Ledger.

Startup

Prospa

Sydney, NSW

Coverage

Stories naming Prospa. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Funding announcement

Early VC #4 - Gilmour raised $35M, Tracksuit's Series A, acquisitions of CSR and Alumina.

Newsletter roundup covering Australian raises by Gilmour Space, BlockTexx, FirstWave and Bandicoot, acquisitions of Alumina, Cyanco, Quality Air Equipment and Amentco, plus takeover interest in CSR and Prospa.

4 deals

Business lender Shift banks $27 million from Sequoia Capital

Sydney small-business lender Shift, once known as GetCapital, has secured a Series C worth $27 million, with Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia heading the round and earlier backers also taking part.

Also Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech

12 deals

2019 Year in Review

Square Peg's retrospective of 2019: five new portfolio companies, several large rounds it led or co-led, two acquisitions, two IPOs, new team members, and its capital deployed across new and follow-on deals.

Also TechCrunch Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Square Peg Capital portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·StrictlyVC·Startup News (WA)·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·@AuManufacturing·TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture·Crunchbase News

Funding announcement

AirTree joins leading VCs Square Peg and Blackbird in cutting Canva's valuation by a third

Australian venture firms Airtree, Square Peg and Blackbird have written down their Canva stakes, valuing the design company well below its last raise, amid wider market corrections hitting Klarna and other late-stage startups.

Series B $25m

Investment notes: Athena AU$25m Series B

Square Peg explains its rationale for leading Athena's Series B, joined by Hostplus and Airtree, with analysis of the Australian mortgage market, the challenger lender's model, and its founding and senior team.

Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Crunchbase News

News

Finding The Exit: Australian VC exits and market roundup

Commentary piece on VC exit strategies (IPO, trade sale, secondary sale) referencing recent Australian tech M&A deals and venture funding rounds including Sendle, UpGuard, Sonder and others.

8 deals

Finding the Exit

Aura Group's analysis of venture capital exits, reviewing recent Australian deals such as MessageMedia's sale and several funding rounds, then explaining the three liquidity paths: IPOs, trade sales and secondary sales.

Also OIF Ventures portfolio·Square Peg Capital portfolio·Square Peg Capital portfolio·investor.atmeta.com·The Guardian Australia - Technology·OIF Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Techboard·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·wired.com·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·about.fb.com·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·rswebsols.com·brandclickx.com·economictimes.indiatimes.com·TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture·Crunchbase News·TechCrunch Venture·Crunchbase News·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·LaunchVic

Unnamed stage $1m

Sydney startup CarClarity banks $1 million investment to fuel innovation in car financing

Car loan comparison platform CarClarity has raised $1 million in a round led by Equity Venture Partners, with angel money from lending executives, and an EVP associate is set to join its board.

Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·Cut Through Venture·Australian FinTech

Unnamed stage $2m

WeMoney bursts out of stealth mode with $2 million raise for platform boosting financial, and emotional, wellbeing

Perth fintech WeMoney has launched publicly with a $2 million round led by RAC's venture arm BetterLabs, joined by Full Circle VC and several angel investors, for its community-based money management app.

Also Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·Startup News (WA)·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup News (WA)·Australian FinTech·Startup News (WA)·Australian FinTech

Seed

Why Square Peg Capital's Ben Hensman thinks there's never been a better time to build a fintech company

Square Peg investor Ben Hensman argues conditions favour Australian fintech founders despite COVID-19, citing the firm's seed backing of Zeller and more than $100 million invested in local fintech businesses.

Also Square Peg Capital portfolio·Square Peg Capital portfolio·SmartCompany·Australian FinTech·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·TechCrunch Venture

Funding announcement

More than 2000 people watched Antler Sydney's virtual Demo Day online

Antler Australia streamed its first virtual Demo Day to over 2000 viewers, presenting twelve startups built through its five-month program, and unveiled two new initiatives supporting women founders and online company-building training.

2 deals

5 things you should know about tech today

Daily tech roundup covering Kogan.com's $100 million placement, Prospa's quarterly results with a government warehouse investment, Grubhub's merger with Just Eat Takeaway, plus Amazon, Ping Identity and Tesla news.

3 deals

Sydney’s AirTree Ventures closes $275M fund as Aussie unicorns gather pace

AirTree Ventures closes a $275 million third fund backed by Australian institutions and announces staff moves; the piece also recalls Canva's raise, Prospa's ASX listing and :Different's new round.

Also Startup Daily·StrictlyVC·AFR Technology·TechCrunch Venture

5 deals

Challenger bank Judo says it will lend $1 billion to SMEs by the end of 2019

Melbourne challenger bank Judo raised a record A$400 million Series A, drawing new offshore backers Bain Capital Credit and Tikehau Capital, and aims to lend $1 billion to small businesses by Christmas.

Funding announcement

2ND TIME LUCKY: Small business lender Prospa is raising $110 million in another IPO attempt

Online small-business lender Prospa has lodged a prospectus for a second attempt at listing on the Australian exchange, a year after abandoning its first, having earlier raised a pre-listing round from existing backers.

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