News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Firmus’ planned ASX float appears to be slipping beyond earlier June and September timelines as investors await formal IPO dates for the AI factory company (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• DroneShield shareholders have delivered a first strike against its remuneration report as REA Group and ARN Media chair Hamish McLennan joins as chairman amid an ASIC probe into governance and director share sales (AFR)

• ASX-listed biotech Tetratherix is raising about $15m after its shares more than doubled on a US licensing deal for its needle-free GLP-1 and peptide delivery technology (AFR)

Partnerships & Deals

• Anthropic is reportedly seeking 300MW to 500MW of Australian data centre capacity, with CDC Data Centres seen as the frontrunner after pitches from AirTrunk, NextDC, Firmus and IREN (AFR)

• Gilmour Space has been selected by Starfish Space as the docking partner for its Otter Pup 2 mission, advancing Australia’s in-orbit satellite operations capability (LinkedIn)

Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion

• Airwallex has launched Airwallex Billing, a global revenue operations platform designed for AI, API, SaaS and other businesses moving to usage-based and multi-currency billing models (LinkedIn)

• Atmo Biosciences has received US FDA clearance for a new gastrointestinal mapping feature that helps clinicians interpret data from its gas capsule system (LinkedIn)

• Hyperion Systems has unveiled ASTRA 460, a 3D-printed autonomous vessel that can be produced in 40 hours for defence and maritime security use (BNA)

Venture Capital & Other Funding

• Advance VC has reached its $15m target for a secondary venture fund backed by Infinity Asset Management, Brad Feld, David Nathanson and other tech investors (AFR)

• ANDHealth has awarded up to $9m in non-dilutive funding to Australis Scientific, Corcillum, Earflo, Kraken Coding and More Good Days as digital health startups warn capital access is becoming a survival issue (BNA)

• Birchal has opened expressions of interest for a crowd-sourced funding round at a $5m valuation, down 87% from its 2022 peak as the CSF market contracts (SmartCompany)

• Australian founder Blaze O’Byrne’s San Francisco tax AI startup Byron has raised $6.5m USD in Seed funding led by Square Peg Capital (Capital Brief)

• Cars4Us founder Matt Wright will invest $3m across three founders in Australia, the UK and the US after selling his used-car marketplace to Toyota Tsusho for $120m (SmartCompany)

• The Industry Growth Program awarded $21m in matched grants to 15 startup projects just days before applications were paused following a $48m budget cut (InnovationAus.com)

• HEO, a space tech startup, is nearing a roughly $30m Series B round with expected backing from the National Reconstruction Fund (AFR)

• HESTA has backed Synthesis Capital’s new $70m medtech VC fund, which has raised close to $60m to invest in early-stage Australian health technology startups (AFR)

• Tanda, a HR and payroll software company, has appointed Barrenjoey to seek a minority private equity investor at a potential valuation above $500m (AFR)

Government, Policy & Regulation

• Australia and the UK have signed an MoU to deepen cooperation on AI safety, security, testing and risk management (Capital Brief)

• Anthropic has landed its first direct Australian federal government contract with the Fair Work Commission (InnovationAus.com)

Reports & Data

• Equity Clear is launching a national report on investor diversity reporting after consulting more than 160 organisations across Australia’s startup and funding ecosystem (LinkedIn)

• Innovation Bay and ecosystem leaders have launched an interactive visualisation of Australia’s startup ecosystem to highlight funding bottlenecks, key players and reforms needed to improve startup growth (LinkedIn)

• Australia has returned to the world’s top 10 startup ecosystems, ranking ninth globally after growing more than twice as fast as the global average (SmartCompany)

Funding Rounds

• Oli, which developed a wearable monitor for pregnant women that uses AI to analyse to their vital signs for risks of birth complications, has raised $6.5m in a Series A3 round from Scale Investors, Clare Ventures and University of Sydney (Forbes | SmartCompany)

