Investor · 19 deals
Every published round SmartCompany 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 SmartCompany 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 SmartCompany has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car Next Door | 2018, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Cashrewards | 2017, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Code Like a Girl | 16 Nov 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Eyeonic | Nov 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Founder secondary - 2024 | Workplace experience platform for hybrid teams | 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Fresho | 3 Nov 2025, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Goterra | 14 Nov 2024, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| HEX | 28 Mar 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| InstantScripts | 18 Jun 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| July | 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Lumos | 15 Sep 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| LVLY | 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Mad Paws | 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| MoneyMe | 2017, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Mr Yum | 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Muso | 8 Dec 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Ofload | 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Peeplcoach | Leadership coaching and development programs for managers | 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Pet Circle | Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| PickStar | Platform for booking sports stars and celebrities | 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| Prospa | 2016, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Quad Lock | 2015, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| The Hacker Exchange Pty Ltd | 3 Feb 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| The Laundry Lady | 2024, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Your Food Collective | 8 Dec 2021, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Zero Co | 7 Feb 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Zipr | Accelerator | 1 | 1 | |
| Zoom2u | 16 Nov 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for SmartCompany, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies SmartCompany has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal SmartCompany did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quad Lock | Thule | Acquisition | 12 Nov 2024 | $500m |
| Mr Yum | Me&U | Merger | 29 Nov 2023 | - |
| InstantScripts | Wesfarmers | Acquisition | 2023 | $135m |
| Car Next Door | Uber | Acquisition | Nov 2022 | - |
| LVLY | Limitless Technology | Acquisition | 23 May 2022 | $35m |
| Cashrewards | 1835i | Acquisition | 2022 | $76m |
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Tegan Jones | Senior Tech Reporter | SmartCompany |
| Simon Crerar | Editor-in-chief | SmartCompany |
| Jeanette Cheah | Guest Editor (former) | SmartCompany |
Stories naming SmartCompany. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Two founders of a luggage brand have bought a fifth of a water bottle maker at a ten-million-dollar valuation, with the money going into growth rather than to sellers, and a new bottle launching soon.
Splose, an Adelaide maker of practice software for allied-health clinicians, has landed a $46 million Series A from Spectrum Equity and Athletic Ventures to speed product development and push into the UK.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Brisbane startup TernX, founded by Tack Lee and Hoe Ping Lo, makes a stroller-suitcase hybrid; the Smart50 Rising Star profile recalls a $350,000 Shark Tank Australia deal.
Cashrewards, a shopping rebates platform once bought by ANZ's venture arm, is shutting down and returning member balances. It had earlier acquired Little Birdie, previously backed with $30 million by Commonwealth Bank.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Karl Jacoby led a $1m seed round for mobile laundry startup The Laundry Lady, joined by angel groups and government programs, to bankroll its push into Canadian and British markets and further TimeBoss development.
Pet-sitting marketplace Mad Paws has recommended a proposed $62 million takeover by US company Rover, with its Pet Chemist arm earmarked for VetPartners, while earlier raises are recalled.
Retrospective timeline of Catch's journey from its 2006 launch through Tiger Global's investment, the Menulog and Luxury Escapes deals and Wesfarmers' $230 million acquisition, to Wesfarmers' announced wind-down.
Year-end roundup ranking 2024's twelve largest startup raises, headed by PsiQuantum's $940 million government-backed quantum computing round, plus Guzman y Gomez's ASX listing and Betashares' Temasek investment.
Weekly funding roundup covering eight local companies that together banked $80m, topped by twin $17m Series Bs at Safewill and Fresho, plus Celosia's $16.75m Series A and five smaller rounds.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·LaunchVic
Smart50 profile ranking telehealth provider Midnight Health third, noting its founders, Queensland base and earlier $40 million backing from NIB across several rounds.
SmartCompany's Smart50 Awards 2024 profile ranks agtech Goterra ninth. The Canberra business turns food waste into animal feed using robot-managed maggots, with customers including Woolworths and the City of Sydney.
Sweden's Thule is buying Melbourne phone-mount maker Quad Lock in a $500 million deal; Quadrant Private Equity and the founders are selling their stakes. The piece recalls Quad Lock's crowdfunding start and Smart50 appearances.
Also addtocart.com.au
SmartCompany's rolling coverage of SXSW Sydney day two, recording Polymath's pre-seed raise and Build Club's recent funding, the Equity Clear launch, Startmate's Demo Day, and women-founded startup pitches at Google's event.
Profile of regional NSW sexual-health startup Hyphen Health: its rugby sponsorship, founding story, past angel and venture-debt raises, and growth in online STI testing.
SafetyCulture secured $75 million of fresh capital plus $90 million from existing shareholders selling shares, valuing the operations software company at $2.5 billion. Airtree, Blackbird, Morpheus Ventures, Hostplus and HESTA joined the round.
