Accelerator · 19 deals
Perth, WA
Every published round Plus Eight 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 Plus Eight 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.
Companies Plus Eight has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute VR | 15 May 2019, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Ads on Wheels | Online casino comparison and reviews for Australian players | 16 Jul 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Akora | 16 Jul 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Arisave | 15 May 2019, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Coursebox | 2024, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| DiGii | 21 Jul 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Grow Impact | 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| HeyLady! | 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| IDEAcademy | 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Idle | 15 May 2019, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Kinsey Global | 1 Jun 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| KIXXFIT | 16 Jul 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Matilda Health Pty Ltd | 28 Sep 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Matter | 16 Jul 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| OneBase | 8 Sep 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Quax | 16 Jul 2020, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Ready Team One | 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Snackr | 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| SportCentrAll | 1 Jun 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Three Little Pixels | 8 Sep 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Plus Eight, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Plus Eight has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Plus Eight did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Derek Gerrard | Entrepreneur in Residence | Startup News (WA) |
| Dr Marcus Tan | Entrepreneur in Residence (former) | Startup News (WA) (Tue 21 Apr 2026), Startup News (WA) (Fri 30 May 2025), Startup News (WA) (Tue 13 May 2025), Startup News (WA) (Mon 13 May 2024) |
| Kate Kirwin | Program Coordinator | Startup News (WA) |
| Tim Brewer | Entrepreneur in Residence (former) | Startup News (WA) (Thu 13 Jul 2023), Startup News (WA) (Fri 24 Sep 2021), Startup News (WA) (Thu 16 Jul 2020), Startup News (WA) (Fri 26 Apr 2019) |
Stories naming Plus Eight. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Perth accelerator Plus Eight, run by Spacecubed, marks ten years and invites applications for its tenth intake, promising participant startups seed funding, mentoring and a San Francisco visit.
Weekly roundup detailing five Australian raises: Vaxxas' Series D plus debt facility amid executive changes, Skutopia's growth round, Send Payments' backing and CEO change, Apate.ai's seed, and Coursebox's seed.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech·Dealroom·Startup Daily
Perth AI course-creation platform Coursebox has raised a $750,000 seed round from Purpose Ventures, the ninth deal from the WA-backed fund; both founders previously went through the Plus Eight accelerator.
Startup News reports Dr Marcus Tan, who founded and led HealthEngine, has taken the Executive Chair role at Perth leadership-development firm Integral, which earlier raised angel money including from Rayn Ong.
Sixteen WA startups join the 2025 Plus Eight Accelerator's first phase, its largest cohort; top performers will later share seed funding and pitch at an October demo night. Alumni include Matter, acquired by Go1.
Ten13 profiles angel investor Tracie Clark, tracing her path from property and wealth management into early-stage investing, her founder-focused diligence, syndicate work championing women investors, and a new syndicate backing Plus Eight alumni.
Startup News profiles the twelve startups chosen for Spacecubed's 2024 Plus Eight intake in Western Australia, naming their founders and crediting the partners behind the program.
WA venture firm Purpose Ventures has grown its debut fund to $45 million with an $8 million top-up from local backers and made its third investment, leading edtech startup IDEAcademy's $1.3 million raise.
WA education startup IDEAcademy has raised A$1.3 million in a round led by Purpose Ventures, whose debut fund has reached $45 million after adding $8 million in fresh commitments.
Perth's Plus Eight accelerator has picked six startups for its 2023 program, collectively backed with over $400,000 in seed funding, plus an Israel trip and a December Demo Night slot.
Two new Western Australian syndicates, West Tech Investor Network and VentureX Capital, have unveiled debut deals via the Aussie Angels platform, eyeing Procuracon and HeyLady; an earlier $100,000 outlay across three startups is recalled.
Also Startup News (WA)
Spacecubed's Plus Eight Accelerator has named six startups advancing to its final phase, giving them access to a $500,000 seed funding pool and a Demo Night pitch at December's West Tech Fest.
Live-event food delivery app Snackr has raised a $915,000 seed round led by BetterLabs with Woodside Energy, Eastcourt Capital and Spacecubed Ventures, to grow across more Australian and UK venues.
Ten startups have been chosen for the 2022 Plus Eight Accelerator in Perth, with corporate partners including Capricorn Society, Woodside Energy and RAC BetterLabs supporting the founders as the program begins.
Perth wearable tech startup Humm is shutting down after a failed Series A, five years after founding; its technology and CEO Iain McIntyre move to Californian startup Rogalife to develop an anxiety-relief wearable.
Plus Eight's 2021 accelerator intake names six WA startups set to receive seed funding and mentoring, with energy company Woodside joining as a new program partner.
Podcast interview with Erin Bell, whose Camp Connect app tackles FIFO worker wellbeing on mine sites, now winning its first paying client and a place in the 2021 Plus Eight tech accelerator.
Interview with Tobias Schoep, founder of Grow Impact, a SaaS platform helping researchers communicate progress to stakeholders. He recalls completing the Plus Eight Accelerator, compares research to startup life, and discusses global expansion plans.
RAC's corporate venture fund BetterLabs has made four recent investments totalling over $2.7 million, backing three WA female-founded startups — The Volte, Digii Social and Hey Lady — plus US insurtech Waffle.
Plus Eight has selected eight Western Australian startups from 70 applicants to share a $350,000 investment pool, advancing them to the seed-funding stage after a bootcamp, mentoring and a pitch day.
Perth org-design startup Functionly has received a $598,000 federal Accelerating Commercialisation grant, lifting its pre-seed funding to $1.4 million, as it develops its team-planning tool toward commercial launch.
Startup News profiles Catel, an early-stage online marketplace for trading agricultural securities called AgFracs, as the founding team prepares to launch a pilot program after completing accelerator programs.
Spacecubed profiles QUAX founders Braden and Ryan Smith, discussing their mobile accounting business and their progress through the Plus Eight Accelerator Program.
Perth space-sharing startup SpacetoCo has received an equity investment from RAC-backed venture fund BetterLabs Ventures, its third deal, having earlier won Shark Tank backing from Steve Baxter and completed the Plus Eight accelerator.
Podcast episode chatting with the five startups selected for Plus Eight's 2019 Perth program, fresh from a Silicon Valley trip.
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.
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.