• Cable, an energy retailer that installs a free on-site battery to provide a guaranteed flat 24/7 tariff for SMEs to cut bills 20-40%, has raised $4m in a Pre-Seed round from Systemiq Capital, Black Nova and Angel Investors (SmartCompany | Capital Brief)

• Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for businesses, has raised and undisclosed amount from Addition (Axios)

• AlleSense, a MedTech product that turns standard microscopes into label-free tissue imaging tools for pathologists to speed diagnosis, has raised $2.5m from Welcome Ventures, Breakthrough Victoria and Angel Investors (Breakthrough Victoria | Startup Daily)

• Amber Electric, the energy retailer on a mission to shift Australia to 100% renewables, has raised $13.6m from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Australian Renewable Energy Agency)

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja says Canva does not need an IPO as the $84b design software company shifts deeper into AI and continues scaling in private markets (AFR)

• Codan, an ASX-listed Australian defence technology company, has acquired US engineering company Adaptive Dynamics for $21m to expand its unmanned systems and electronic warfare capabilities (Capital Brief)

• Monvia, a Sydney insurance software company, is preparing a $17.5m IPO at a potential $100m valuation as shareholders seek liquidity (AFR)

• Perx Health, a digital health platform for chronic and injury-related care, has merged its Australian business with Navigator Group and sold its US arm to Clutch Holdings (LinkedIn)

• URUS Group has agreed to acquire AgriWebb, an Australian livestock management and supply chain data platform, to expand its digital capabilities across global beef production (LinkedIn)

Capital Markets

• TechnologyOne shares fell 3% despite record first-half profit and reaffirmed FY26 guidance as foreign exchange headwinds limited the ASX-listed software company’s earnings beat (Capital Brief)

Partnerships & Deals

• EatClub is partnering with Commonwealth Bank to bring its AI-powered, time-based restaurant deals into the CommBank app for eligible CBA customers (LinkedIn)

• Phasor Innovation, Nomad Atomics and Q-CTRL have won $7.2m in Defence contracts to develop quantum undersea navigation systems for GPS-denied environments (InnovationAus)

• PredicTx Health, a University of Melbourne spinout developing AI-enabled oncology treatment optimisation technology, has signed an MoU with Alibaba.com East China and Cognis Technology to explore Australia-China commercialisation opportunities (LinkedIn)

Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion

• Block Earner has secured an Australian Credit Licence to offer Bitcoin-backed lending products while ASIC continues its High Court fight over the crypto startup’s discontinued Earn product (Startup Daily)

• Mutinex has launched Self-Serve GrowthOS, a lower-cost commercial mix modelling platform that gives startups and scaleups access to marketing effectiveness tools without agency support (LinkedIn)

• Xero has opened early access to XeroForce, a no-code AI agent builder that helps small businesses and accountants automate financial workflows across Xero and third-party apps (LinkedIn)

Venture Capital & Other Funding

• Early investors in Applied EV, a Melbourne autonomous vehicle maker for logistics and mining, are seeking a secondary share sale at a $150m valuation amid frustration over commercialisation delays (AFR)

• August Robotics, a global construction and industrial robotics company founded by Australian Alex Wyatt, has raised $42m in Series B funding led by Big Pi Ventures, with backing from Blackbird, Skip Capital, Tanarra and Future Family Office (Capital Brief)

• Diraq has signed an LOI for a proposed $US38m US CHIPS Act award, with the US government to receive a minority equity stake, as part of a broader $US2b quantum funding package (LinkedIn)

• Grok Ventures has provided project-level financing for Antora Energy’s 5GWh thermal battery project as the Californian energy storage company eyes Australian industrial customers (AFR)

• SAPHI, an industrial AI company turning cameras and sensors into safety and productivity tools for mining and heavy industry, has received an Australian Government Industry Growth Program grant (LinkedIn)

