Investor · 1 deal
Melbourne, VIC
Every published round Vocus 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.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quasar Satellite Technologies | Unnamed stage | 4 May 2021 | $12m | Participant | SmartCompany (Wed 5 May 2021), SmartCompany (Wed 5 May 2021), @AuManufacturing |
Companies Vocus has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quasar Satellite Technologies | 4 May 2021 | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Vocus, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Vocus has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Vocus did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie Sweeney | CEO | ARN (ARNnet) |
| James Spenceley | Founder | Startup Daily (Fri 2 Jun 2023), Startup Daily (Tue 18 Jan 2022), SmartCompany, Startup Daily (Fri 26 Feb 2021), Startup Daily (Thu 18 Feb 2021), ARN (ARNnet), Startup Daily (Wed 13 Jan 2021) |
| James Spenceley | Boss (former) · Founder | Crikey, ARN (ARNnet) (Sun 26 Jul 2020), ARN (ARNnet) (Mon 11 May 2020) |
| Malcolm Roe | Head of Strategic Projects (former) | ARN (ARNnet) |
| Ricky Corker | Chief Executive Enterprise and Government | ARN (ARNnet) |
| Tony Grist | Deputy Chair (former) | ARN (ARNnet) (Sun 26 Jul 2020), ARN (ARNnet) (Mon 11 May 2020) |
Stories naming Vocus. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Roundup of three Australian raises: Skopos Bio's $12m seed for targeted cancer radiopharmaceuticals, Trendspek's $6m for infrastructure condition AI, and R2Crete's $750,000 pre-seed for concrete recycling.
Also Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups·Cut Through Venture
Trendspek, a Sydney maker of 3D infrastructure condition records, has banked $6 million in a round OIF Ventures led, funding North American and European growth and AI tools that flag defects in inspection imagery.
Also Dealroom·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups
Telecom Vocus hires Ricky Corker from Nokia to lead enterprise and government from November, amid its agreed purchase of TPG Telecom's fibre assets for about $5.3 billion.
NextDC has opened D1, its Darwin data centre, built alongside Vocus and the NT government, with Aussie Broadband, GSL Networks and NetVault among foundational partners in the facility's Digital Development Program.
Airtasker names Cass O’Connor as its next chair while James Spenceley departs the board after eight years to devote himself to Ukrainian relief efforts.
Three ex-Investec executives launch Stride Equity, a crowdfunding platform where vetted startups get crowd raises plus co-investment from the Stride Lead fund; the founders previously backed firms including Vocus and Airtasker.
NSW adds $3.5 million to its disaster-recovery connectivity initiative, with five telecom contractors appointed in September 2022 to run trials and findings expected mid-2023.
Beforepay's shares plunged 44% in its ASX debut, erasing the $35 million IPO raise and much of its $158.4 million listing value; the article recalls earlier raises backed by James Spenceley and Alium Capital.
Weekly technology roundup covering Australia's digital economy budget, multiple startup raises including SafetyCulture's unicorn round, Data Republic's administration, TikTok's new permanent CEO, and Bill.com's purchase of Divvy.
Also Startup Daily
Ground-station startup Quasar has launched alongside a $12 million raise from CSIRO, Main Sequence, a NSW government office and several Australian space and telecom firms, commercialising phased array technology that talks to many satellites simultaneously.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Roundup: Split Payments promotes a new C-suite; Hubilo raises a US$23.5m Series A; Next.e.GO banks €30m; Lexer lands a $33.5m Series B; Zip posts a heavy loss; Kogan.com adds two directors.
Roundup: Facebook blocks Australian news publishers including Startup Daily; Deliveroo loses a Dutch rider classification appeal; telco Swoop agrees a $61.3 million reverse takeover with Stemify to reach the ASX; NBN paid executives bonuses.
Also ARN (ARNnet)·ARN (ARNnet)
Swoop Telecommunications and NodeOne are to list on the ASX via a $61.3 million reverse takeover with Stemify, backed by Tattarang and founders James Spenceley and Tony Grist, plus a planned $20 million raise.
Also ARN (ARNnet)
Western Australian fixed wireless provider NodeOne received investment from Tattarang and CVC to expand its network and business offering; the Forrest family also previously took a stake in Swoop.
Network provider Swoop, formerly Cirrus Communications, has agreed to acquire Anycast Networks and ISP DCSI, gaining assets, staff and customers. Its earlier capital raising counted Minderoo, James Spenceley and Tony Grist as investors.
Data centre operator DCI appointed Malcolm Roe as its Australian CEO, absorbing his startup Open Edge. The piece recalls Brookfield's 2019 acquisition of DCI and notes other executive arrivals and a founder's departure.
Analysis of why private equity firms are aggressively acquiring IT and channel companies, citing recent deals by Thoma Bravo, EQT and BGH Capital, plus an Australian fund targeting Microsoft software vendors.