Venture capital fund · 21 deals
Sydney, NSW
Every published round Our Innovation Fund 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.
Companies Our Innovation Fund has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventus.io | 21 Jun 2021, Series A | 1 | 1 | |
| Atelier | 2 Dec 2021, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Bookipi | 5 Nov 2020, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Bridgit | 16 Mar 2022, Series A | 1 | 1 | |
| Circle In | 23 Aug 2019, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Eftsure | 7 Aug 2019 | 1 | 1 | |
| Enboarder | 22 Nov 2018, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Fortiro | 22 Feb 2022, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Go1 | 19 May 2020, Series C | 1 | 0 | |
| Inspace | 2 Dec 2021, Seed | 2 | 2 | |
| Kasada | Mar 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| Linkby | 24 Feb 2022, Seed | 1 | 1 | |
| Matrak | Aug 2018, Seed | 3 | 1 | |
| mod.io | 8 Nov 2021, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| Pushas | Marketplace for sneakers, streetwear and collectibles | 18 Oct 2021, Pre-seed | 1 | 0 |
| Visionary Machines | 1 Nov 2021, Seed | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Our Innovation Fund, as distinct from the investments it has made.
| Fund | Announced | Committed | Target | Close | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| second fund | 4 Aug 2020 | $75m | - | - | SmartCompany (Tue 15 Dec 2020), SmartCompany (Tue 4 Aug 2020) |
Companies Our Innovation Fund has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Our Innovation Fund did.
Stories naming Our Innovation Fund. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Roundup of Australian manufacturing news: Matrak closes a Series A, Queensland Pacific Metals receives an R&D tax refund, ARENA funds a household energy trial, Ampcontrol appoints a transformation chief, plus policy and launch briefs.
Also @AuManufacturing
Weekly roundup of seven trans-Tasman raises totalling $27.4 million, headlined by Xefco's $10.5 million round, plus Hometime board appointments and Matrak's China expansion.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Melbourne construction-tech firm Matrak has raised a $2.9 million Series A led by Singapore's G&M Capital, with Our Innovation Fund and Simon Yencken aboard, funding expansion into China and a new Suzhou office.
Podcast interview in which Advanced Navigation co-founder Xavier Orr discusses the company's new Botany factory, lunar landing sensors, a reported billion-dollar Series B valuation, and hiring in a tight skills market.
OIF's blog republishes an AFR report: Inspace has banked a $6 million round backed by B Capital and OIF, plans AI features and US growth, while proptech peers :Different and Yabonza have failed.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Melbourne family-care benefits platform Circle In has closed a $2m round, adding Alberts Impact Ventures to existing private backers and LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund, while research highlights shrinking venture money for women-only founding teams.
Also Alberts Impact Ventures portfolio·Alberts Impact Ventures portfolio·Women's Agenda·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Women's Agenda
Techboard's monthly roundup cataloguing April 2022 Australian startup funding: megadeals, seed rounds, grants and crowdfunding, nine acquisitions, several ASX listings, and venture firms' fund news.
Robotics firm Advanced Navigation, backed by publisher OIF, is buying ANU spin-out Vai Photonics in an all-scrip deal of up to $40m; Vai's navigation tech is in talks with NASA.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Dynamic Business·Startup Daily
US software company NetApp is buying Canberra data platform Instaclustr in a deal reportedly exceeding $500 million, nine years after its founding, rewarding early backers including ANU Connect Ventures and Bailador.
Investment note announcing the firm's lead of Bridgit's $7.7 million Series A. Covers the bridging-loan fintech's product, traction, market, and founders' backgrounds at Stake, MoneyMe and KPMG.
Ignition Lane's weekly technology roundup: climate-tech funding activity, Grok's bid for AGL, King River Capital's digital asset fund, a batch of Australian startup raises, Maropost acquisitions, GigSuper's collapse and a National AI Centre appointment.
Also Startup Daily
Weekly roundup of seven startup raises: OCR Labs' Series B, Zoomo's Series B extension, plus new funding for Lumi, Upflowy, Linkby, Fortiro and Licorice, alongside Scalapay's unicorn round and Arkon Energy's pre-seed.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Techboard·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Australian FinTech
OIF, an Australian VC, announces a $3.5 million investment leading Fortiro's seed round, profiling the document fraud-detection startup's technology, PwC-experienced founders, and customer traction.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech
Bot-security firm Kasada, founded by Sam Crowther, raised $23m in a Series C led by StepStone, with OIF and Turnbull & Partners among existing backers; StepStone had recently acquired Greenspring Associates.
