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Everything we hold that Forbes Australia published.
The most recent 60 of 291 articles we hold from Forbes Australia.
Firmus withdrew its ASX listing after weak investor demand. The explainer covers the data centre developer's history, its Nvidia and Blackstone backing, prior raises, and why the float collapsed.
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Australia's record Q3 2026 startup funding quarter was dominated by Firmus's huge raise; the data centre company later withdrew its ASX listing plans, while AdvanCell, Cover Genius and Heidi posted large rounds.
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Firmus, the Nvidia-backed data centre developer, pulled its planned ASX listing after weak investor demand and will instead seek private capital. Explaining its background, backers, valuation history and why the float failed.
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Firmus, a Nvidia-backed data centre developer, abandoned its ASX float after weak demand; the article recalls its earlier private funding rounds and examines why investors balked at the valuation.
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Venture firm Square Peg has confirmed two funds holding more than $1 billion between them, alongside a look back at its biggest bets, sell-downs and the acquisitions that delivered windfalls.
Also Dealroom
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Sydney quantum computing company Diraq has reached the final stage of a US defence quantum program, securing US$51 million with more possible, joining Microsoft and PsiQuantum among firms advancing toward utility-scale machines.
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Sydney quantum company Diraq has reached the last stage of a US defence quantum program, securing US$51 million with more possible, alongside mentions of PsiQuantum, IonQ and Quantinuum milestones.
Also Forbes Australia
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Profile of Brett Adcock probing Figure's $39 billion valuation, narrow robot deployments, disputed claims involving BMW and OpenAI, and his habit of raising vast sums for ventures like Hark before products ship.
Also Crunchbase News
Profile of Fidji Simo, who left OpenAI to cofound ChronicleBio, which has raised $20 million to use AI and biological data to subtype chronic illnesses like POTS and long COVID and rescue shelved drugs.
Profile of Snap's CEO and his costly, long-running bet on AR smartglasses, the spurned Facebook takeover offer, Meta's dominance in AI eyewear, and activist investors pushing for change.
Billionaire Ed Craven backs Maincode's new venture arm, which takes half of each startup's equity in exchange for funding, salaries and AI access, aiming to build sovereign Australian AI companies across several industries.
Radiology AI firm Harrison.ai has restructured, shedding 34 local roles, while contracted revenue has grown fourfold to $40 million; founders insist research stays in Australia as they expand in the US.
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Heidi raised US$100m in a Blackbird-led Series C plus US$240m in customer-acquisition finance from General Catalyst, reaching a $1.26 billion valuation as Australia's fourth billion-dollar startup of the year.
Also Dealroom·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups·Dynamic Business·This Week in Australian Startups·Mirage News·This Week in Australian Startups·Forbes Australia
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HEO, which builds cameras to monitor satellites, has secured a Series B with Beaten Zone Venture Partners leading and the national reconstruction fund among nine backers, on the back of a nine-figure US contract.
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Satellite-monitoring camera maker HEO has landed a $37 million Series B, with the federal reconstruction fund contributing $10 million, and will grow its team while pushing more cameras into geostationary orbit.
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Melbourne-based battery software firm Amber has landed a Series E led by Morgan Stanley's 1GT climate fund, with earlier backers returning, to fuel its overseas expansion.
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Filings show T. Rowe Price, Franklin Templeton and Blackbird have cut their Canva stake valuations, as the design company trims growth forecasts and builds a foundation model ahead of a planned Nasdaq listing.
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Deep-tech investor Main Sequence is seeking $400 million for a fourth fund, with $75 million already committed by the federal government, after two portfolio companies reached unicorn status this year.
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Australian AI engineer Andrew Tulloch, a Thinking Machines Lab co-founder, is leaving Meta for Anthropic after turning down a reported Meta package worth as much as US$1.5 billion.
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Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin warns rogue AI agents in enterprises are inevitable and discusses Aigentsphere, her AI-monitoring startup, which raised a $4 million seed round from Main Sequence in April.
Forbes Australia reports three researchers have closed a $10m pre-seed round with Main Sequence for Metacognition, whose software adds memory and guardrails so companies can deploy AI without unsafe behaviour.
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OpenAI has signed up as a customer for two Malaysian AI data centres from Firmus, an Australian group that last month drew US$2 billion from Nvidia, Blackstone, Coatue and Jane Street.
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Profiles space investor Will Scully-Power, whose Pine Gap firm backs Australian space startups and plans a larger US fund with partners; defence VC Beaten Zone has also wrapped up a $26 million fund.
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Canva is pushing productivity tools like Docs and Sheets to win enterprise subscribers from Microsoft and Google, while slowing its AI rollout to control costs and trimming its revenue growth forecast.
Brandon Capital is welcoming a $60 million commitment of public money via the NRF, earmarked for the firm's life-science investing.
Brandon Capital has put roughly $60 million of National Reconstruction Fund money into ten biotech companies and warns R&D tax changes would hurt deep tech; portfolio company Myricx Bio went to Novartis.