Government, Policy & Regulation

• The federal government has paused new applications to the $392m Industry Growth Program, raising uncertainty for startups and SMEs seeking commercialisation grants (Startup Daily)

• Victoria has scrapped its $20m Industry Development Fund before awarding any grants or loans to startups and scaleups in healthtech, defence and other priority sectors (InnovationAus)

• ASX-listed biotech and deep tech companies could lose millions in refundable R&D tax incentives under a Budget change limiting eligibility to firms younger than 10 years old (Capital Brief)

• Treasurer Jim Chalmers has accused critics of spreading misinformation about Labor’s CGT changes as startup founders warn the reforms could increase tax bills on company exits (SmartCompany)

• Gilmour Space, Myriota and Quantum Brilliance are pushing for deep tech carve-outs from Labor’s proposed 10-year cap on refundable R&D tax incentives (Capital Brief)

• Startup leaders are pushing Labor to carve founders, employees and angel investors out of CGT changes, warning higher taxes on equity gains could weaken ESOPs and early-stage investment (AFR)

Ecosystem & Hubs

• Arelis, a women’s health diagnostics startup focused on endometriosis, has won Startup World Cup Australia’s Melbourne final and will pitch for a $US1m investment in San Francisco (Startup Daily)

• Victoria has unveiled Innovation Victoria as the new agency replacing LaunchVic and Breakthrough Victoria, with Rod Bristow appointed CEO to lead startup and commercialisation support (SmartCompany)

• Startmate has taken 19 ANZ founders to San Francisco for investor meetings and its first US Demo Day since 2020 as it pushes startups closer to global capital (Startup Daily)

People Moves & Spotlights

• Canva has lost four senior leaders, including CTO Brendan Humphreys, as the $84b design software company pushes deeper into AI ahead of a potential Nasdaq listing (AFR)

• Former Telstra CEO Andy Penn has been appointed chair of Sharon AI as the neocloud company prepares for an IPO amid growing demand for AI infrastructure (Capital Brief)

Reports & Data

• Women-owned startups received just 8.6% of approved Industry Growth Program grants before the federal government paused new applications to the commercialisation scheme (Startup Daily)

• Committee for Sydney has launched an Innovation Atlas mapping Sydney’s startup, biotech, deep tech and fintech hubs to show the city’s ecosystem extends beyond Tech Central (Startup Daily)

Other News & Updates

• ASIC has appealed the Federal Court’s dismissal of its case against ASX-listed intelligence software company Nuix over alleged continuous disclosure and misleading conduct breaches (Capital Brief)

• Zip has acquired the “ZIP” trademark from Firstmac to settle a High Court dispute and avoid being forced to rebrand its Australian payments business (BNA)

Funding Rounds

• Diagno Energy, a cloud platform that monitors and diagnoses solar and battery assets for owners and operators to detect faults and quantify losses, has raised an undisclosed amount from Formbay

• Sharon AI, an AI infrastructure platform that offers GPU-as-a-service for enterprises to run large-scale model training and inference, has raised $490m ($350m USD) from Oaktree Capital Management and Two Seas Capital LP

• Indi, an AI-powered co-pilot app intended to help parents of children with complex care needs navigate the appropriate healthcare, allied health, education and NDIS services, has raised an undisclosed amount from MooCoo Ventures, Antler and Giant Leap

• Ordermentum, a hospitality wholesale ordering and payments platform that automates supplier orders for hospitality venues to cut admin, has raised $55m from Five V Capital

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Humankind, a Wellington HR consultancy, has acquired The Mintable, a management training startup backed by Blackbird, for an undisclosed sum. (Startup Daily)

• NAB has acquired Banked, a London-founded account-to-account payments company, for an…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva’s local filings show revenue surged past $4.1b and the Australian business swung to profit as the design giant prepares for an AI-era IPO (AFR)

• Catch co-founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich have acquired collapsed online sales platform Clic…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Hipages, an ASX-listed tradie marketplace, has acquired a 51% stake in VIZ Insurance, a digital insurance platform for tradespeople, for $1.4m as it expands into insurance distribution (BNA)

Capital Markets

• Atlassian shares surge 27% after upgr…

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A day late due to a scheduling issue on my side, apologies for anyone who missed their Sunday morning read!