OIF republishes AFR coverage of adtech startup Linkby raising $5 million in a seed round the fund led, profiling founder Chris Wirasinha, his Pedestrian TV sale, and Linkby's publisher advertising model.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Woolworths' corporate venture arm W23 has added an undisclosed multi-million-dollar investment to its backing of Sydney alt-protein maker All G Foods, which had earlier raised a $16 million seed round in late 2021.
Also Startup Daily·AgFunderNews·@AuManufacturing·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Weekly roundup reporting many startup funding rounds, Investible's fund close, Skalata's committed capital, hipages buying Builderscrack, Stack Sports acquiring Team App, and Level Equity's stake purchase in Eftsure.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
OIF announces it followed on into Atelier's $3 million seed round. Atelier's marketplace helps creators and brands manufacture and launch beauty and wellness products; OIF first backed the company's December 2020 pre-seed.
OIF says its early stake in Israeli cybersecurity firm XM Cyber, bought by Schwarz Group for US$700 million, returned the firm's entire first fund; Macquarie and others joined its 2020 Series B.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily
Construction software firm Assignar has completed a US$16.5 million secondary financing led by Tiger Global, with SecondQuarter Ventures, Fifth Wall and HighSage Ventures buying in, letting early backers sell some equity.
Tiger Global led a US$16.5m secondary funding round in construction software firm Assignar, co-led by SecondQuarter Ventures, with Fifth Wall and HighSage taking part; past backers and a $20m Series B are recalled.
Mod.io, which lets gamers build and share in-game content, has raised $34 million from Tencent, LEGO's venture arm, Our Innovation Fund and earlier backers.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Virtual inspection platform Inspace has secured A$4 million in fresh capital, with Our Innovation Fund leading the round alongside Leigh Jasper, Investible and Artesian. OIF partner Geoff Levy joins the board.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily
Sydney sneaker resale platform PUSHAS has raised a $1.2 million pre-seed round backed by TEN13, Our Innovation Fund, US venture firms and several angels, to improve liquidity and scale ahead of international expansion.
Also Startup Daily
OIF's write-up of bridging-loan startup TechLend: a two-month-old lender fielding heavy loan demand, already holding $50 million in venture debt from a Silicon Valley fund, now chasing a larger facility plus equity.
Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·Techboard·Australian FinTech
Sydney early-stage investor Jelix Ventures has pulled together $15 million for a new fund from prominent tech founders and executives, has already backed three startups, and plans a further raise before year's end.
Also Women's Agenda
Anti-fraud fintech Eftsure, whose only venture backer is the publisher's fund, is fielding unsolicited takeover interest and testing the market via Monash Advisory; that fund was recently lifted to $100 million.
OIF has upsized its second fund's target to $100m from $75m, with $50m committed at an August 2020 first close and $30m more banked by February 2021; $20m deployed across twelve startups so far.
Republished AFR report recalls Go1's earlier backing and Series C investors, including OIF, while its reported Series D at a billion-dollar valuation remains in progress and a listing is flagged.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup News (WA)·TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture
Weekly roundup covering Main Sequence's second-fund close, operating partner hires at Blackbird and AirTree, raises by Sea Forest, Adventus.io, Halter and others, acquisitions by Equiem, Stripe and Toyota, plus Big Tech earnings.
Australian venture firm Our Innovation Fund has secured $80 million for its new fund, exceeding its $75 million target, and hired ex-Amazon Web Services executive Paul Migliorini as a venture partner.
HR software maker Enboarder lands $45 million from US growth backer NewSpring, with a NewSpring partner joining the board; the piece also recaps its earlier Series A top-up and other recent local rounds.
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Square Peg has closed a $600 million fourth fund, capping a year in which Australian venture funds collectively gathered over $1.6 billion, with closes by Blackbird, OneVentures, Equity Venture Partners, Antler, Tidal and others.
Blackbird Ventures has closed a $500 million fourth fund backed by Australian institutional and international investors. The article recalls Square Peg and Tidal Ventures raises, Our Innovation Fund's new fund, and Amazon's Zoox acquisition.
Also SmartCompany
Circle In launched a COVID-19 Parent Portal for employers of working parents, signed international clients, and closed an investment round led by existing investor Our Innovation Fund, with the amount undisclosed.
Deep tech firm Advanced Navigation, based in Sydney, has secured $20m from CSIRO's venture arm Main Sequence plus two US funds; two investors take board seats. OIF backed it earlier.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·@AuManufacturing·Forbes Australia·Dynamic Business
A weekly roundup reporting several Australian and New Zealand startup raises, including Circle In, Equiem, HealthChase, RateIt, Swoop Aero and Tell Me Baby, plus startup funding via Mars and Antler programs.
Circle In, a platform helping employers support employees through parental leave and working parenthood, has raised a $1.5 million seed round from Our Innovation Fund, with its founders and the fund's partner welcoming the partnership.