Also australiatimes.com
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Sydney quantum computing company Diraq will station an eight-qubit prototype machine inside an Equinix facility from October, a step toward moving the technology from lab to market.
Blackbird has banked a record $1.05 billion sixth fund with global institutional and local super backing, while partner Samantha Wong flags caution on AI and a tilt toward deep tech.
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Eight Australian companies make Forbes Asia's annual 100 To Watch list; the piece profiles each and recaps recent raises across climate tech, health and software.
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Filings show Canva backed Sharon AI's US$103 million December 2025 raise with Regal, Ellerston, Digital Alpha and others; the Sydney compute provider has since floated on Nasdaq and raised US$2.15 billion more.
Also Dealroom
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Forbes Australia reports Xero's board lifted CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy's potential pay to US$18.5 million, mostly equity vesting over three years, and now requires her to hold shares worth five times her salary.
At a Sydney event, Canva's co-founder explained how soaring compute bills forced a delay to its AI relaunch, and how homegrown models cut serving costs; he also recalls early government backing.
Forbes Australia profile of wine e-tailer Vinomofo: CEO Justin Dry on its 95% rejection rate, $90m annual turnover, a shelved 2021 float, and its whisky side business.
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Zac Altman’s ADHD telehealth startup Kantoko has secured $3.5 million in a Side Stage Ventures-led seed round, with Andrew Forrest’s Tenmile and Go1’s founders investing; the article also recalls his earlier ventures’ sales.
Also Dealroom·Startup Daily·Business News Australia·SmartCompany·ontargetish.com
Me&u launches a new AI-powered reservations platform to compete with Resy and SevenRooms, targeting profitability in 2026 after merging with Mr Yum.
SafetyCulture, an Australian unicorn selling workplace-safety software, has rebranded as Mitti. Luke Anear, who founded it, is chief executive again, and insurance plus AI now anchor its growth plans.
Forbes Australia reports the workplace-safety unicorn's new name and its expanding insurance arm, with founder Luke Anear back as chief executive.
Australian grid digital-twin startup Neara raised a $90 million Series D led by TCV, reaching unicorn status amid rising data centre power demand.
Adelaide practice-management software company splose closed a $46 million Series A, the largest ever for a South Australian SaaS firm, led by Spectrum Equity.
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Cybersecurity company UpGuard secured a $105 million Series C round to fund M&A, product expansion and global scaling, led by a US firm.
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Sydney/Perth navigation-tech firm Advanced Navigation raised $158 million in a Series C round to fund acquisitions, US manufacturing expansion, and sales growth, reaching unicorn status.
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Cibby Pulikkaseril secured seed funding for Zabidou, a manufacturing quality assurance startup, following the collapse of his previous venture Baraja.
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Deep tech founder Cibby Pulikkaseril has banked a $3.5m seed for Zabidou, whose lasers inspect factory output, with Black Nova, Main Sequence and Antler backing; his earlier LiDAR venture Baraja folded.
Also SmartCompany
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Profile of JET Charge co-founder Tim Washington, tracing the EV charging firm's growth and recalling its 2020 institutional round and $72 million Series C led by Mirova.
A maker of satellites for in-orbit drugs and materials production has landed an outsized pre-seed round led by New Zealand's GD1, with Airtree and other venture firms taking part.
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Cut Through Venture's Q2 2026 report shows early-stage deal numbers at historic lows, though quarterly capital reached $1.7 billion, driven by two large rounds by Firmus and Airwallex.
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Xero's chief people officer Jeff Ryan left the ASX-listed software firm in early July, with its people function reporting interim to CFO Claire Bramley, as the company's shares slide on AI disruption fears.
Brisbane radiopharmaceutical developer AdvanCell has closed an oversubscribed Series D round, led by Ally Bridge Group and Alpha Wave with several institutional investors returning, to fund late-stage prostate cancer trials and US manufacturing.
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The head of neo-cloud firm Sharon AI argues no copyright change is needed to attract data centre investment; the piece recalls its Nasdaq listing raise and a large new financing.
Also AFR Technology·Forbes Australia·Dealroom
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Novartis is acquiring London biotech Myricx Bio for US$1.1 billion upfront plus milestone payments, handing Melbourne venture firm Brandon Capital a record return on the startup it seeded in 2019.
Also Forbes Australia
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Samsara Eco, the enzyme-driven recycler behind fabric deals with major apparel brands, is seeking a Series B to move into rare earth recovery, with its founder pointing to a matching sum raised previously.
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Sydney aviation startup Mako has announced a $28 million Series A with Virescent Ventures, Grok Ventures, Skip Capital and IAG investing, funding A320 testing, industry rollout and team growth.
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IREN's board has signed off on long-term share awards worth roughly US$788 million for co-founder chief executives Daniel and Will Roberts, as the Sydney-based green data centre operator capitalises on AI demand.
Advanced Navigation will open an Alabama plant, its first American factory, using money from its March Series C, and is weighing US and European acquisitions plus a possible future listing.
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Forbes Australia interviews Amal Clooney at the Cartier Women's Initiative 2026 celebration in Bangkok, where she mentored female founder fellows, including three Australian award winners, and discussed her justice foundation's legal-aid work.