Also Tech Funding News - Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Weekly round-up of four Australian raises: Shift's $35 million Series D, Inform Ag's $7 million Series A, Cropify's $2 million round and WhyHive's $600,000 pre-seed.
Advice piece in which two founders who competed in a SmartCompany pitch competition share lessons on pitch deck content, using analogies, demonstrating traction, and rehearsing answers before a live investor pitch.
Roundup covering seven Australian companies' recent raises — Splend, Rich Data Co, Slice, InvestorHub, Eyeonic, Graceview and Monty Compost Co — from fleet electrification finance to AI compliance and compost-monitoring seed rounds.
Cashrewards has bought Little Birdie, the deals startup backed by Commonwealth Bank that went quiet in May; the piece also recalls Cashrewards' 2017 Smart50 nod, 2020 ASX float, and later takeover by 1835i Ventures.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Eyeonic, a Melbourne startup screening for glaucoma with AI, has completed an oversubscribed $2.6 million seed round led by Martin Goodrich after winning SmartCompany's Pitch competition, and now targets expansion across Asia and Africa.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Sydney logistics platform Ofload has confirmed a $31 million raise, with Yarra Capital Management leading, to fund its newly launched emissions tracking tool, valuing the firm at $350 million.
Also Forbes Australia
SmartCompany reports digital health platform Updoc raised $20 million from ASX-listed investor Bailador, its first external capital, and notes the telehealth sector's recent funding activity, including InstantScripts' earlier sale to Wesfarmers.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia
Weekly roundup covering five Australian startups' raises: an insurtech Series E, a digital ID Series A, medtech and proptech funding, and a recycling platform's equity crowdfunding campaign.
Roundup of the week's funding news: nine companies across Australia and New Zealand secured investment spanning clean energy, construction logistics, legal tech, coaching, research tools, creator media, medtech and marketing software.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·LaunchVic
Leadership coaching platform Peeplcoach has raised $1.3 million from backers including Jacinta McDonell and LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund, funding local and overseas expansion and taking its total raised beyond $3 million.
Salter Brothers Tech Fund has proposed a roughly $74 million buyout that would delist Prospa from the ASX; directors back the offer, and the article recaps the lender's corporate history.
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
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
Weekly roundup of eight Australian startups together securing $149 million: One Model, SafetyCulture, Hysata, Pendula, Marqo, Medigrowth, Curiious and Zena Sport, spanning HR analytics, safety tech, hydrogen, AI, medicinal cannabis, VR and sportstech.
Also Startup Daily·thebusinesstimes.com.au·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia
Weekly roundup of six Australian startups raising a combined $45.1 million across energy, e-commerce, design software, cloud security, climate tech and insurtech, plus Awayco's acquisition of Barcode Solutions and nVest winning SmartCompany's Pitch.
Also SmartCompany·LaunchVic
Weekly roundup detailing nine Australian startup funding rounds totalling $107.35 million, spanning pet e-commerce, quantum sensors, proptech, agtech, EV charging, sailing apparel, marketing tools, consumer goods and pregnancy wearables.
Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews
Telehealth firm InstantScripts, a 2021 Smart50 winner, faces a proposed roughly $135 million takeover by Wesfarmers through API; backer Bailador will exit its whole stake, realising $52 million.
A Smart50 Workplaces profile of education-tech company Vivi International, noting its past Series B round that funded international expansion, its South Yarra headquarters, founders, and workplace culture initiatives.
SmartCompany profiles ten Australian startups to watch in 2023, recapping recent funding rounds, one acquisition, and pitch-event and awards results across insurtech, gaming, biotech, death tech and freight.
Also SmartCompany
SmartCompany opens applications for the 2023 edition of its startup pitch competition, and flags fresh raises at Subpod and Oceanfarmr while recalling Zipr's prize at the inaugural event.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Smart50 Awards 2022 profile ranking Zoom2u Technologies 28th; the delivery marketplace founded by Steve Orenstein grew revenue 47% to $4.13 million and listed in 2021, after placing 41st in the 2021 awards.
Smart50 profile of Code Like A Girl, a Victorian social enterprise placing women into software engineering roles, noting its revenue growth, earlier backing from Colarus Ventures, Toyota grants, and expansion ambitions.
SmartCompany's Smart50 Awards 2022 profile ranks Quad Lock 45th, citing $106.15 million revenue, 20% growth, South Yarra headquarters, and a new CEO appointment as the smartphone-mount maker pushes into lifestyle branding.
Smart50 profile of Fresho, a Melbourne platform digitising B2B food ordering, recounting its founding, four capital raises, expansion into New Zealand and the UK, and planned US push.
SmartCompany names its 2022 Smart50 winners: July tops the list, Ofload ranks second after a $60 million raise, and Mad Paws, Zero Co, Code Like a Girl and Hero Packaging take out category awards.