This Month
Australian venture capital firms face a battle for their future
Venture capital firms are under pressure to secure funding, as superannuation funds re-evaluate their investment options.
- Paul Smith
Aged care execs seek seed capital for recruitment startup
The hopstep recruitment platform for the aged care sector is hitting up venture capital and high-net-worth types to raise $3 million.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Water quality monitoring start-up Eco Detection lands UK-listed backer
Street Talk can reveal Eco Detection has added London-listed mining services player Capital Limited to its list of backers.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
July
$9b Indian VC flies into bumper seed round for Aussie fintech Slice
Slice is $7.5 million richer after ruling off an equity and debt round led by Peak XV Partners and Roadnight Capital.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
It was called the ‘next Canva’, so Canva bought it
Canva has acquired AI design start-up Leonardo.AI in a surprise deal worth over $120 million. The ACCC is taking notice.
- Staff reporter
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Rich Chinese investors join $1b hunt for Aussie VC funds
A fund manager for rich Chinese investors is trying to raise $100m for venture capital investments, joining a crowd of operators trying to raise over $1 billion.
- Yolanda Redrup and Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Software
How Melbourne start-up’s gamble created a $34m business
A risky plan to cut off a $4 million revenue stream and rebuild their software company has paid off handsomely for two Melbourne-based tech entrepreneurs.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Aussie who sold cloud start-up for $2b jumps on AI for ads
Three years after selling A Cloud Guru in a bumper payday, Sam Kroonenburg is teaming up with advertising entrepreneurs with big plans and investors in tow.
- Paul Smith
‘Not good enough’: Blackbird admits its gender pledge has stalled
Australia’s largest VC fund pledged to track data to support its rhetoric around investing in more women founders. Its first report shows it has gone backwards.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Private equity
Construction start-up lands mega $105m deal
Melbourne software company HammerTech has landed a $105 million investment from Californian private equity shop Riverwood Capital.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Sydney VC raises $20m in four days for ‘evergreen’ fifth fund
Early-stage software investor EVP’s fifth fund is targeting an underserved segment of the Australian capital market, and pulled in $20 million since last Thursday.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Biosecurity
Woolies, Harris Farm, Tesla chair, pile in to back biosecurity start-up
ExoFlare has plans to build a global biosecurity tech firm, modelled on international cybersecurity players, and has big-name backers watching as it helps tackle bird flu.
- Paul Smith
Rich Lister family backs solar panel recycler Sircel
The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
- Updated
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Mega VC deals are back - but new founders face a big problem
After an 18-month lull, funding is flowing back into start-ups, but in a two-speed sector, some are struggling to meet investors’ high expectations.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Aussie tech’s climate crisis as start-ups face capital crunch
At least 100 Australian climate tech start-ups need to raise capital in the next nine months to avoid going bust, but say the bar for investment is sky-high.
- Yolanda Redrup
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Start-up ditches carbon credits supplier after Zimbabwean fiasco
Sendle’s CEO says it has found new suppliers to stay carbon neutral as it faces a wave of discontent from former staff.
- Nick Bonyhady
Investors pour billions into AI start-ups, defying a downturn
The AI boom that started in late 2022 has become the strongest counterpoint to the broader downturn in technology funding.
- Erin Griffith
Fortescue, Playground-backed hydrogen flight start-up collapses
Universal Hydrogen had attracted almost $150 million in funding, including from Aussie Peter Barrett’s Playground Global, but it wasn’t enough for it to take flight.
- Yolanda Redrup
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Ex-Atlassian insiders pull in millions for AI development start-up
Redactive has raised $11.5 million from local and US-based investors after convincing financial services clients to use it to help software engineers develop AI tools.
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
The untold story of struggling start-up survival rounds
Delivery company Sendle raised almost $90 million in good times, but venture capitalists have likened the terms on its latest raise to payday lending.
- Nick Bonyhady
