Tractor Ventures

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #173, 9th August 2026

Weekly roundup: Firmus completes its $2.85b round; Procore acquires DroneDeploy; Atlassian rebounds while Canva cuts guidance; plus fresh raises for Zabidou, BioScout, Vexev, Enrola, Spacetalk and others.

Also Dealroom·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

Fintech VC Triple Bubble nails $10 million first close on its $50m fund

A fintech venture fund co-founded by Up Bank's Dom Pym has locked in a $10m first close with Commonwealth Bank's x15ventures as cornerstone backer, aiming for $50m ahead of a 2028 final close.

Why Canberra software startup Aristotle Metadata went with venture debt for capital

Canberra data governance firm Aristotle Metadata has borrowed $400,000 from Tractor Ventures as venture debt, planning to grow its consulting partner network after equity investors labelled it too risky.

The Founders Union startup services hub launches

Scalare Partners has launched The Founders Union, an AI-driven hub connecting founders to education, community, services and investment providers; Westpac, MYOB, Atlassian and Zoho are among its partners.

Equity Clear is building national standard for investment diversity reporting

Equity Clear, an initiative of Scale Investors, Giant Leap and Alberts, wins Investment NSW sponsorship and UNSW academic partnership to build a national investor-diversity reporting standard, led by Noga Edelstein.

Tractor Ventures appoints startup ecosystem leader Liz van Zyl to spearhead $1B funding vision

Tractor Ventures hires Liz van Zyl as head of partnerships as its cumulative startup lending passes $100 million; the interview covers non-dilutive capital, founder support and plans to grow its partner network.

Volatility Group acquires finance news website Small Caps to boost “infrastructure-as-a-service” platform

Sydney fintech Volatility Group has bought small-cap news site Small Caps, launched InvestHouse for brokers, and raised $2.5 million in private credit from Tractor Ventures, with a Series A planned.

Queensland R&D finance fintech raises $2.3 million

Equity raise of $2.3m by Advanced, a Sunshine Coast R&D finance startup building a $25m lending fund; backers include Wayne Gerard and Phil Cummins, who joins the board.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Aussie cooking app ReciMe entices high-profile investors in $1.5 million seed round

Cooking app ReciMe has banked a $1.5 million seed round led by Even Capital, drawing angels such as Marissa Mayer and Deb Liu, as its founders shift to New York to chase US growth.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Agtech DAS and Hex founder Jeanette Cheah honoured in the Victorian governor's startup awards

Victorian Governor's awards name DAS top startup and Acusensus top scaleup; HEX's Jeanette Cheah is Ecosystem Hero, with Tractor's Jodie Imam and Giant Leap's Rachel Yang sharing Investor of the Year.

Also LaunchVic

Funding provider Tractor Ventures unveils all-women C-suite to help “open door” for women leaders

Tractor Ventures has appointed an all-female executive team, with Jodie Imam as sole CEO and Aprill Enright and Francine Hackett as COO and CFO, while co-founder Matt Allen shifts to a new capital role.

ReciMe sizzles, jumping from 20,000 to 400,000 users in 2023

Recipe app ReciMe grew from 20,000 to 400,000 users in 2023, launched a subscription tier, and the article recalls its $500,000 pre-seed raise backed by three investors.

2023 reflections, 2024 predictions with Code Like A Girl’s Ally Watson

Interview with Code Like A Girl founder Ally Watson on 2023's challenges — a federal grant, loyal partners, burnout — and 2024 plans for a new business-to-business product.

Also SmartCompany

Side Stage Ventures secures $15 million for its launch fund with support from Linktree, Airtasker

SmartCompany reports Side Stage Ventures has completed a $15 million first close of its debut fund, backed by founders of Airtasker, Linktree and Go1 plus LocalGlobe, targeting $30 million and already backing early startups.

Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech

Five Aussie startups that raised $58.5 million this week

Weekly roundup covering five Australian startups that announced a combined $58.5 million in new funding, spanning quantum computing, advertising software, mining safety technology and event rental software, alongside government grant programs.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany

ReciMe, the shared recipes app you need for the perfect meal, just chowed down on $500,000 in pre-Seed funding

Also Startup Daily·LaunchVic

Linktree founders back creative startups with new venture fund

Linktree's co-founders have launched Side Stage Ventures, a collective investing in very young creative-tech companies; it has already backed several startups, and associate Ben Grabiner's music platform Platoon was bought by Apple.

Also Australian FinTech

Here are the winners of the first Governor of Victoria Startup Awards

Startup Daily reports the inaugural Governor of Victoria Startup Awards, where Amber Electric and Seer Medical shared the top prize, Linktree took scaleup honours, and the Allens' Tractor Ventures won investor recognition.

Also Startup Daily

Solid and dependable: Tractor Ventures' alternative funding breaks new ground

LaunchVic profile of Tractor Ventures, a Victorian revenue-based lending fund co-founded in 2020, covering LaunchVic's initial backing, a $10 million second capital raise, and its support for profitable mid-stage startups.

Hybrid work culture building startup Remote Social raises $1 million seed round

Workplace culture platform Remote Social has secured $1 million in seed funding from Black Nova VC, NeuroPower, Antler Australia and five angel investors to grow its Culture-as-a-Service offering for distributed teams.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Ignition Lane's Weekly Wrap: Intersekt highlights, $100m Kiwi exit, tech sucker trade, the week in raises

A weekly technology roundup reporting a New Zealand booking software firm's sale, an Australian beauty retailer's acquisition, several venture raises, executive share sales at an e-commerce firm, and a new government fund committee.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

The startup funding round: Athena’s record-breaking raise, $1.5 million for biotech, and Turnbull backs forensics startup

A weekly roundup reporting raises by Athena, Comestri, Mass Dynamics and CircleSource, plus Malcolm Turnbull investing through Turnbull & Partners in UK cloud forensics startup Cado Security.

Ignition Lane’s Weekly Wrap: VC’s $1.6bn year, Christmas collapses, Bassat’s bitcoin bet

Weekly newsletter rounds up venture news: multiple Australian and regional VC fund closes, startup raises including Brighte and Judo, acquisitions of eNett and Sine, neobank collapses, and new revenue-based lenders.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Australian FinTech·Australian FinTech·TechCrunch Venture

LaunchVic is getting into the VC business through venture debt

LaunchVic invests $300,000 into Tractor Ventures' new venture debt fund, which has secured $4 million to lend to self-funded, revenue-positive Victorian startups, with half led by female founders.