 20 cents a share, led by Bridge Street Capital, to fund international expansion.
Regional telco Field Solutions Group received $7.75 million in federal Mobile Blackspots Program grants to trial roaming with Optus, build 15 towers, and pilot a neutral host model across regional Australia.
Brisbane flow battery maker Redflow has launched a capital raise of roughly $23 million, pairing $5 million from a US investor with an entitlement offer, as it pushes into the American storage market.
Also RenewEconomy
Profile of Bramp, a platform co-founded by Benni Weller and Joe Mathew letting small businesses build brands without agency costs; the founders met through Antler's program, with a limited launch planned for late August.
Australian bill-payment platform Deferit has raised AU$15 million in an oversubscribed Series B round, led by returning backer Carthona Capital with new participant Alceon Group, to fund marketing, partnerships and hiring.
Ignition Advice appoints Russell Scrimshaw as deputy chairman and non-executive director, adds two business development hires, and recalls its 2020 Series B raise with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Weekly roundup reporting Salesforce's Slack acquisition, several ASX listings, multiple Australian startup raises, OneVentures' fund tranche close, and international deals including Facebook buying Kustomer.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
SendGold has appointed Maria Loyez, formerly a marketing executive at Volt Bank, SocietyOne and OFX, as Chief Customer Experience Advisor ahead of its global launch.
The disability-focused accelerator Remarkable has taken seven startups into its fourth cohort, and its alumni include Equal Reality and HomeCare Heroes, with earlier backing from Optus noted.
Women-focused co-working business One Roof closed a million-dollar raise in February 2019 from five female-led family offices to fund a new Melbourne premises, with corporate support from Central Equity, Optus and MYOB.
A quiz-platform startup announces a new name reflecting its wider engagement tools, and the piece recalls the seed funding that underpinned its recent team and client growth.
US consulting firm Simplus has bought Australian Salesforce partner Sqware Peg for an undisclosed sum, its first international acquisition. Sqware Peg's managing director will hold shares in the combined business.
StartupSmart profiles ten startups it expects to do well in 2019, reporting funding rounds for Black.ai, Huddle, Manrags, Matrak and Work180, Fleet's earlier Series A, and the Ongs' past sale of Eatibility.
Also SmartCompany
VR diversity-training startup Equal Reality receives $30,000 after winning Optus's Future Makers program. The profile covers its founders, its passage through Remarkable, its pitch event and its US expansion via Halcyon.