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• AirTrunk has acquired Lumina CloudInfra, an Indian data centre operator, for an undisclosed amount as part of a $7b push into India’s A…

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A longer wrap up than usual and later send this week - needing a bit of extra time to curate the last 2 weeks worth of news and funding rounds in Australia.

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• CleanPeak Energy buys Sustainable Energy Infrastructure for an undisclosed amount, add…

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I’m heading to SF this week, which will mean there will be no newsletter next week - I’ll do a full roundup for two weeks on 19 April.

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Australia Post has acquired Rendr, a last-mile delivery orchestration platform, for an undisclosed amount (L…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva acquired Doohly for $30m for Doohly, a Melbourne startup whose software manages the ad screens inside Rebel Sport, Mitre 10 and airports - giving Canva a path from design tool to physical display (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Convicted …

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva plans to IPO next year: The Information (Capital Brief)

• Nick Curtis seeks to sell $100m of Firmus shares ahead of IPO (AFR)

• Flyttr, a biosecurity platform, has acquired RapidAIM, an Australian agtech startup building real-time pest monito…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Pay.com.au, a business payments and rewards platform that lets companies earn frequent flyer points on expenses, has launched its ASX float seeking to raise $85m in new growth capital at an $850m valuation - with shares priced at $193 and an …

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Hoyts to sell Val Morgan unit to Richard White-backed Vinyl Group (AFR)

• IPscape, an Australian cloud contact centre platform, acquires agentic AI voice startup VoxHero to accelerate its AI agent deployment capabilities (Startup Researcher)

Part…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva acquires Cavalry, a UK motion and animation design platform, and MangoAI, a US algorithms company that optimises creative content using learning loops, building on its Affinity and MagicBrief acquisition to power the entire marketing an…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Eucalyptus founder Tim Doyle shares they have signed an agreement to be acquires by hims & hers, an NYSE-listed consumer health platform, for up to $1.6b, with ~$330m cash upfront and the rest as deferred/earnout payable in cash or stock (Lin…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• ATI Global (owner of LEAP, InfoTrack and LawConnect) is preparing for an IPO in the next ~2 years (AFR)

• Compass Education, an Australian school management platform, has acquired Inklass, a school-branded mobile app platform, for an undisclosed…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Cars4us, one of Australia’s largest used car online marketplaces has been acquired by Toyota Tsusho Corporation for a $120m (Courier Mail)

• Aura, an AI-powered online safety platform for families, acquires Qoria, a student online safety and dig…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Airwallex cofounder Jack Zhang says an IPO won’t happen before 2028 (Startup Daily)

• Lack of ‘exit readiness’ is hurting Australia’s startups, KPMG warns (Capital Brief)

• Canva quietly shifted billions of shares ahead of expected US public offeri…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Airwallex acquires Paynuri to unlock global opportunities for Korean businesses (Australian FinTech)

• Data centre upstart Firmus secures Sydney office ahead of closely watched IPO (Capital Brief)

• It’s back! Koala resurrects IPO push for $400m st…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• EOS to acquire counter-drone firm MARSS Group for $54m (InnovationAus)

• Palisade Impact acquires Sydney’s Arc Energy (AFR)

• Sidekicker founder Jacqui Bull shared the platform was sold to SEEK last year and will stay on as COO (LinkedIn)

• WA medicin…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• WiseTech Global to acquire CCES, a World Customs Organization–accredited provider of customs and border management training and education (BNA)

Partnerships & Deals

• Defence inks Google deal for ‘air-gapped’ Secret cloud (InnovationAus)

• LeadStory…

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