Zeller has launched point-of-sale software it will improve rapidly using AI, says founder Ben Pfisterer; the piece recalls the payments firm's $100m Series B and flags a future raise for overseas growth.
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Women's health AI app Ovum announced a $4 million seed round led by Admiralty Capital with Antler, Giant Leap, LaunchVic and others, 16 months after its pre-seed, citing rapid user growth and health partnerships.
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Lab-grown meat firm Vow has a new CEO, with its founding chief executive moving to a director role and launching a spin-off; the Blackbird-backed startup also recently cut staff.
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Immutable is winding down in-house game development to focus on AI marketing software for publishers, with the co-founder saying its 2022 raise still gives it years of runway.
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Melbourne preventive-health startup Everlab has banked $65 million at close to a half-billion-dollar valuation, backed by Airtree, Left Lane, Plural, b2venture and angels including Pat Cummins; the piece profiles co-founder Marc Hermann.
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Deals recorded from Forbes Australia's coverage. A round is listed once, however many of their articles mention it.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diraq | Grant | 8 Oct 2026 | $73m | |
| Heidi Health | Series C | 22 Sep 2026 | $140m | |
| Amber Electric | Series D+ | 21 Sep 2026 | $78.5m | |
| HEO | Series B | 21 Sep 2026 | $37m | |
| Polyactiva | undisclosed | 11 Sep 2026 | $27m | |
| Metacognition AI | Pre-seed | 9 Sep 2026 | $10m | |
| Cincera Therapeutics | undisclosed | 2 Sep 2026 | $4m | |
| Axelia Oncology | undisclosed | 2 Sep 2026 | $5m | |
| ENA Respiratory | Accelerator | 30 Aug 2026 | $8.3m | |
| Heidi Health | Series A | 26 Aug 2026 | $16.6m | |
| Kantoko | Seed | 12 Aug 2026 | $3.5m | |
| Firmus Technologies | Unnamed stage | 7 Aug 2026 | $2.8b | |
| UpGuard | Series C | 4 Aug 2026 | $105m | |
| Cover Genius | Venture debt | 4 Aug 2026 | $143m | |
| Mako | Series A | 4 Aug 2026 | $28m | |
| Everlab | Series A | 4 Aug 2026 | $65m | |
| splose | Series A | 4 Aug 2026 | $46m | |
| Ovum | Seed | 4 Aug 2026 | $4m | |
| Zabidou | Seed | 3 Aug 2026 | $3.5m | |
| Outlier Space | Pre-seed | 29 Jul 2026 | $10.5m | |
| PsiQuantum | Grant | 24 Jul 2026 | $179.2m | |
| AdvanCell | Series D+ | 15 Jul 2026 | $450m | |
| Airwallex | Series D+ | 25 Jun 2026 | $460m | |
| Alexandra Cannizzaro | Accelerator | 23 Jun 2026 | - | |
| Ruby Riethmuller | Accelerator | 23 Jun 2026 | - | |
| Rosie Dumbrell | Accelerator | 23 Jun 2026 | - | |
| Sharon AI | undisclosed | Jun 2026 | $2.3b | |
| Firmus Technologies | undisclosed | 6 Apr 2026 | $725m | |
| Advanced Navigation | Series C | 18 Mar 2026 | $158m | |
| Lumonus | Series B | Mar 2026 | $28m | |
| Cauldron Ferm | Series A | Mar 2026 | $13m | |
| Sharon AI | Venture debt | Dec 2025 | $103m | |
| Figure | Unnamed stage | 3 Nov 2025 | $1b | |
| Firmus Technologies | undisclosed | Sep 2025 | $330m | |
| Everlab | Seed | 22 Jul 2025 | $15m | |
| Ovum | Pre-seed | 4 Feb 2025 | $1.7m | |
| Harrison AI | Series C | Feb 2025 | $179m | |
| Varda Space Industries | Unnamed stage | 2025 | $187m | |
| Thinking Machines Lab | Seed | 2025 | US$2b ($3.2b) | |
| Fleet Space Technologies | Series D+ | 12 Dec 2024 | $150m | |
| Samsara Eco | Series A | 26 Jun 2024 | $100m | |
| PsiQuantum | Grant | 30 Apr 2024 | $940m | |
| Myricx | Series A | 2024 | $173m | |
| Vow | Series A | 15 Nov 2022 | $73.5m | |
| Immutable | Series C | 8 Mar 2022 | $280m | |
| Zeller | Series B | 3 Mar 2022 | $100m | |
| Canva | Unnamed stage | 15 Sep 2021 | $273m | |
| Heidi Health | Seed | 2021 | $5m | |
| Harrison AI | Series A | 9 Dec 2019 | $29m | |
| Myricx | Seed | 2019 | $8.5m | |
| Airwallex | Series A | May 2017 | $17.4m | |
| Zabidou | Pre-seed | undated | $1.3m |
Companies named in Forbes Australia's articles, most-covered first.
Investors named in Forbes Australia's articles, most-covered first.